SPATCHED TURKEY WAS TUFF !!!!!

[goliath]

THIS IS MY 1ST TURKEY ON  SMOKER OF ANY KIND....

i spatched a 10 pound turkey friday morning, injected it and put it in the brine. i have had great success with this brine and doing chickens. i did the bird on my pellet smoker at about 225 to 245 until IT of 145, about 4 to 41/2 hours. cranked the temp up to 350 to finish it off to an IT of between 168 and 180 depending where ya took the temp.

Bird was moist and flavorful, BUT TUFFER THAN MY WORK BOOT!!!!!

the wife says what ever i did to the breast keep doing it, was so moist.....

the thighs separated easily, but the wings were ready for  flight, and the legs to the thighs were fastened tight and tough on too. the meat separated from the bones nicely ...

im stumped as i have oven cooked alot of turkeys before.

SHOULD I DO IT IN A PAN AND FOIL IT ?????

am i missing something, doing something wrong ... or was this just some ROAD HEN that was lookin for a fight till the end ...  CAUSE IT WAS TUFF   ....   HA HA HA

THANKS FOR ANY HELP

GOLIATH

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• goliath
• Apr 20, 2014

 

[knifebld]

Hey Goliath, was curious...did you ever figure out what went wrong?

 

[goliath]

NOPE

 and havent tried another one yet

chickens come out great ... coulda been the bird ...

 

[consigliere]

A bunch of what I've read on turkey those ITs are well overdone.  160-165IT pull it I think I remember.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I'd have to say that you went a bit over on the temp. I pull my birds when they hit 165. Then wrap and rest for 30-45 mins before carving. Never had a tough bird. I also smoke at a higher temp now too. Last spatched turkey I did in the UDS I ran the thing right at 325 for the entire smoke.

It could be the bird too. If it was old, or if it had been Sitting in the freezer to long that can contribute to the meat texture.

 

[consigliere]

Did some turkey breasts (bone-in and brined for 3hrs before) at about 250-300 this weekend.  Pulled after about 2hrs and 160IT.  Rested for a good long time, they were perfect.

 

[edward36]

Hey,

Just saw this post and want to contribute my 5 cents.

IMHO, brining the turkey is good but you could get so much better results if you injected the bird instead. I make turkey thighs and breasts quite often - in fact just last night couple of turkey thighs came off my WSM, I always inject the meat, and my most recent injection solution experiment, based on reduced beef stock, was an absolute knocker. Main injection points - breasts, thighs, drumsticks and thickest part of the wings.

Also, don't overcook. 170F is the most you want to keep that bird in the cooker. 165F will be just fine.

Good luck!

Ed

 

[woundedyak]

I would bet if you cook it at a higher temp, It would loosen up. Mine always turn out better on the kettle around 350. They like to be hit hot and heavy.