General time recommendation for smoking a 22 pound Spatchcocked Turkey.

[s1ickrick]

The in-laws are bringing a 22 pound bird and the biggest spatchcocked bird I have done is about 16 pounds. Going to inject and dry brine over night in fridge then smoke at 275 for 2 hours then then baste skin with butter and turn up heat to 325-350 till 165 in breast then rest for 30 and carve.

Does anybody have a suggestion as to about how long this might take? I will not pull it till the meat thermometer reads 165, but kind of need a guide to approximately how long this will take so we will be eating at a reasonable time.

I have a Traeger and am also worried about the damn thing fitting on it. Will cutting the bird completely in half shorten the time or adversely effect the smoking of the bird.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I'll say at least 6-7 hours at 275℉-300℉. I can smoke a stuffed whole 12 lb. turkey in about 6 hours at that temp. Spatchcocking should reduce the cooking time and cutting in half won't change much other than helping it fit on your Traeger. To keep the skin from turning too dark, loosely cover with foil once it reaches your desired color. Remove near the end and crank up the heat to about 350℉-375℉ to crisp the skin. My 2¢ worth, hope it helps...

 

[noboundaries]

Not to start any arguments, but a spatched 22 lb'er at those temps will take 3.5 to 5 hours as long as you can keep from peeking and releasing heat. I've smoked dozens of 18-25 lb birds. 16 lb'ers were rare around here (I had kids who were competitive swimmers who ate like 5000+ calories a day, so I always bought the largest turkeys in the freezer, 4-6 a year).

I never stuffed or basted the birds. I smoked them both whole and spatched.

The only one that took 7 hours was almost frozen solid when I loaded it in the smoker as an experiment.

 

[s1ickrick]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking 5 - 5.5 hours.

Any tips for crispy skin?

 

[Steve H]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking 5 - 5.5 hours.

Any tips for crispy skin?

Gonna Smoke has you covered on that question.