Turkey Temps

[ron50]

I haven't smoked a big bird in a while so I'm not up on the latest thoughts about smoking temps.

From what I remember I use to smoke it at about 325 degrees to get some crispy skin on the bird.

I am going to brine it using my maple syrup/ orange juice brine and will be injecting it too with a mixture of melted butter, chicken broth, maple syrup and onion and garlic powders.

What's everyone using as a smoker temp for their big birds? I'm also thinking of spatchcocking it. How much is that going to cut down on cooking time?

Thanks.

Ron

 

[civilsmoker]

If you are looking for a “Norman Rockwell” turkey experience I would suggested you remove a section of backbone like this….

Then roast/smoke it at 335 on the smoker rack not in a pan, it will only take about 3.5 hours plus or minus to get uniform skin, rotate the bird at the 1/2 mark and you may also need to wrap the wing tips at the 3 hr mark with foil…… here are the stats when I pulled the bird above…..

Oh and the finished shot….. this was a 20lb turkey…

Note how I truss the legs…… the key to this cook is the cavity air flow…it alowes the breast meat to rise quicker and at the right ratio to the legs and wings. I do all my whole birds this way now! I have done several 20 lbers this way with very similar and consistent timing…..PS the skin is crispy goodness!

This bird was wet brined for 24 hrs as well

 

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

Civil you didnt mention to what temp you cook the bird to. I do mine very similar to you and cook breast to 157 F. I like to brine one and inject the other.