First Turkey, Weird Stuff Happened??

[toystry]

So I brined a 15lb turkey overnight, my first turkey ever.

Filled up my WSM with charcoal and did minion method. Added 8 pieces of hickory to the charcoal and let it come up to temp for about 30 mins before placing the bird on the smoker. Brushed on melted butter as well before putting it on the smoker.

Set heat to 275 and within 2.5-3hrs the bird was almost fully cooked (145ish on breast, 160 on thighs) which I wasn’t expecting so I had to pull half of the charcoal out to reduce the heat. I ended up being able to hold the temp at 180-225 throughout the rest of the smoke which I was trying to smoke for around 8hrs.

Turkey turned out nice and juicy, no real smoke ring though, and skin was a very dark brown. The last hour I loosely wrapped it with foil but the skin was already really dark before foiling.

Any ideas or recommendations on how to not over do the skin? It was kinda chewy and not worth eating (the skin that is)?

Any ideas on why the turkey was damn near cooked within the first 3 hours?

 

[fivetricks]

Wow that is dark skin! When I smoke mine, I do 14-16 lb birds. They usually take about 4 hours total. That's smoking in the 325 range (300-350). Food for thought.

 

[chef jimmyj]

At 275 4-5 hours to 160 in the Breast and 170's in the thigh would be typical. To get 30 minutes a pound, 7-8 hours, you would have to cook around 200°F, not optimal for poultry safety.
Dark skin usually results from a brined turkey that did not have a 24 hour rest, uncovered, to dry the skin and/or an inefficient cool fire putting out white smoke.
At any temp below 325, crispy skin often requires a two step cook. Smoke to 150/160 in the Breast and Thigh then finish the cook and Crisp the Skin in a 425 oven or hot grill...JJ

 

[Preacher Man]

Dark skin usually results from a brined turkey that did not have a 24 hour rest, uncovered, to dry the skin

I've never tried this. Now I'm eager to thaw out one of those turkeys in my freezer.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The wet skin not only has trouble, ever, getting crisp, more of the smoke components, good and bad, stick causing the skin to darken an often pick up a bitter or Sour flavor...JJ

 

[chef jimmyj]

Anybody else seeing my Avatar an name as the author of this post? I wrote a response, hit reply, now when I look it up, on my phone, it appears like I wrote it. Maybe some glitch...JJ

 

[Preacher Man]

Anybody else seeing my Avatar an name as the author of this post? I wrote a response, hit reply, now when I look it up, on my phone, it appears like I wrote it. Maybe some glitch...JJ

It's not showing that way on my phone.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Ok, thank...JJ

 

[The Smokin' Canuck]

Hey all, new to the forum so just sorting thru old posts. I've done several turkeys in my Bradley smoker starting out with a brine for 24hrs and never had skin that dark! The skin always seems to turn out rubbery for me too...temp just isn't high enough to achieve the crispy skin. If you finish in the oven you could possibly get it to crisp up.

 

[fivetricks]

Maybe, maybe not. I did several turkeys at 325 constant this last thanksgiving, none of them had "crisp" skin.

I've stopped chasing that in large birds. Make sure the meat is awesome and perfectly cooked and no one will remember the skin.

 

[noboundaries]

I dry my birds with two 8" room fans on high, usually just while my WSM is coming up to temp and hints of blue smoke. Usually takes about an hour.

Then I'll season up some butter to put under the skin, then spray the skin with oil and add more seasoning/rub. I shoot for 325F minimum, and don't worry at all if the temp gets up in the 370-390F range. Skin is always crispy the first day. After that, nope. I'll use either my Kettle or WSM, but mostly my WSM.

I'll get black skin if I load the bird too early, but it has never tasted ashy or bitter. If you wait until you get true blue smoke, they come out beautiful. I'm usually not that patient. A few I've done below.

 

[gmc2003]

At 275 4-5 hours to 160 in the Breast and 170's in the thigh would be typical. To get 30 minutes a pound, 7-8 hours, you would have to cook around 200°F, not optimal for poultry safety.
Dark skin usually results from a brined turkey that did not have a 24 hour rest, uncovered, to dry the skin and/or an inefficient cool fire putting out white smoke.
At any temp below 325, crispy skin often requires a two step cook. Smoke to 150/160 in the Breast and Thigh then finish the cook and Crisp the Skin in a 425 oven or hot grill...JJ

The wet skin not only has trouble, ever, getting crisp, more of the smoke components, good and bad, stick causing the skin to darken an often pick up a bitter or Sour flavor...JJ

I see these two JJ.

Here's a turkey I did on my WSM.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/1st-try-at-a-smoked-turkey.274867/

Chris