1st time smoking a turkey and I have information overload tips

LeroyBama

Hey y'all ! I will be smoking a 24lbs turkey for Thanksgiving and I have information on the process from two different spectrum's. I've done internet searches on this process all weekend and have read the previous post from you folks with the experience. Y'all say high heat and I have others as in friends say low and slow as in 225 degrees until internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Well at that rate it would take well over ten hours to smoke a 23 pound bird. My egg is the large so after reading post on here I don't think a spatchcock bird will fit which is something I thought about doing. The pressure is on so any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW I've smoked my share of turkeys on an electric smoker so I'm really looking forward to a better tasting one on my BGE this Thanksgiving. 

Kent8621

i do higher heat indirect 325-350ish with pecan wood.  dry brine with salt liberally over it the night before, you can make an easy compound butter with some garlic, rosemary and thyme and let it get solid overnight also.  cut it into slices and put it under the skin when cooking and melt some and dump over it halfway through.  i dont do stuffing inside, i do a couple onions quartered, a couple oranges and a couple lemons and celery.  that is my method and i sliced it up on my concave board, it is supposed to hold 2.5 cups of juice and it was spilling over.    here is a picture that BGE puts out every year hope that helps.  feel free to message me for any other tips.

Kent8621

i forgot to add i also injected mine with some melted butter right before it went on.

lousubcap

First up- welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.

@LeroyBama - Riding in with some level of messing about with turkey on a LBGE-  You are correct in that the spatch option is a non-player unless a very weird body shape.  So, given that approach is tossed then you are looking at a conventional turkey shaped cook on your rig.

Here's the key to success (aka getting the bird to fit)-pull the fire ring and build the cook on top of the fire box to get enough clearance.  Since the bird is now quite close to the fire- I run indirect at around 350*F on the dome.  Figure around 12-14 minutes / lb at 350*F on the dome and go.  Here's a link to some info to help with the cook

The theory to the actual turkey cook-time 

No worries about running out of fuel if you load close to the top of the fire-box.  FWIW-

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving.

Edit:  legs to the back and give the breasts around 20-30 min ice bath (zip-loc) before starting the cook. 

LeroyBama

Thanks Guys! The cheat sheet is exactly what I needed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Sea2Ski

As I just posted in another thread - try deboning it. It is amazing how much space that rib cage takes up.