Immediate Help Needed! Smoking a turkey as I type...

[smokinginmaine]

I have been smoking a 15.5lb turkey for 4 hours now at 230F. My temp probe is telling me that the breast is at 174F. I read that a bird that size should take about 9 hours to smoke. Is it safe to assume my probe is junk? Any help is appreciated.

 

[chef willie]

hmmmm, doesn't sound correct. Do a quick boiling water test on the probe...should be close to 212 degrees. Some hand held ones can be calibrated by twisting the back to align the temp with the needle. My last turkey was 12 pounds and took 6 hours at a higher temp than 230.

 

[scarbelly]

Take your probe out of the bird and test it in boiling water to check the accuracy

 

[slownlow]

If your probe shows 212 in boiling water, I'd verify your smoker to make sure your cooking at 230  like you think your are.

 

[smokinginmaine]

So I tested the probe. It is accurate within a degree or two. I turned the turkey around to try the other breast. It's now reading about 159-161F and I'm a little over 4 hours of smoking at 230F for a 15.5lb bird. How would I verify the smoker temp? Leave the probe on the rack? Oh, in case I didn't mention, I'm using a MES.

 

[scarbelly]

Sounds like you might have hit a bone the first time you inserted the probe - to test the smoker temp stick the probe thru a piece of dowel  or something like it and let the tip stick out so it is not touching the rack or any other metal and you should be fairly close. I would have told you to use a potato if you were going to monitor it from the start of the smoke but the potato will give you a false reading for at least an hour until it warms up is my experience 

 

[SmokinAl]

Good luck!

 

[owlcreeksmoker4]

Sounds like either that smoker is a roaster or you hit the bone possibly

 

[venture]

Something is not right.

Either the smoker temp is off or the meat probe is off.

I always double check meat with an instant read stick therm.

I wish you luck my friend.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[elohel]

I think you probably hit the bone like others have said. I do that all the time without realizing it. If it's reading in the 150s in another spot, that's probably the temp it's at. If I recall correctly, the time it took to get from 155-165 was like an hour and a half for me, so you seem to be on target mostly.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Maine, Do just that. Check the grate level temp. with your probe( that has been calibrated and calibrate  the smoking unit  by adding or subtracting the amount you are off on the unit's therm. from what you had on the calibrated probe.    ie: probe is at 214*f in boiling water; place the bottom of the therm.(if it's one of those push and turn to lock in ,  therms.) or the tip at the end of the therm. when removed, and see what it reads. Take the difference in that one and subtract 214*f  from it and you'll know the temp. to record in your BBQ Record book   to know what your cooking temp. is...

Hope that helps,

Stan    aka    oldschool

 

[raptor700]

I hope everything came out well