cooking a turkey?

Unknown

My husband and I tried cooking a 14 lb. turkey in our Egg for Easter Sunday but it never cooked (after 11 hours) The temperature was correct (we used our own temperature gage) and it only got up to 200 degrees after putting the turkey in the Egg. What are we doing wrong?[p]Thank you very much,
Mary Ann Zimmerman

stike

Mary Ann Zimmerman,
what was the dome temp?[p]have you done the bird in your oven before? sorry, stupid question, just trying to find out if you did anything different other than try cooking it in the egg.[p]if you tried smoking it, at 200 or 250, it would take a loooong time and not necessarily be better for it.[p]turkey in the egg would cook at the same temps as in your oven, say 350-ish.

Essex County

Mary Ann Zimmerman,[p]It's all about fuel and airflow. Did you have a sufficient amount of lump in the egg? Make sure you fill it to the top of the firebox. Leftover lump can be reused. Was there good airflow? Did you get it up to the desired temp (stike's suggestion of 350 sounds fine) before you started cooking? If not, there's a concern from the get go. If yes, then something happened to reduce the temp to 200 or so. Putting cold meat on a hot egg will bring the temp down for a while but it should recover if it was preheated. Were the vents, top and bottom, opened wide enough to keep sufficient air moving through? Is there ash or something else impeding that airflow? Is the cast iron grate in place in the firebox? I am assuming that you are cooking on a large or medium. If you're doing a 14 lb turkey on a small, maybe the bird itself impedes the air.[p]Please excuse these questions if they seem obvious but this is all I can think of without more info.[p]As stike says, cooking a turkey on the egg is not too different from cooking in your oven with regard to temp and time. Flavor? That's a different story. Turkey done on the egg retains more moisture and with a little smoke, you get a deep mahogany skin that is both beautiful and aromatic.[p]Hope this helps.[p]Paul

ToddB

As mentioned above, airflow is very important. I cooked two pizzas simultaneously on our large BGE two weeks back and, though the pizza plates were well ventilated (perforated), the top 15” plate blocked enough of the airflow to never allow the dome temperature above 250.

Thanksgiving, I cooked a 16lb bird and noticed that the top was partially blocked by the turkey.

Also, be certain to stir the spent ashes before lighting as there is a lot of things left behind from the previous cooking that can impede the oxygen from reaching the ambers.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes…

terrafirmay

Mary Ann Zimmerman,
I've cooked ten 12 to 15 pound turkeys in my large Egg during the last three years, including three test turkeys before I cooked our first Thanksgiving turkey. Stike and Essex County are right. I’ll add more: all heat control on the Egg is done with enough charcoal and good air flow. A whole turkey fills most of the dome and absorbs a lot of heat. That said, here, in random order, is what I do: 1. Remove all old charcoal and ashes from your Egg. Make sure the air holes are clear. Start with fresh charcoal and be sure to put the large pieces on the bottom so air flows through the fire. Use lots of fresh charcoal; fill the firebox and continue at least half way up the fire ring with charcoal. 2. Use indirect heat so the bottom of the of the roaster pan is protected and the turkey won’t burn. I use an inverted plate setter (legs up) so the turkey will fit in the dome but half thickness fire bricks (called "splits") on the cooking grid will work, too. 3. This is very important: preheat the Egg and the plate setter or firebricks for at least an hour. The turkey and the roaster pan will absorb a lot of heat when you add them and you want the Egg’s ceramic to be very hot. I preheat to 400 degrees because the temperature will fall when I add a large turkey. 4. Bring the turkey to room temperature. This is very important, too, because the turkey is large in relation to the size of the large Egg. Soaking the turkey in tepid water is safer than bringing it to room temperature on the kitchen counter. I have never started a turkey in an oven before transferring it to the Egg but I am sure it will work. 5. As Stike said, the Egg is an oven and if your Egg is hot and you have good air flow, any cook book’s recipe will work perfectly in about the same amount of time. I cook my turkeys at 400 degrees but you can reduce your Egg temperature to 325 or 350 if you prefer, after you preheat at 400 degrees. 6. I don’t stuff my turkey because I think it is more mass to heat. I don’t know what others do. 7. And finally: turkey cooked over hardwood charcoal is wonderful; absolutely worth the effort. Try lightly smoking it with fruitwood. We brine our turkey. Your next turkey will be wonderful, too.[p]****

terrafirmay

terrafirmay,
Another thought: if you have a BBQ Guru, you can set it to the cooking temperature you want. It's fan will keep air flowing to the fire while your turkey cooks. But you must still clean your Egg, start with lots of fresh charcoal, and PREHEAT for an hour. These things are very important and the Guru is not necessary for success.[p]****