Dry turkey

[mrdarby]

I have been smoking for about a year now and would consider myself an average smoker. I tried my first turkey today and I would consider it my first failure. I read through as many posts as I could here and prepared for it as much as possible, but it just turned out dry and unflavored. I purchsed an 18 pound turkey that took 5 days to thaw in the fridge. I read that to have a juicy turkey I should brine it and after it thawed I did. I used a recipe from here. It called for 2 gallons of water, 2 cups of salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, some pepper, and Cajun seasoning. I also added just a bit of Worcester sauce. I only brined it for 12 hours which I am guessing wasn't long enough. Before putting it in the smoker I also rubbed some butter on the outside. I was worried about the 40-140 degree issue so I cranked the smoker up I was hoping to about 275 or 300 but my new Maverick et-73 read about 370 and the thermometer on my 18.5 weber bullet read 250. I'm guessing the large turkey was effecting the reading somehow. With such a large bird I was planning on it taking around 9 hours to cook but it only took 4.5. Oh yeah, I used pecan wood. I pulled it at 175 degrees. Again, it was dry and didn't really taste. An thoughts on what I did wrong?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Some will disagree but I think 12 hours is not enough for an 18 Lb Bird. I would have gone a min of 24 and 36 hrs would not have hurt. If you went to 175*F IT in the Breast, that may be the problem. Most go to 165*F Breast and 175*F in the Thigh. The temp of 370*F is hotter than I like to go but should not have had that big an impact on dryness but is the reason it was done so quickly. I like 325*F for Turkey...JJ

 

[big casino]

Some will disagree but I think 12 hours is not enough for an 18 Lb Bird. I would have gone a min of 24 and 36 hrs would not have hurt. If you went to 175*F IT in the Breast, that may be the problem. Most go to 165*F Breast and 175*F in the Thigh. The temp of 370*F is hotter than I like to go but should not have had that big an impact on dryness but is the reason it was done so quickly. I like 325*F for Turkey...JJ

I agree, I brined just a half of breast for 12hrs and I thought it was perfect

 

[so ms smoker]

  Im thinking you ended up cooking hot and fast inste4ad of low and slow. First I would calibrate the maverick temp. If you were cooking at 370, it was WAY too high. Trust the temp that you know...

  Mike

 

[oldschoolbbq]

That's odd . I Smoked one (15#) on Sunday and when done immediately foiled it and placed it in the Fridge until Tues. , took it our , heated at 225* to an IT of 165* in the Breast and it was as juicy as it could be...

It was not a fresh Bird nor a Butterball , just an average frozen Turkey. Why yours was dry , I don't know...was it the imbalance of the Sugar/Salt mix???? The Butter could have only made it better and the skin a little more edible, my guess is it was cooked too high . Did you calibrate the Maverick first , so you could adjust you other temps.?

One last thought, was the Turkey frozen for a long time,(did you look at the package date?),and did it have any juice in the packaging???

I look like a Mizer when looking for a Meat to cook... I look at  all the different aspects I can ; drives the Mkt. Mgrs. Mad

 , but I want my $$$$$ worth.

Just sayin', have fun and...