Turkey Help

Unknown

What did I do wrong?
I had a 25.63lb turkey. I brought the egg up to 350°. Let it stand there for 45mins. PLaced the bird in the egg indirect, closed the lid and watched the temp at the lid drop to 200°. I opened the bottom slide and brought the temp back up to 350°. After 4 1/2 hrs bird is way over done.

15 min/lb 6.4 hrs
20 min/lb 8.5 hrs

Callibrated temp probe 2 days ago.
Probe was not touching bird.

What did I do wrong.

Jason

Fidel

What you didn't do is monitor the internal temperature of the bird. Never cook to a time, that method will fail you. I always use a meat probe when I am cooking any large piece of meat. That way if it is cooking faster or slower than I want, I know it and can adjust accordingly.

Even if the probe wasn't touching the bird - it was awfully close, and probably giving you a falsely low reading.

If your temps are stabilized - when you put the meat in they will come back. The adjustment you made ran the temp up even though the thermometer wasn't showing it.

thirdeye

Well, Fidel is most likely right about the probe being too close to the bird. But in addition, 25# of cold turkey (or any other mass) introduced into a heated vessel, like the Egg, sort of steals the heat for awhile. If you over correct by changing the vent settings too soon, you will be roasting it much high than you had planned.

PhilsGrill

My .02 worth. I do a 24 lb bird at 325 in 2.5 hours using a meat probe, no stuffing. I can believe 4.5 hours at 350 will be way over done. You must cook by temperature, not time on the egg.

mad max beyond eggdome

no offense but how do you do a 24 pound at 325 in 2.5 hours?. . . i've been doing 24 pound birds for almost 30 years now in the oven and the egg, unstuffed (i do put cut up stuff in them but its loose enough not count as 'stuffing')at 325 degrees, and they always take a good 15 minutes per pound, or a good 6 hours. .. .how do you do it at half that time at the same temps??

PhilsGrill

I went back and check my notes, 20 lb bird was 2.5 hours, 24 lb bird was 3.5 hours. Really, did it your way too. Turned out perfect. 6 hours... not for me.

mad max beyond eggdome

hey, if it works, it works .... conventional wisdom says 15 minutes per pound at 325. ..all the more reason to have meat probe in that bird and keep an eye on it though to make sure it doesn't overcook, dats for sure!! ...

PhilsGrill

Only thing I can think of is that I do not pull my bird from the fridge and prepare. I have always, always let it sit in water overnight to thaw. When I prep the bird it is definitely at room temperature. I would assume this would amount to at least a 1 hour savings.

Here is your method, 24 pounder and yeah, only 3.5 hours.

stike

what temp is the water?

if the water is room temp.....

mad max beyond eggdome

that, and your's is much more exposed up in the dome than mine is. . . mine sits lower down, both in the roasting pan and in the egg. .. .could make a difference, but i doubt a "double-the-time" difference. ..but who knows. . .again, all the more reason to watch the temps as it roasts. .. .as long as you are happy with the results, thats all that counts. .. .

PhilsGrill

I don't know, pretty much just cold tap water. When thawed I know it sits at least an hour on the island as I prep. So pretty much room temperature. Have always done this for the past 35 years. Works for me.

PhilsGrill

I see yours in on the bottom of the pan, mine is on the V-rack, which could make a difference with heat circulation.

Grandpas Grub

On my large a 23# bird will tough the bird. I had to turn the bird so the probe would not hit or go into the bird and if I recall I raised the probe some out of the egg.

Following Max's recipe, my bird cooked a lot quicker that I thought it would. I started the bird at 50° breast temp. What I didn't do was wright down the cook time.

However, I always use a dual probe thermometer and monitor the grate temp as well as the bird temp and cook to temp. There are times when I have to tell folks the cook will be done when the temp is right.

GG