First Turkey Help

[skinman]

Hey everyone,

Been reading alot about this turkey smoking thing and I must

admit I got a little confused. I am plannin on smoking a 14 lbs fresh

turkey in my 18.5 wsm  and using the slaughterhouse brine overnite.

planning on eating at 1 pm. can I please get some ideas on when I should

start and best temps. I dont really wanna spatchcock but i would if thats the way to go..
thanks very much in advance!

 

[mballi3011]

I would recommand the spatchcock method for that bird is alittle big. You have to get the bird up to 140* in a 4 hour time limit. I would allow maybe 4-5 hours for the bird to smoke. After all you can wrap it in foil and put it into a cooler for hours and it will still be hot enough to burn your hands.

 

[skinman]

Thanks so much... I will do just that... maybe keep the temps around 300??

 

[walle]

Hey Skinman, not to disagree with an o'l veteran... but 14# is definitly within the range IMHO.  I just smoked four 12#'s last Friday, brined at 300* using apple and cherry and they were 167* in the breast afte 3.5 hours.  No need to go low and slow on the birds.  I'm guessing that a 14#'er would put you at the 4 - 4.5 hour range at those temps.

I would however spatchcock anything in the 15# + range, and like Mballi... why take the chance if you have the room?

 

[dairyman]

I did a 14# bird yesterday. We ate at 2 pm. I got up at 4 am and got the smoker going and took the bird out of the brine and rinsed it, then buttered it up and put some rub on it. At 5 am the smoker was at 250* and i put the bird in. At 8 am the bird was at 140*, I turned the smoker down to 225*. At this point i started spritzing the bird with apple juice and jack daniels about every 45 minutes or so. At 1 pm the bird was at 170*, pulled it out of the smoker, foiled it, towel wrapped it, and put it into a cooler. At 2 pm I unwrapped the bird and carved it up. At 4 pm i took a nap.

 

[arnie]

I'm with dairyman. No stress

 

[pineywoods]

I wouldn't spatchcock a 14 lb bird especially if I was going to smoke it at 275 or above personally

 

[meateater]

 You need to smoke it 40*-140* in 4 hours and need to verify that somehow. How is a accurate therm or three.

 

[duggy]

Hey Skinman, not to disagree with an o'l veteran... but 14# is definitly within the range IMHO.  I just smoked four 12#'s last Friday, brined at 300* using apple and cherry and they were 167* in the breast afte 3.5 hours.  No need to go low and slow on the birds.  I'm guessing that a 14#'er would put you at the 4 - 4.5 hour range at those temps.

I would however spatchcock anything in the 15# + range, and like Mballi... why take the chance if you have the room?

would going low and slow like at 220-230 benefit the turkey in anyway though? Or is it altogether pointless?  Also, when you say that the turkey was ready in around 4-4.5 hours is that including some resting time in aluminum foil or no? I have one more question actually, I know that in ribs and chuckies and such I was advised to wrap in aluminum foil and put some apple juice in it. Should I do anything of that sort to the turkeY?? 

 

[sqwib]

Last Turkey I did was a 12.4 lb bird and took almost 34 minutes per/lb at 230 - 240°F, I was at exactly 4 hours into the cook when I reached 140°F, next cook I will maintain 250- 260°F until it is out of the "danger zone", this was too close for comfort.
[h1]Or you can start out at 300 degrees and slowly bring the temp down to 230-240 over the course of an hour, just make sure you will clear the danger zone.[/h1]

• Cooking times are approximate

• • At 235°F your turkey will take 30 to 35 minutes per pound.
  • At 250°F your turkey will take 25 to 30 minutes per pound.
  • At 275°F your turkey will take 20 to 25 minutes per pound.

• Thawing: Frozen turkey thawing timetable. Weight In refrigerator In cold water

          In the Refrigerator (40°F or below)
          Allow approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds
 

• 4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days

• 12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days

• 16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days

• 20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days

I thawed this 12.4 pound bird in the refrigerator for 5 days and had ice inside the turkey around the neck bone.


        In Cold Water

      Allow approximately 30 minutes per pound

• 4 to 12 pounds 2 to 6 hours

• 12 to 16 pounds 6 to 8 hours

• 16 to 20 pounds 8 to 10 hours

• 20 to 24 pounds 10 to 12 hours

Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook the turkey immediately after it is thawed.

 

[duggy]

oh thanks for that info. Also, do you guys baste the turkey every so often? or do you just leave it alone?

 

[sqwib]

Sorry bout posting late, my SMF Subscriptions are messed up.

I will sometimes spritz, I would recommend to leave it alone on your first smoke and see how it turns out, just initially rub down with some garlic, butter and crack some pepper