turkey revisited, top of dome temp.

kim

I'm still scratching my head as to why my bird 1) cooked fast 2) was dry. After brining this large 22#'er sitting on top of a broiler pan, the breast of the turkey was at the very top of the dome, but not touching. The BGE thermometer was also not touching, but scaped the breast, so I pulled it out approx. 2". So...was the bird actually cooking at a higher temp. than the therometer said? If so, could this have dried it out a bit? Not that it was terrible, everyone said it was still better than any oven baked bird. I just know it could be better.

Elder Ward

kim,
Two things come to mind. 1) I always cook birds breast down because the major fat pocket is on the back. This allows the fat to perculate down through the meat as it cooks and generally gives you the best moist meat. 2) Have you checked the dome thermomertor by boiling it in water to see if it is at 212 degrees and if not adjusting it and tighting the lock nut to hold it in place.
With birds I cook at 350 to 375 degrees and the juice just runs out of them, but I do monitor the bird with a polder and pull it when it gets to 161.
The other thing is to let the bird set for at least 15 minutes before cutting it. Last I never carve the bird until the second it is to be served. This is not for show. The juices literally leach out once the skin has been pierced and starts to dry out to some degree immediately.
Hope that helps.[p]If you got em smoke em.[p]Elder Ward

Tim M

kim,[p]The very top often is hotter than what shows on the thermo. I once took temp measurments in the chimney and found them higher than the dome temp - but that should not make it dry. What temp did you pull the bird out? Where did you have the internal meat probe, breast, thigh? Did you take a breast meat temp after you pulled it out to see what it was?[p]I am guessing that the breast meat temp was well over the 165° level and possably because the probe was down deep in an area that was not seeing the higher dome temps that the breast was. Just a guess[p]Tim

kim

Tim M,
BGE thermometer was calibrated in boiling water. I did not use a polder, but it has been added to my wish list. Temp was taken with an instant read termometer in the breast which was pulled at 165. Still, with brining, I thought a bit of overcooking would be forgiven. This 22# bird only took 5 hours! Also the drip pan, bird atop of broiler pan, was overflowing with juices that I wanted to stay in the bird. I have done frozen unbrined birds that turned out super juicy and moist. This is why I'm scratching my head. I just want to figure this out...drives me crazy, cuz I'm not sure yet what happened! Brine was 2 cups kosher salt 1 cup honey 2 gallons water, spices. Egg worked great in the 20 degree temperature!

Jethro

Elder Ward,[p]Nice to see your name on the active roster once again![p]Regards,
Jethro

Elder Ward

Jethro,
Thanks I lurk a lot these days. There is plenty of good advise and I can't see beating a subject to death. If somebody else pegged the issue or it is just a prefference thing unless I have something unique to add I just read and smile.
Elder Ward

sdbelt

kim,[p]My 20 pound, brined turkey cooked in 2 hours 15 minutes, with a dome temp of ~350. I can't imagine any turkey needing 5 hours in a BGE, unless the dome temp was well under 300. I actually pulled it with a white meat temp of 169, and worried about over cooking. The worry was for not: the juiciest bird I've ever had.[p]I would suspect that you cooked your bird from 1 to 2 hours too long, as it seems entirely possible that your bird was done after even just 3 hours, and was almost certainly done after 4 hours.[p]At what dome temp did you try to cook at? BTW, I pulled my dome therm up a bit as well, by moving the metal clip from inside the dome to outside, to ensure it didn't touch the bird, so I think this should be fine.[p]--sdb

Unknown

sdbelt,
I agree 5 hours at that temp was the problem, 3 1/2 to 4 hours should have been plenty of time.
Jim[p]

Wise One

kim, one other question comes to mind. How often did you open the egg to check the temp? I could be wrong but I think everytime you open the top, you allow some moisture to escape.

kim

Wise One,
good point and I thought about that. I did open more than usual to make sure my thermometer was not touching...it was not secured but seemed to stay in position. With all the help here, I believe I am ready to fire the greeny up again!