Two 25 pound turkeys

[Tyler Anthony]

I am doing the turkeys this year for thanksgiving and I have two 25 pound turkeys. They are being brined but I am looking for some advice. I am doing them in a Oklahoma joe highland and I was planning for about 5 hours. Has anybody done this before and can give me some advice on how long and what to expect?

 

[texomakid]

I wanna see pics of these big birds when you get them rolling. Not that I don't believe you but those are big birds. Makes this 9 lbs bird I'm cooking look like a Cornish hen!

When it comes to turkey's I've bought in to what many here preach & teach - Hot & fast. I'm gonna cook my 9 lb'er for 3 hours @ 325 and then crank it up to 400 to finish it off. Looking for an IT of 160 (minimum.) I left the little red poppit in the bird to see when it popped and it did not. That tells me they're not reliable for when the turkey is cooked. In my case if I had relied on the poppet I would have over cooked and had a dry bird.

Did my test run last week and it was perfect. I'm not changing a thing!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Spatchcock those birds and cook at high temp (325-350). You will want to remove from the brine today, and air dry (uncovered) them in the fridge over night.

 

[Winterrider]

This ^^^^^ would be a very good plan

 

[JCAP]

I left the little red poppit in the bird to see when it popped and it did not. That tells me they're not reliable for when the turkey is cooked.

Yea these things are not reliable- I think they “pop” at around 180F!

 

[Workaholic]

If you run at 325°, I believe it is 15 minutes per pound. Not positive on that, but should be a good guesstimate. For birds that big, I agree spatchcocking would be best. Another thing that will play a huge part, is how even your temps are across that smoker. If they aren't very even, you'll need to plan on the birds swapping places halfway through. I don't know how modded your smoker is, so take this with a grain of salt. If possible, run 3-4 temp probes on the grates, so you know how even things are staying. Will also let you know if theres an issue and you need to get out there earlier than an hour apart, to feed it. Also want 1 probe in the breast and thigh (1 on each bird) to keep tabs on that. If you only have 6 temp probes, use only 2 at the grate, 1 at about the middle of each bird, and then the other 4 as mentioned for the birds themselves. If you are only using an instant read thermometer, well, I have no experience with that. I have ran an offset with a standard meat thermometer to test temps, and a dial oven thermometer for the grate. Not fun, but can be done, just have to check temps every hour to keep things going.

 

[Tyler Anthony]

I wanna see pics of these big birds when you get them rolling. Not that I don't believe you but those are big birds. Makes this 9 lbs bird I'm cooking look like a Cornish hen!

When it comes to turkey's I've bought in to what many here preach & teach - Hot & fast. I'm gonna cook my 9 lb'er for 3 hours @ 325 and then crank it up to 400 to finish it off. Looking for an IT of 160 (minimum.) I left the little red poppit in the bird to see when it popped and it did not. That tells me they're not reliable for when the turkey is cooked. In my case if I had relied on the poppet I would have over cooked and had a dry bird.

Did my test run last week and it was perfect. I'm not changing a thing!

 

[Workaholic]

Those are some good looking birds