First Smoked Turkey on the Egg for Thanksgiving

GaDadx3

I am planning to smoke my first Thanksgiving Turkey on the BGE.  I have purchased a 12.79lb turkey that already has a 4% solution of salt and spices according to the packaging so I am not planning to brine it.  For the wood, I picked up some pecan wood which I have heard is very good and mild for poultry.  I am planning to baste the turkey with some butter and seasonings prior to putting on the Egg. 

Now, for the actual cooking, I have seen methods for direct and indirect and low and slow at 225 (about 30/lb) and a little higher at 350 (about 15/lb) with a remove temp of 165.  I know when I do ribs and butts, I love the low and slow, so that is what I am thinking here with an indirect set up.  I would appreciate any advice you may have to help me make the perfect Turkey!  And, yes, I know...no pics or it didn't happen...I will be providing some!  :-)

SGH

Brother everyone has their preferred method when it comes to cooking certain things for various reasons. There is no right or wrong way. Just what produces the results that you are looking for. That said I find poultry responds very well to high temps. There is virtually no heavy connective tissue to break down or adipose to render down and this is why poultry turns out so well at high temps. Bite for bite poultry cooked at 225 is the same as poultry cooked at 325. The biggest exception being the skin. The higher temps produce much crispier skin. As such, I prefer to run poultry at least at 325 degrees. This produces excellent skin and reduces cooking time dramatically. I myself am fixing to cook over 50 pounds of turkey in the next little while. Going to run 325 degrees with heavy pecan smoke until a internal temp of 155 degrees. Going to heavily inject with melted butter and rub with salt, pepper and cayenne. Wish me luck brother.

GaDadx3

@SGH‌ Thanks for the feedback. Great info on the difference b/t the poultry and other meats, did not know that. Wow, 50 lbs of Turkey, you must be feeding a whole gaggle of folks.  Good luck!  I am excited about the pecan wood.  I have never smoked with it before, but have heard good things.  Happy Thanksgiving!

meturncl

Hey GaDadx3, I smoked 2 turkeys last weekend and they both turned out great. I was like you, very hesitant, hence I cooked 2 birds. The first one was a test for myself and the second was for a work lunch the next day. I setup the egg with the plate setter with legs up. Put a drip pan containing water and apple cider vinegar directly on the plate setter. Used Pecan for smoke and cooked at 300 until the temp probe reached 155 degrees. I stuffed the cavity with onions, garlic, lemons and apples, used a creole butter injection, put olive oil on the skin then salt and peppered.  They both turned out great. Smoking another turkey tomorrow. I posted a pic of my setup you can see I put the legs towards the back and breast looking forward.  Hope this helps. 

GaDadx3

@meturncl the set up in your pic is what I had in mind, although hadn't thought about face forward or back.  Dumb question alert...:-).  You mention you stuffed the turkey with onions, etc.  Is this strictly for flavor or do you eat it?  Also, you and @SGH mention removing the turkey at an internal of 155.  I have also seen minimum recommended temps of 165 F.  I assume taking it off about 155, it will continue to cook so you will be at around 165 F.  Is that your experience?

meturncl

The onions, lemons, garlic, apples was for flavor and to keep the bird from drying out.  I did remove at 155 and let it sit on the counter covered in tin foil, the temp did rise to 165.  The turkey I cooked for work, I cooked the night before, let it rest on the counter, carved it and then placed it in the fridge. The next day, I reheated it at work and it was gone in 20 minutes. People are still talking about how good it was. I would say good luck, but its really hard to screw this up.      

jtcBoynton

If you are looking for crisp skin, you may want to rethink the butter baste.

GaDadx3

@jtcBoynton‌ thanks for the tip. @meturncl‌ thanks for your confidence in me. ;-). I'll post some pics.

whta

What are the cook times for a 15 lb bird?  I was thinking around 325 - 350?

GaDadx3

@whta‌ mine is ~13 and I am planning 15-20 minutes per lb. So, I am thinking 4-4.5 hours. Good luck. Happy Thanksgiving!

GaDadx3

Ok. The turkey is on.

Smoke Pole

Today I am thankful for my BGE and wireless thermometers. Put a 20lb on last night at 11:30. Still smoking at 212 grid temp with Hickory and Apple Wood mix. Internal just touched 158. Anticipation is building.

snakedriver

whta said:

What are the cook times for a 15 lb bird?  I was thinking around 325 - 350?

Mine was 14.8 lbs and three hours flat produced an internal temperature of 165° at 325° dome here.
Egg was stabilized and plate setter legs up, 1/2" foil balls, then a 16" deep dish pizza pan for drip, with wine and a quartered onion and celery cut into inch segments.

Royal Oak lump with apple wood chunks. Smell is fantastic. Let's eat!

snakedriver

Oh, and bird was on a v-rack sitting on the drip pan (above the wine level).

Jerry