Smoking a 14lb bird

[tacosmcgee]

Hi all. I smoked a turkey today to an internal temp of 158 then let it rest for 30 minutes

when I went to carve it, the meat looks good but I am seeing some pink liquid inside as I am going to cut the first leg off. I just put it under a foil tent snd in the oven at 300. How long until I should be safe?

 

[kruizer]

Birds should be roasted til 165 and then rested. You can go to 180 and still be good.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Its safe now...Just heat it to your liking. Longer you go the more tender the leg will get...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

Did you have the therm in the thigh or the breast? If in the breast it should be good to go, but if it was in the thigh then it is probably undercooked. That’s why we spatchcock all our birds, they cook much more evenly. Thighs need to cook to 170-180 to be tender, if you go over 165 in the breast it will be dry.
Al

 

[uncle eddie]

Agree with ^^Al^^

One thing I do when I smoke whole turkeys is to set the legs loose...pull them out away from the body instead of being tucked up tight to the bird. That seems to work fine. As I am the only dark meat eater in my family, I can attest that this method satisfies me.

 

[tallbm]

Since probe placement can easily be imprecise I always take my birds to like 162-165F in the breast to ensure it is cooked but not dry.
It's always helped me make completely cooked birds that weren't over cooked :)