Turkey on a Large BGE

mjlemoine · October 2008

I need some help! I have a 28 lb. turkey on the BGE right now. It's been on for 2 hours, I can't get the oven temp over 225 on the dome thermometer yet I already have a thigh temp reading of 150. The temp probe is not in contact with the turkey, I've checked that.

I've got mixed signals here! Anyone have some experience at this? I don't want this thing overcooked or cooked too soon. Not supposed to be ready until about 4 pm.

Rick's Tropical Delight · October 2008

have you calibrated the thermometer in boiling water at 212?

sometime the bird can change the airflow... try sticking a thermometer in the top of the daisy wheel to see what the exhaust temp is...

mad max beyond eggdome · October 2008

i'm betting that temp probe in the thigh isn't deep in the meat either.. ..no way a 28 pound bird is that done that fast at 225 degrees. ..pull that meat probe and test it in boiling water as well, then stick it deep in the breast for a little while and see where that takes you. ...in the mean time, re-test that dome temp thermometer and make sure it isn't touching that bird anywhere. ..

the other sure way to test a turkey for doneness is to test a drumstick by shaking it and see if swivels smoothly on its joint with the thigh. ... if it ain't moving smoothly on the joint, it isn't done. ..period ... .

mjlemoine · October 2008

Well I haven't calibrated it actually but it seems ot have been reliable when cooking other times.

I am using indirect heat too. Probably should have supplied more info.

I have an aluminum pan about 1" deep wired to the bottom of the cooking grid that is filled with water (a variation on what Mad Max describes in his recipe) and then a pizza stone on top of the grid. Then the "egg feet" which the roasting pan is ultimately sitting on.

I've turned the air shutters way down to try and slow things down a whole bunch.

Might try putting the thermo in the vent though. Good suggestion

mjlemoine · October 2008

OK so here's the update.

The gas temps at the vent are more like 275.

I've removed the thermo that I had in the thigh and put a digital therm in the breast. It's showing 115.

I've turned both the intake and top vents way down to slow things down a bunch.

Rick's Tropical Delight · October 2008

i always do whole turkeys at 300-325, so you seem to be right on track. that water pan will absorb some heat too and could make some wacky currents

mjlemoine · October 2008

I appreciate all the advice, thank-you! This is the first time I've personally cooked a turkey on the egg. We just got it in August. I have previous experience though as my parents have had one at the cottage for 4 or 5 years now.

I had originally only expected to need about 5 hours but then read about other cooking them for 8 hours so we started early this morning.

Rick's Tropical Delight · October 2008

here is everything you need to know:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm

Celtic Wolf · October 2008

28 pounds is pushing the limits of the large capacity. I will bet that the dome thermometer is poking the turkey.

Not sure why you have the pizza stone OVER the drip pan or why it's needed with a roasting pan too. You might have way too much mass in there.

Like Max said get that meat probe deeper into the thigh and bump that temp up to 325-350 like Rick suggested.

mjlemoine · October 2008

I guarantee the temp probe is not touching the turkey. Checked it many times.

The stone isn't over the drip pan. Here's what you have, top to bottom

Foil
Turkey
V-Rack
Drip pan
Egg feet
pizza stone
cooking grid
pan for water (as a direct heat shield)
and a mess load of BGE Charcoal and apple wood chips.

Rick, thanks for the link to Mad Max's turkey recipe. We are doing a variation on that. That's where I got the idea for the water pan under the cooking grid. i bought an 11 x 9 foil pan, punched holes in the rim and then I wired it to the grid using stainless steel wire.

Latest status is that the breast temp is 131.

Celtic Wolf · October 2008

That bottom water pan is not necessary. The pizza stone will be enough of a heat shield. As Rick said that bottom pan will drastically affect the overall temp.

mjlemoine · October 2008

This is a pic of the set-up. Little hard to see everything but you can see the water pan under the grid.

mjlemoine · October 2008

Unfortunately it's a bit late to try and take it out as it's extensively wired to the cooking grid.

My understanding from Mad Max's description was that while it did act as a heat shield it also helped to maintain moisture which is what we are aiming for.

By the way we did use the ice bags on the breasts, thanks for that great tip.

Celtic Wolf · October 2008

Max has all the fluids in the Roaster with the rack and turkey. That stuff ends up in his gravy.

Trust me moisture is not a problem with the Egg. I never add fluids during a cook, except if I am baking a ham. Even then I don't add much.

Done correctly a turkey will be so moist people will think it's not done..

mjlemoine · October 2008

Pulled from Mad Max's recipe.....

"I ended up borrowing a rig from Nature Boy that consisted of two metal bars and a pie plate that fit under the grid in its normal place on the fire ring. I kept the pie plate filled with water all day so as to create a good indirect heat barrier from my roasting pan, thereby avoiding any scorching of my drippings (this is key to having the good drippings for gravy). "

Maybe the pizza stone is overkill but our drippings look great with no scorching I can see.

Breast meat is now at 140. Think I've got the heat under control now anyway.

mad max beyond eggdome · October 2008

i think you're good... .you could have gone either/or with the water pan OR the pizza stone. ..that one year i did the water pan when i didn't have room for the pate setter (before i hit on the idea for the green feet). ..but i think you are set now that you figured out your bird temp wasn't as high as you thought it was. .. .

it is gonna take a good while for that bird to roast. .you do have a lot of mass in the egg. . .its gonna take a few hours to roast that bad boy. . .keep the foil over the bird to keep the skin from browning too fast. . .i would take it off when the breast hits around 150 to start letting it brown up. ...you can always put it back on. . .and remember to start basting about once every 20 minutes with accumulated juices from both inside the cavity and from the roasting pan. .. and i'd let the dome temp go up to 325 if i were you. .. remember, if the bird is done, go ahead and remove it and just wrap it in foil ....it will be fine for a few hours. . ..warm turkey is great, it will stay perfectly moist, and with the gravy it will be fantastic. .. ..

let us know how its going. . .

mjlemoine · October 2008

Will do MM. I think I've sorted the issue out with the dome thermometer. I have the water pan set right to the front so that I had room to top it up. This seems to be blocking the airflow past the thermometer.

She's foiled and I've basted a few times already but will really lay the baster to it once we take the foil off.

Thanks for the tips and support to MM, Rick and CW!

Rick's Tropical Delight · October 2008

you can't have enough thermometers sometime! :woohoo:

mjlemoine · October 2008

Something about that picture makes me feel violated..... :ohmy:

I wish I had one more digital right now but we'll get by for today.

mjlemoine · October 2008

Hey guys!
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

So for the record the bird was without question the best I have eaten anywhere! Juicy, tender and above all incredibly tasty!

Mad Max's gravy was a huge hit too!

Turkey on a Large BGE

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