Turkey Panic!

[mattu1665]

Put on a 20lb bird at 7am this morning and expected a 9 - 10 hour smoke. Been operating the temp between 300 and 325 to be sure to hit 140 mark in 4 hours. In just 2.5 hours the breast has an IT of 145. Do turkeys stall like other meats? If not this bird will be done 5 hours early! I'm going to drop temp down to 200.

 

[daveomak]

I'm going to drop temp down to 200.

Good idea.... That will allow the bird to come up to final temp without drying out...  You can foil and towel wrap the bird to keep warm also... Store wrapped bird in an un-iced cooler to keep warm...   Dave

 

[jarjarchef]

Dave is spot on......

If you want the skin crispy after you wrap and rest in the cooler. Place it in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 min.

 

[weberlamp]

If the breast gets done befor the rest of the parts you can put a damp towel on the breast, or tent it with foil to keep from drying out.