My duty is the turkey. It's 18 lbs. And I'm a new at this.

[TexasHayden]

Got my prebrined fresh turkey from Whole Foods. I've read dozens of articles, some in this forum, that say to smoke the bird at 225, some 250, and some at 275. Any advice on temp setting and duration? We're eating at 4 PM Central.

 

[chilerelleno]

Spatchcock the bird, wash and pat it dry, rub with butter and apply favorite seasonings.
Smoke over favorite wood at 350°-375° until the breasts IT is 165°, approx 3-4 hours depending on size of bird.
And that's the simple version.

Man I tell ya, this is one of those situations where ya line up six people and get six different answers.

 

[noboundaries]

Yep, follow Chile's advice. I do several turkeys a year, most between 16-20 lbs. 18 lbs is my favorite weight. I've had them finish is as little as 2 hrs 45 minutes, to a long as 4 hrs 30 minutes. Temps are never exact in a smoker, but here are my results for the three I've done this year.

18.98 lbs, average chamber temp 354F, spatched, done in 4 hrs, 5 minutes.
16.29 lbs, " " " 335F, left whole, done in 3 hrs, 15 minutes.
16.06 lbs, " " " 307F, left whole, done in 3 hrs, 35 minutes. I didn't add enough hot charcoals to my cold ones so the chamber never got up to where I wanted it, but it was still delicious.

 

[bmudd14474]

Personally id do 300-325 for and should take about 3.5 hours. But give yourself 4.5 hours. Then the bird has a good rest period.

 

[old golfer guy]

Chili, I hate to say this but you are wrong! If you asked 6 people about smoking a turkey you would get at least 9 different answers. Intended to bring a little chuckle.
I am doing a spached 12 pounder at 250 for ABOUT 12mins. per lb.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone

 

[chilerelleno]

Chili, I hate to say this but you are wrong! If you asked 6 people about smoking a turkey you would get at least 9 different answers. Intended to bring a little chuckle.
I am doing a spached 12 pounder at 250 for ABOUT 12mins. per lb.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone

:D
This is true, I could give'em 2-3 different ways to turn out a good turkey.

 

[TexasHayden]

The finished result! Popped it in at 7:15 this morning, took it out roughly 3:15, carved it and served at 4. Juicy and delicious!

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

That's a great looking bird.
Seem like a long cook time 8hrs??

 

[TexasHayden]

Yes it was a long time but it was an 18 pound bird. Supposed to cook 30-45 min/per pound and I fluctuated the temperature because it seemed to be heating up quicker than expected. Here in South Central Texas, the outdoor temp was 50 in the morning but warmed to 60 quick so I had to turn the temperature down. Was delicious!