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Uneven cook with turkey?

CANMAN1976
CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
in EggHead Forum
So cooked a 10lb turkey yesterday and once again had issues with the breasts being done way sooner than the dark stuff. Breasts were at 170 and the thighs at 140-150 or so.I actually took the turkey off removed the breasts and continued to cook the dark meat on the egg for awhile longer...what a pain in the ass that was!!!

Yes I iced the breasts but it didn't help much. I was using a shallow roaster (to catch drippings) maybe this slowed the lower parts of the turkey from cooking as fast? Can you cook a turkey upright almost like beer can style  to cook the darker meat faster?

Any suggestions as to how to get a more even turkey cook??

Jamie.
Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****? 



Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
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Comments

  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    edited May 2014
    Did you truss it?  Trussing tries to make an even hunk of meat, and seems logical, but in reality, it works against us.

    I remove any plastic pieces or wires holding the legs together, and allow the turkey to sit in a roasting pan with legs and wings falling more open.  This allows them to cook from all sides, while the more massive breast cooks a little more slowly. It also gives you much more skin exposed to the heat, and browned skin is a plus in my book.

    Since doing this, I have never needed to ice the breast.  I simply do not truss it.  Trussing causes the very problem it purports to solve: uneven cooking. You WANT uneven cooking.  You want the legs and wings to cook more quickly.
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    Seneca Falls, NY

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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,584
    x2 on what senaca said, and put the turkey in the egg with the legs facing the hot spot which is usually toward the hinge, you can start the fire towards the back as well to guarantee the hot spot is hinge side
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    Get over the issue of presentation, it is all about the taste, right? Part out the bird into five or six pieces. 2 X wings, 2 X leg/thigh, 2 X breast OR 1 X whole breast. The legs can hit the grid 20 minutes before the breasts with the wings going on last. (Hard to overcook chicken wings - but not my experience with turkey wings) Always a perfect cook. 

    Easier to move around/flip. Easier to do the final carve. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • MagicMike
    MagicMike Posts: 40
    Was the turkey sitting in the pan or was the pan under the turkey? If the turkey was sitting in it I wonder if the pan was acting as a heat deflector for the bottom half of your turkey. What I do when cooking a turkey is cook it breast side down until the turkey is about half way done, then flip the turkey breast side up for the 2nd half of the cook. Not only does this help with even cooking but the breast meat will also be more juicy and tender. 
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Did you have the legs toward the back of the egg?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • grege345
    grege345 Posts: 3,515
    Spatchcock turkey will fix that. You'll need a cleaver to get the spine out
    LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos

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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    Make sure you're stabbing the meat in multiple areas to get representative temps..  Doesn't make sense it would have that much disparity in temperature....turykeys naturally cook the dark meat faster than the white.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    Checked multiple places with the thermapen 140 others 150's.Legs where towards back but the roaster depth altered the normal heat flow.

    The legs were tied together so maybe that was part of the problem as well? Done many spatchcocks but I needed the dripping for gravyand a place to stuff my dressing so spatch was out!


    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****? 



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
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  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    edited May 2014
    re:  "Hows ya gettin' on me ol ****?

    I have an acquaintance who hails (or hailed) from Newfoundland, so I think I know what you mean.  But for those that don't, I'd suggest that a much needed, precisely located comma would really clarify the expression. "How's ya gettin on(comma), me ol ****?"

    Unless of course you actually are asking someone to climb aboard.
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    SenecaTheYounger said:
    re:  "Hows ya gettin' on me ol ****?

    I have an acquaintance who hails (or hailed) from Newfoundland, so I think I know what you mean.  But for those that don't, I'd suggest that a much needed, precisely located comma would really clarify the expression. "How's ya gettin on(comma), me ol ****?"

    Unless of course you actually are asking someone to climb aboard.
    I'm glad you had the grits to say something.  I'm comfortable with "alternative" lifestyles and just assumed the literal.... ;)
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    ****, Cockey and Cokerel are commonly used as a man to man greeting in Newfoundland. Think buddy ore pal.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    edited May 2014
    Steven, that's not at all what I was saying. I understand that, and said so.

    I fully comprehend the expression that "****" means "mate" in Newfoundland speak (which I alluded to).

    I'm simply saying that the poor grammar (lacking a very important comma) turns it from a sentence asking his mate "How are you getting on?"  into one where he is beseeching an unnamed individual to climb onto his erect male member.

    Commas are very important.




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  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    SenecaTheYounger said:
    Steven, that's not at all what I was saying. I understand that, and said so.

    I fully comprehend the expression that "****" means "mate" in Newfoundland speak (which I alluded to).

    I'm simply saying that the poor grammar (lacking a very important comma) turns it from a sentence asking his mate "How are you getting on?"  into one where he is beseeching an unnamed individual to climb onto his erect male member.

    Commas are very important.




    Anything for you cockey:)
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****? 



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    SenecaTheYounger said:
    Steven, that's not at all what I was saying. I understand that, and said so.

    I fully comprehend the expression that "****" means "mate" in Newfoundland speak (which I alluded to).

    I'm simply saying that the poor grammar (lacking a very important comma) turns it from a sentence asking his mate "How are you getting on?"  into one where he is beseeching an unnamed individual to climb onto his erect male member.

    Commas are very important.





    Yes, I saw that but I can't edit posrs in IE

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Nor can I correct in spell check

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    @canman1976:  I was just being facetious.  Hope you were not offended.  I am not very skilled at humor on a personal (i.e. inter-personal) level.

    @steven: I did not know they still had Internet Explorer. If you are having trouble editing posts, it may also be because your dial-up modem is being affected by line noise.  If you upgrade from 28k to the newer 56k modems, I believe you will find many of your connectivity issues would resolve. The newer technology permits better retraining and fallback, and can renegotiate midstream. Do you mind if I ask, what is the weather like in 1994?

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    It's only happens at work and I believe the modem is 56K. If it was still 1994 I would be young (ish)

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • HDumptyEsq
    HDumptyEsq Posts: 1,095
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****? 
    Short for "**** sparrow" - a spirited young man. In old England a sparrow was a symbol of spring time sexual urges. As Chaucer put it…."he was as likorus as was a sparwe"

    Tony in Brentwood, TN.

    Medium BGE, New Braunfels off-set smoker, 3-burner Charbroiler gasser, mainly used for Eggcessory  storage, old electric upright now used for Amaz-N-Smoker.

    "I like cooking with wine - sometimes I put it in the food." - W. C. Fields

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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,709
    edited May 2014
    Little Steven said:
    It's only happens at work and I believe the modem is 56K. If it was still 1994 I would be young (ish)
    are you sure it's not 1974?  :))

    image
    canuckland
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  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    Anderson Jacobson Acoustic Coupler A24A!
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,709
    @canman1976 - all good advice above, I also add salt to the ice cubes for extra chilling.
    canuckland
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