Let's talk Turkey

RedFish

OK, now that everyone has done their holiday turkeys, I am going to try one. I have a 22 lb, turkey I plan to put on the large humpty. What would you suggest. I am a little scared of brining because I don't want it to turn out salty. I know it shouldn't be a problem, but I have family coming into town and need success. I was thinking maybe injecting. What are your thoughts? It is not a fresh bird. It is just an ol' frozen Jennieo bird from the local Kroger’s. Also, what would be times and temps to shoot for, so I know when I need to plan on putting him on the egg. Thanks for your help.

JSlot

Redfish,[p]Cook indirect at ~350° until the breast reaches an internal temp of 165°. My 15 pounders usually take about 3 hours, but I haven't really timed them. I'm sure you'll get some more ideas on how long it should take for that size bird. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.[p]Keep the smoke risin',
Jim

Wingnut

Redfish,[p]I did my bird at 500 for the first half hour and then at 350 for the remainder of the cook. The bird was sitting in a big tin pan on a roasting rack. As with JSlot the bird was done in 4 to 5 hours. [p]Good luck,[p]Wingnut[p]

Gloria

Redfish,
I like to do a turkey at 325° in a rack over a drip pan. I always use olive oil as a rub and then salt and pepper it and put a lemon inside along with an onion. I've never brined mine and they turn out really moist and tasty. It wouldn't hurt to cover the wing tips with a bit of foil.

Julie

Redfish,
Great minds think alike. I'm going to be Egging a turkey this weekend, too. I put mine on a vertical turkey roaster, spray it with Pam or the like, and put it on the grill (about 325 degrees). Sometime with a drip pan and sometimes without; also sometimes with wood chips and sometimes without. I use a digital thermometer and when it reaches about 170 degrees, it's done. The 10 pound turkey was done in about 2 hours. My 30 pound turkey took about 4 hours. It partially plugged the top hole so the air flow wasn't the greatest, but it was still good. Make sure you have the turkey in a some kind of pan when you cut it, or you'll have juice all over the place.
Julie

SSDawg

Redfish,[p]Brine it. Just lightly rinse it when you are done, and I promise it won't be salty.

Cornbread Willy

SSDawg, I second that. Brine it - you won't be sorry.

Shelby

Redfish,
I inject mine with a nice mixture of chicken brooth and butter seasoned with garlic and onion powder, Tony C's. Coat the outside lightly with oil, then pepper. I cook mine indirect at 350, using 10 min per pound as a rough guide but let a thermometer tell you when it's done. With a bird that size, you'll be hard pressed to use a vertical roaster. I use a drip pan under the grill and lay the bird flat on it's back, directly on the grill.