20lb turkey on Large Egg? Newbie questions.

ccoffey

Hey guys. I have cooked ribs, chickens and pork butt so far on my new egg and all have come out great. I am thinking of doing a turkey for Christmas but my family wants a 20lb one. Can I do a 20lb turkey on a Large Egg? Will it fit? Most of the recipes I see are for smaller birds in the 12-15 pound range. Also curious if I can put it straight on the grid with the drip pan underneath instead of using a roasting pan and a rack.

Any answers, advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

rmr62

I'm sure you will get much better answers than mine, but I have a large and usually do 14 or 15 pounders with room to spare.  For Thanksgiving, I did direct, whole bird, just used some oil on skin and a concoction of my favorite rubs / spices, and it was great.  However, I have done spatched, direct and indirect on different cooks so there is a lot of variation that would work.  You could buy one and fit it in before you unwrap just to get a size check

RRP

20? SURE! I've shoehorned in a 26.5 pounder! Just remember to take that retainer clip off the backside of your dome thermometer so that you can remove it and after closing the dome reinsert the thermometer easily making sure you don't impale the bird. Gravity will keep the thermometer in place!

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Regarding  a 20 lb turkey-you can cook it indirect on the grate with an air-gapped off the platesetter drip pan.  Make sure you remove the dome thermo clip and run your thermo thru a wine cork on the outside of the BGE to get clearance.
Depending on the body structure of the bird, if the above doesn't fit, then I have pulled the fire ring and put the platesetter on the fire box to get a 22 lb one to fit.  Had plenty of fuel with filling close to the bottom of the ps.  FWIW-

ccoffey

Thanks for the answers. What do you find is the best dome temp to use? 325 or 350? How long does it generally take? Do you just cook to 160 or 165 internal? Thanks again.

RRP

same as the oven instructions - 325 dome to 160 -165 breast or 185 thigh

lousubcap

I shoot for around 350*F indirect- I loosely toss some aromatics in the cavity if not spatchcocking the bird.  Figure on around 12 mins/lb at that temp.  Go til the breast is around 155*F and thighs in low 180's.  I place some ice on the breasts for around 20 mins before starting the cook and that seems to help set up the temperature differential.  Also legs to the back as that is the hottest area of the BGE. 

fiver29

Mad Max Turkey is far and away the best turkey ever!

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm

Monty77

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm

Hopefully this helps you out, its a great recipe and I have made several 15-20 pound birds this way in my large.   

Here is my turkey I made for my family yesterday using this recipe, this was on the XL





Good luck and enjoy!  

EGGcellent_Smithers

I did a 20-pounder for Thanksgiving on the Large BGE, so yes, it's easily done. I set up with full load of lump (almost up to platesetter with 3 chunks of apple wood. Platesetter legs up, a wire cookie cooling rack for an air gap, then a tin foil drip pan (folded up at corners to fit on the egg). Put a V-rack in the foil pan with the bird breast side up. 350 Dome temp, cooked till breasts were 165. Took only 2.5 hours. My only bird prep was to coat with salt and pepper the night before, then the morning of stuffed cavity with a quartered apple, quartered onion, and halved lemon. Coated breasts with 2 sticks of butter, softened and mixed with rosemary , sage, and thyme. No other liquids or basting. Came out moist and delicious!

Ron Burgundy

One side note - a 20lber will sit very close to the dome lid and will get a lot of heat reflected on the breast. Keep an eye on it and have some foil ready to cover the breast as it can turn dark to even burnt looking very quickly. Voice of experience!

ccoffey

I have heard a few people mention this air gap. What is that? I usually use the plate setter and put the drip pan right on it when doing pork or ribs. Sounds like the air gap is something between the plate setter and the foil pan?

SmokeyPitt

ccoffey said:

I have heard a few people mention this air gap. What is that? I usually use the plate setter and put the drip pan right on it when doing pork or ribs. Sounds like the air gap is something between the plate setter and the foil pan?

Just some kind of spacer to elevate the drip pan off of the hot plate setter.  You could use balls foil, copper T's, stainless nuts, or a cooling rack.  Just something so the drippings aren't "sizzling" the entire time. 

FWIW I think a roasting pan and rack sitting on spacers on the plate setter works well as shown in @Monty77 's pic above.  This allows the bird to sit down in the egg a bit more.  

Carolina Q

Remember, the egg is many things - and one of them is an oven. There are any number of ways to roast a bird (and you will experiment as you learn), but one of those ways is to roast it just like you would in your kitchen. At the same temp you always use.

You can spatchcock the beast too. I did one for Thanksgiving at 400° direct (no platesetter) with the grid raised to gasket level. It was only 12 lbs or so and it fit my large easily. Don't know if a 20 pounder would fit a large splayed out like that. Spatched birds take a lot less time too.

Most folks shoot for 175° thigh and 160° breast. Or so. Be sure to orient the bird so the legs point toward the hinge. It's hotter back there.

Oh, and be careful if using smoke wood. It's easy to overdo with poultry.

thetrim

Mad Max is a thing of beauty.  That is the way to go IMO!

ccoffey

Thanks for all your advice, suggestions. I always learn a ton on here. A friend of mine suggested brining the turkey following the recipe in the link below. Anyone tried something like that? What were your results? Would you say that or the Mad Max method is better?  Thanks!

http://bbqpitboys.com/recipes/apple-cider-turkey#.VnmjtJODFHx