Smoking turkey

[tallbm]

Here's a question...who prefers what type of smoking wood with turkey?

I most often do 65% Hickory with an even split of Cherry and Maple.
I also like Mesquite at about 70% with 30% cherry.
I also like 80% apple with 20% hickory.

It just depends on the mood or where I'm taking it. I like Mesquite myself but for flavor that suites the most people the Hickory, Cherry, Maple is what I lean on.

 

[zwiller]

For mine I use a blend of cob, PM blend, oak, and apple. I call it farm house blend.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I have been mainly using apple in the past but thinking about switching to hickory this year

 

[fivetricks]

Cherry and hickory for me. Good color, assertive smoker flavor.

 

[sandyut]

I have been using a hickory oak blend on pretty much everything. diggin it

 

[hardcookin]

I like using cherry.

 

[ShakeNbake]

Is it safe to smoke a whole 22 lbs bird? That is the smallest I could find at the local store. It will be on a pellet smoker using lumberjack fruitwood or pecan mix. Temp/time recommendation? Last year I did a 14 that was ok, minus rubber skin on a different pellet grill.

 

[fivetricks]

Sure. 325+ temps, I'd recommend spatchcocked for both time and even cooking.

 

[tallbm]

Is it safe to smoke a whole 22 lbs bird? That is the smallest I could find at the local store. It will be on a pellet smoker using lumberjack fruitwood or pecan mix. Temp/time recommendation? Last year I did a 14 that was ok, minus rubber skin on a different pellet grill.

Yeah and as fivetricks says, smoke at 325F or higher and you will be fine. This will also solve your rubber skin issue. Poultry skin is rubbery if it isn't cooked at a high enough temp and 325F should guarantee edible skin and possibly even crispy skin :)

I would also suggest brining the turkey and if you dont brine it then definitely inject it with an injectable marinade to avoid a dry turkey :)

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[mike243]

I plan on smoking mine for 2 hours on the PB with LJ comp blend then into a cooking bag and into the preheated oven to finish, works very well and no rubbery skin lol, seasoned as if just roasted also

 

[ShakeNbake]

Thanks for the replies, unfortunately the Yoder I got is a junker so it's being returned for a refund so no smoked turkey this year. Now to find a grill that is actually built with some semblance of quality, Yoder is not.

 

[pg77]

What type of smoker do you have?

Chris

Masterbuilt dual fuel propane 2 door

 

[Twops41997]

When smoking a whole turkey. Is it best breast up or down? And why.

 

[fivetricks]

Breast up, spatchcocked.

Because that's the side I put all the rub on :-P

 

[ShakeNbake]

What about non spatchcocked, cause I don't know how?

 

[tallbm]

What about non spatchcocked, cause I don't know how?

I put my bird on a vertical turkey rack so it is standing up BUT if just using traditional racks to lay a turkey down then breast up that way the juices from the breast are better held in by the bone and ribs supporting the breast meat and the skin locks in juices from the top side.

That is my take on it at least, not sure I have a whole lot of scientific reasoning behind those claims but it makes practical sense and the results seem to agree :)

 

[hardcookin]

I always do breast down for 2 hours. Feel the juices flow down to the breast meat.
After 2 hours flip breast up.
Usually don't spatchcock because most people want a whole bird presentation for Thanksgiving .
But spatchcock is the fastest & easiest.

 

[schlotz]

There is an easier way to get an excellent smoked turkey with yummy crispy skin too! A number of years ago I decided to use the gas grill with a rotisserie and the A-MAZE-N tube smoker. Set the grill to 350º, use indirect heat, ie no flame under the bird with the tube in the same area. If tight on room, you might have to tent some foil over the tube to prevent drips from putting out the pellets. Results are a moist smoked bird with great skin. FYI as usual, look for an IT of 165º in breast and 175º-ish in the thighs.

The rotisserie by itself does an amazing job of keeping the bird moist. One step better is to first brine the bird for 4-6 hours (or overnight). This further enhances the moisture content. Note: Do NOT stuff the bird.

 

[noboundaries]

When smoking a whole turkey. Is it best breast up or down? And why.

Hmmm. It's been a while since I did the breast down-flip-breast up thing. In fact, the first time I did it I left the breast down the entire time. Nice meat, lousy skin.

It was too windy to fire up the smoker today, so into the oven went big bird: pan roasting, no veggies or stuffing. I'll do the veggies later.

I did the flip thing (breast down for 90 mins, then flip) and so far it appears the technique puts the breast about 20-30F behind the dark meat, and that gap appears to narrow as the roast nears the end. America's Test Kitchen has a YouTube video about flipping but they don't say anything about juices, only the temp. I'm 3 hrs 20 mins into the roast of a 22.3 lb bird. 126F breast/147F thigh.

Edit update. The breast down then up is definitely to help time the two different finishing temps. When I first flipped the bird from breast down to up after 90 minutes, the breast was 57F IT, the thigh 88F. The difference got as large as 40F at one point after turning the breast up, but as the cook progressed, the two got closer and closer. Click the link below to see the pic.

Turkey plans-expect the unexpected and adapt

So I took a 22.3 lb Butterball turkey out of the freezer Sunday morning, putting it in cold water in a cooler to thaw over a day or two. Big 'uns like that can take longer than 24 hours. My wife asked when I was planning on smoking the bird. "Tuesday," I answered confidently. "You know, there's...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[ShakeNbake]

Ok, got a Pitts and spitts 850. Seems to work as it should. How should I prep the 9% solution turkey? Brine? Dry brine? Just rub and butter under skin? Breast down for 1-2 hours then up till done?