Smoking a 14 lb. turkey

[tjndnd]

Hi all,

Relatively new to the forums, and to smoking, and would love some advice on smoking a turkey.

Instead of a ham for this upcoming Easter, my parents gave me a 14 lb. turkey that my wife and I are now obligated to cook.  I really want to smoke this, but it would be my first time doing a turkey. 

At the risk of getting laughed at by the purists - as of now my only smoking appliance is a vertical Masterbuilt gas smoker.  As I don't want to even risk serving a contaminated bird to my family & extended family - I plan on spatchcocking it prior to the smoke.  The issue is that I don't think my smoker has enough square footage to accommodate a bird "laid out".  A stupid question, but aside from aesthetics - is there any downside to cutting the bird in half prior to smoking (aside from reduced cooking time)?

Also, I plan on brining the turkey prior to cooking, so I might cut it in half prior to the brine to make things a little more managable.  Any advice, tips, or feedback from a more experienced smoker would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

TJ in Chicago

 

[dougmays]

Hey TJ,

How hot does your smoker get? For poultry your not really breaking down fat and muscle like you are in tougher cuts like shoulders and briskets, so ideally you smoke the turkey at least at 275 or higher. if your smoker can maintain this heat you should have no problem getting it up to temp in the first  4 hours to avoid contaminating it and this would mean you wont have to spatch cock it. 

i would let the bird go for 4 hours them prob the breast to see where your at. There are other tricks people on here use like putting a bag of ice on the breast 30 mins before cooking to have the breast at a lower temp then the rest, this will help avoid drying out.

do a search on here for Slaughter House brine...it's a pretty good recipe.

Any more specific  questions as away :)

 

[tjndnd]

Hi,

I can get it up to 275 without any problems.  The only issue is that I have to open the door quite a bit unfortunately to replace the wood chunks (the tray is tiny), so it's very hard to maintain the heat. I'd also like to have an earlier dinner if possible - so I might stick with spatchcocking even if the contamination factor isn't really an issue anyway.

Thanks for the info on the brine - I will check that out! 

Do you have any tips or tricks I should be aware of for spatchcocking.  I could probably fit the spatchcocked bird upright if I could find a way to get it to stand up.  The other option would be to smoke it in two pieces, however I don't know how that affects the moisture levels of the meat and consistancy.

Thanks again!

TJ

 

[oldschoolbbq]

First, T.J. ,I haven't had the pleasure of a Howdy and welcome to our part of the World.

Seems TJ has you covered . There are several ways to do that Bird and one of my favorites is standing on a Turkey stand or TallBoy Beer can .  However you decide to cook the Fowl, We hope you have a few Q-view to share with us...

   

.

AS always  , have fun and... 

 

[chef willie]

Love smoked turkey....and u should be able to leave the bird whole but truss it up good. Tying legs tight against the body helps keep the breast moist (so I've been told). Regardless, here's a link to one I did in a Master Forge upright gasser....an el cheapo unit I started out with but did some very good smokes in. Welcome to the SMF...use the search bar...type in turkey for loads of info http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/103692/smoked-turkey-in-the-master-forge-gasser-w-qview

 

[pgsmoker64]

Brine it in the Slaughterhouse Brine (my favorite) whole...put it in the smoker 275 - 300 again whole. Should only take about 4 hours.  Probe the breast and leg for temp.  165 IT is what you need at the breast so you could pull it a little before that and cover well with foil.  It will continue to cook and reach the 165 IT.  The dark meat will look pink...don't let it scare you.  You should see about 175 - 180 on your legs...that says they are done.  The pink color is a result of the smoking process on the dark meat!

Good luck!

Bill

 

[dougmays]

i've never spatchcocked so i dont have any tips for you on that part :/ But as PGSmoker64 said....a whole turkey should only take 4 hours, 5 at most if your over 275. So you might not be saving that much time.

i dont have a gasser but i know alot of people replace the factory wood tray with a small cast iron skilled...this allow wood to burn slower and larger pieces can go in it. so you might want to look into that.

also try the ice on the breast technique 30 mins before your smoke...really helps keep that breast moist and not overdone

good luck! can't wait to see!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

The last turkey that I did in my GOSM took just under 5 hours (16#) running the smoker at 275* I had to open the door several times, do to some stupidness on my part. My smoker seems to recover fairly quickly, but if worried about that, turn it up a bit prior to opening the door. You can spatchcock and halve if you need to. Lay the halves bone side down on the grates. Definitely brine the bird. I haven't spatched a turkey so can't give you a time frame.

 

[jaguarken]

I use the Slaughterhouse Brine, but increase it to 2 gallons for a Turkey and adjust the seasonings accordingly.  One change I made was to increase the salt amount.  I also go by weight, not by volume.  This ensures you get the right concentration of salt.  I put 16 oz of Kosher sea salt into 2 gallons of water.  I admit the first time I did this I was very worried about the amount of salt I was putting in that water and it was the first major smoke for my out of town relatives who came over for Christmas.  It was by far the best turkey I ever had and this was backed up by their compliments as well.  The breast was very moist after brining for 24 hours and resting for 36 hours).  We had an oven roasted turkey too, but it was a very lonely bird....

I also use the Simon & Garfunkel seasoning inside the cavity (equal parts Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme).  Be sure to use coarse/chopped and not ground seasonings for this one.

Good Luck!