Smoked Turkey Question (Update w/ pics)

3

#3Rules

250+ Posts
I'm going to be doing my first smoked turkey for Christmas. Here's my question, have any of y'all ever done the turkey the day or night before it's to be served, refrigerate, and then serve. I'm thinking this wouldn't work out too well, but if anyone has done it, I'd be interested to know how it worked. My main concern is that it's my first time, and I don't want to hold up dinner because it's taking too damn long to get the temp up, etc.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
I have never done it, but I can assure you that it won't hurt the flavor of the turkey. Just make sure it is well wrapped before putting it away for the night, so the smoke does not funkify your fridge. I tend to think smoked turkeys come out pretty dry, so I hope you are making some gravy.
 
My main concern is that it would dry out the turkey. I'm not too worried about it being dry right out of the smoker, I'm definitely going to brine it.
 
I usually will plan to have the turkey done well before dinner time. When done smoking, wrap it in foil and let it rest at room temperature. It will stay warm for a good 3-4 hours, plenty of time to make sure everything else is in order. The added benefit is a long rest will alolw the juices to redistribute.
 
01 Grad is right. Just get up early enough to make sure it is done. If you are going to eat at 2, put the bird on at 8am. That will give you plenty of time. My last turkey took 3 1/2 hours. It really doesn't take turkeys long to cook.

If I was going to do what you suggested, I would go ahead and carve it up, cover it in foil, then put it back in the oven to reheat it, but I really think you will have more than enough time the day of the meal.
 
Thanks for the responses, I think I'll just make sure to get it on plenty early in the a.m. Also, I've read plenty of advise, and it seems most try to kick the smoker temp up in the 300 range for a turkey, is this right?
 
I usually try to run 325-350 in my weber smoky mountain for a 10 lb, butterball-type bird. Haven't tried anything larger. Rub w/ olive oil/ dry rub and put chunks of butter b/t the skin/ breast.

Some good tips here=

VWB
 
When I do a whole turkey, I also put 4 of the bone-in turkey breastesses on the bottom rack of the weber smoker. They get done at the same time as the whole bird on the top rack. I freeze them and use them for turkey salad and sliced turkey samiches. Only extra work is in the brining and assuming you have enough room in the fridge. When I do that much, I usually put them in a large cooler to brine.
 
I did my second turkey on Thanksgiving. It was a pre-brined bird in the 10 lb range.

I kept the smoker at about 300 degrees. It didn't take but about three hours.

I put it in an aluminum roasting pan breast side down and put about a 1/4" of chicken stock in the bottom. The bird was rubbed with canola oil and BBQ rub. Then I threw a half stick of butter in the cavity for good measure.

At about the two hour mark I flipped the bird to breast side up and sprinkled the breast with some more rub. At that point the skin on the whole top side of the turkey was still a whitish color and none too crisp (from being submerged in the stock) but over the next hour it browned nicely and crisped up a bit.

Got rave reviews from all who sampled it.
 
Couple of questions.

1) Why do you smoke a turkey at a higher temp than a brisket? What temp? 300?

2) WIth brisket you generally think ~250 for 1 hr per pound. What type of rule of thumb do you have for turkets at what temp?

3) Are you measuring the internal temp of the turkey? How do you know when it is done?
 
Yes, check the internal temp on a turkey. Your sucess hinges on not overcooking and drying out the breast meat. Pull it when the thickest part of the breast reaches 160, let it rest for at least an hour, bird will continue to cook and end up being around 165-170.

I personally smoke turkeyu in the 240-250 range and it works out to around half an hour to the pound.
 
Take the leftover smoked turkey, chop it up, and use it in a King Ranch casserole with red enchilada sauce.
It's fantastic.
 
Texas97, you have to cook it to a higher temperature to kill all the bacteria. If you smoke the bird at a lower temperature for a long period of time it is very easy to dry it out. It's done when it reaches 180 degrees.

The last bird I did I covered it in Miracle Whip and Tony Chachere's smoked over Pecan. It was good. Kind of spicy.

How did your's turn out #3?
 
I want to thank all of y'all for your replies. Everything worked great. I brined the bird in a salt/brown sugar water mix for 12 hours. I then let it rest uncovered in the fridge for about 12 hours. I rubbed it down with some veggie oil and random spices, put it breast side up in a aluminum roasting pan, and threw her on the smoker. It only took about about 3 1/2 hours for this 12 lb. bird at a smoker temp of about 300.

Here is the bird after about an hour on the smoker -

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Here's we are at the 3 1/2 hour mark -

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I pulled the bird from the smoker at this point, wrapped it in foil, threw it in a igloo cooler, and let it rest for about 2 hours. Here it is after I took it out of the cooler -


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The skin was a bit darker than I wanted it too be. I did cover it with foil about the last 1:15 in the smoker, but it still got pretty dark. Luckily it didn't affect the taste at all, as the bird was DELICIOUS!!! It was very moist and by far the best turkey I've had. F the oven!!!
 
# 3, if I could convince the wife to abandon ship on her folks (i.e. the people we see all the time 'cause nobody lives outside of a 10 mile range from her parents house)... I'd be knocking on YOUR door.

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This is frustrating ... I've had my turkey in for about 5 hours, and the temp probe in the breast shows about 130. I'm of the opinion that that's basically not physically possible
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. I actually cut open the breast, and the meat is cooked - white, juicy, juices flowing clear. I just don't understand the probe reading. I've checked several places - Io know I'm not in bone or fat, and that the probe works.
 
I'm coming over for leftovers.

This is going to be a great board. I am going to dabble in smoking meats in 2007, so this will be a valued resource.
 
I've never smoked a turkey, but it is now on my "to do" list. Seeing those pics brought back memories of smoked turkey legs at the fair. Now I'm drooling all over the keyboard.
 
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