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20lb mad max turkey timing question

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Thatgrimguy
Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,729
in Poultry
I've only done spatchcock for years. but this year I want to try the mad max.  how long should my 19lb bird take?  I was planning to light at 7am for putting on a 8:30am and pulling off by noon for a 1-2pm serving time? Does that sound right?
XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
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  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,729
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    Planning on cooking at 325.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,347
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    I did not read much of the attched thread but the opener was written by Mad Max.  I suspect the answer is in there somewhere.
    MAD MAX'S TURKEY AND GRAVY - DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
    And here is a link from the naked whiz site:
    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey2/madmaxturkey2.htm  
    Enjoy the cook and make the best of quite a different Thanksgiving however it works out for you and your family.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,729
    edited November 2020
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    lousubcap said:
    I did not read much of the attched thread but the opener was written by Mad Max.  I suspect the answer is in there somewhere.
    MAD MAX'S TURKEY AND GRAVY - DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
    And here is a link from the naked whiz site:
    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey2/madmaxturkey2.htm  
    Enjoy the cook and make the best of quite a different Thanksgiving however it works out for you and your family.  
    Thanks buddy. Those are definitely the definitive resources, and I usually shoot for 14-15lb birds. but this year I had expected to go out of town but with the rising covid cases we decided to sit this one out. But, we were left with a 19lber at my local grocery and my wife is WORRIED!!

    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
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  • Mark_B_Good
    Mark_B_Good Posts: 1,516
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    My 17 lb bird took exactly 5h using mad max method, at 325F. Only difference is I also injected my bird with chicken broth ... but I don't think that would make too much of a difference.
    Napoleon Prestige Pro 665, XL BGE, Lots of time for BBQ!
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  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,729
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    I"m just going to spatch the bird and buy some thighs to roast inside for the gravy.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
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  • sabretooth04
    sabretooth04 Posts: 46
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    It will cook much faster than you plan.
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    sabretooth04 said:
    It will cook much faster than you plan.
    amen. any time i cook a turkey in the 300-350 range, seems like it's done in about 90-120 minutes, regardless of the size.  
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • sabretooth04
    sabretooth04 Posts: 46
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    blind99 said:
    sabretooth04 said:
    It will cook much faster than you plan.
    amen. any time i cook a turkey in the 300-350 range, seems like it's done in about 90-120 minutes, regardless of the size.  

    Agree.  I just plan on a 3 hour turkey up to 20 pounds now.
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  • Sheldon_Nigel
    Sheldon_Nigel Posts: 173
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    Cooked a 20 lb burger MadMax style at 350. It went 4.5hrs for me.
    Ruining Gaskets one cook at a time.
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  • RyanStl
    RyanStl Posts: 1,050
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    One MM recipe I read had a 20 lb bird for 4 hrs. I know the meat drives the cook, but was going to plan on 4hrs cook time for my 19.4 lb bird.
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  • sabretooth04
    sabretooth04 Posts: 46
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    Mad Max... 18.3lb bird, 325-340, 3 hrs 12 mins to 165 F.
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  • carrda04
    carrda04 Posts: 83
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    I tried to buy a small bird but received at 24.4 pounder! was worried about cook time but it only took 3.25 hours mad max at 325. And it was perfect. I was shocked.
    LG BGE
    Camp Chef 2xburner

    Twin Cities, MN
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  • PigBeanUs
    PigBeanUs Posts: 932
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    I suspect it is a lot like cooking a roast (or, to be more absurd: a hot dog)

    At a certain point, a roast (or hot dog) won’t take any more time to cook just because it is bigger. 

    We’re ultimately talking (with any meat in general) about how thick it is to the center. 

    So, a regular hot dog takes no more time to cook than a foot long.

    Extend that thinking to a roast. At a certain point, adding length to the roast does nothing to cook time. The shortest path for the heat to the center is from the sides. 

    Once you are as long as you are wide, you shouldn’t see any real significant increase in cook time. 

    Turkeys are less uniformly shaped. But much of the size increase is overall, as opposed to purely thickness of the breast meat or thigh. Though sure, those are of course thicker in bigger birds. But how much?

    we always plan 12 minutes a pound, and any time we do a very large one we are “surprised” it’s done early. 

    But we shouldn’t be. 

    Problem is we (my family, I mean) don’t have it enough, or track bird sizes, and there are too many variables, to really nail anything down. 
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