Smoking Turkey WSM 14.5"

[jakester]

I will be smoking a 12# bird on my 14.5" Weber Smokey Mountain. My question is it better to smoke it on the upper or lower grate?

If I do the upper grate the bird will be very close with the dom of lid, were talking about 1" or so.

 

[cornman]

I did a whole turkey once on my 14.5 WSM and had the bird up on the top rack. It was a tight fit but it came out great. I have the link from the post on this site:

My first all out smokefest for Christmas Eve

Wasn’t sure where to post this so I put it in this forum...apologies if it should go somewhere else. We had family over for Christmas Eve and were going to need a fair amount of food. I smoked an 11 lb. pork butt and turkey my son got as his Christmas bonus. Early Saturday morning I started...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

My suggestion is to try the top rack, but if it doesn’t fit cleanly with the lid on, go to the bottom rack. If you have an inch clearance around the lid like you mentioned, you should be good to go. Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!

 

[normanaj]

I've found the best way to do a larger chicken or a smaller turkey in the 14.5" WSM is "beer can" style on the lower rack,you have plenty of room and with the dark meat closer to the heat source it will cook to higher temp than the breast which is what you want.

Put whatever liquid you want in the can including beer of course.I add a layer of sand to the water pan and foil over the whole thing and use it to catch drippings.The sand will help to keep your drippings from burning if you're going to use them otherwise just foil the pan.The liquid in the beer can will provide enough moisture to keep the meat moist and the skin will come out nice and crispy.

 

[jakester]

I did a whole turkey once on my 14.5 WSM and had the bird up on the top rack. It was a tight fit but it came out great. I have the link from the post on this site:

My first all out smokefest for Christmas Eve

Wasn’t sure where to post this so I put it in this forum...apologies if it should go somewhere else. We had family over for Christmas Eve and were going to need a fair amount of food. I smoked an 11 lb. pork butt and turkey my son got as his Christmas bonus. Early Saturday morning I started...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

My suggestion is to try the top rack, but if it doesn’t fit cleanly with the lid on, go to the bottom rack. If you have an inch clearance around the lid like you mentioned, you should be good to go. Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!

Did it really take you 8 hours to smoke that turkey? What temp did you smoke it at?

 

[jakester]

I've found the best way to do a larger chicken or a smaller turkey in the 14.5" WSM is "beer can" style on the lower rack,you have plenty of room and with the dark meat closer to the heat source it will cook to higher temp than the breast which is what you want.

Put whatever liquid you want in the can including beer of course.I add a layer of sand to the water pan and foil over the whole thing and use it to catch drippings.The sand will help to keep your drippings from burning if you're going to use them otherwise just foil the pan.The liquid in the beer can will provide enough moisture to keep the meat moist and the skin will come out nice and crispy.

I don't have sand. Is it better to leave the water pan empty or add water? I don't need to save the drippings.

 

[texomakid]

I agree, if it will fit even with minimal clearance I'd load it on top. I'm planning to rotisserie a bird on my WSM 22 tomorrow. Let us know how your bird turns out!

Quick edit : I never use water in my WSM. I just cover the pan with foil.

 

[jakester]

Is there a benefit not using the water pan? Is it easier to control temp?

 

[normanaj]

I don't have sand. Is it better to leave the water pan empty or add water? I don't need to save the drippings.

Putting water in the pan doesn't hurt anything you just won't get as crisp a skin as you may like.

I'd just foil it and smoke your bird to temp.

 

[jakester]

I do have a sittin turkey holder that I haven't used it, might be a good idea to use it tomorrow. Just wonder how that would mess with my smoking time.

What time do you smoke your bird at?

 

[cornman]

I remember that smoking session and it was a marathon as I was really new to smoking at that point. It was about 8 hours but I don’t remember the temp I was running (if I didn’t say in the post, I apologize...it was several years ago). I remember having issues getting the pork to finish overnight in the cold rain, but once I got the turkey going it was just a matter of letting the smoker do its thing (I was thankful because I could sleep a little).

I did a turkey breast this summer and it took about 5 hours to cook. I posted that too. The skin was on the crispy side and meat was juicy. I’m just letting you know that they were both delicious but it did take some time and you may have different smoke times. I try to smoke poultry in the 250-275 range now that I’m starting to get more comfortable with my smoker over the years. I also don’t use water in the pan now like I did when I first started. Even though we’re both using the same equipment, different factors can affect your smoke time compared to my experiences.

Sorry for the lengthy chat, I get long-winded sometimes. I hope your bird comes out great. Let us know what you did...it’s all about sharing and learning from each other. I’m always reading this site to improve. Happy Thanksgiving !