My 2 hour Turkey

Brazilian_Egg · September 2010

Egged my first turkey yesterday to prepare for Thanksgiving. At 350 degrees, the 14 lb turkey only took 2 hours, which definitely puzzled us. The breast was at 186 and the thigh was 176. It was extremely juicy.

My wife prepared a compound butter with roasted garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Rubbed it under and over the skin.

After 1 hour. Placed foil over the top.

After 2 hours.

It was millimeters from touching the top. Any bigger and it will have to be done on a v-rack. There was a flap of skin that sealed the neck cavity. I wonder if it was done so quickly because it was vertical.

Either way, it was great meal and great practice for Thanksgiving.

RRP · September 2010

looks good. I don't want to be a dead horse but I still think you need to check the calibration of your dome thermometer. Two hours to those internal temp readings just tell us logically you were cooking hotter than 350°.

gdenby · September 2010

Yes, that was really quick. When you say you covered with foil after 1 hour, did you make something like a tent? Or wrap it all around?

Brazilian_Egg · September 2010

Will do RRP.

I just tented the top to keep that from burning.

Gator Bait · September 2010

Nice job! Great looking bird. I have been thinking about your cook time. First of all I say if it works, run with it. If you got to those temperatures honestly and it was a great bird the more power to you. OK, the short cook time may have been effected by use of the vertical rack. The vertical rack;

A ) means no stuffing.

B ) means you are holding the main cavity open and pointed down.

C ) you did not truss the wings tight to the body.

D ) puts greatest mass in greatest heat.

The lack of stuffing will cut your time, there is less mass to heat and you do not have to heat it as deep into the bird. With the main cavity held open and pointed down you are allowing heat which we all know rises to flow into the cavity in a more efficient manor then if the bird was laying down. Also by not trussing the wings to the side of the bird the breast were not covered as well and the heat could circulate around them. Then the vertical rack also puts the largest part of the bird up in the dome where the greatest heat is. I don't know if the compound butter and tenting would help conduct heat or not, anything is possible.

OK, there are all my guesses. LOL, bring on the flame throwers I can take it. :laugh:

Blair

[Deleted User] · September 2010

I think the vertical roaster may have had a good bit to do with it. The one in the pics sure does look like my Spanek.

I've got a Spanek vertical roaster I use, and yes, I recall I was rather surprised how quick our turkey got done.

Part of it has to do with heat being transferred up through the roaster to help cook the INSIDE of the bird. I suppose it is kind of like a roasting spit helping to cook from the inside.

I think being vertical has a pronounced effect. The lower air pressure at the top of the dome may help create an updraft (both inside through the roaster and outside around the bird), causing it to act like a convetion oven. The bird reduces the cross section near the dome top, and the air velocity increases in this area, which is why it is good to foil near the top of the bird.

I use the 2" FIRE-RING instead of the 4" to help lower the bird a bit inside the Egg and mitigate the heat situation near the top of the dome (also allows for larger turkey). Works great.

Anyway, that's my two cents on the "whoa, that cooked fast!" situation.

http://spanek.com/roaster/vr-how-to.php

And yes, of course you should calibrate the dome thermometer with boiling water, but I don't think this was the problem. And you cooked to TEMP not TIME, which is the gold-standard IMHO.

Shiff · September 2010

Looks really good.

I cooked a 12 pound Turkey a few days ago using the spatchcock method. Cooked in less than 2 hours at 300-350 dome indirect. Everyone raved about it. Spatchcocking is very easy and requires no extra steps during the cook - no foil, etc.

Deckhand · September 2010

What's under the foiled drip pan? Looks like a plate setter, legs up but the spacing of the legs seems different... maybe just the angle of the pic. If it is a plate setter, did you put something between it and the pan. (Getting ready for my Thanksgiving turkey).

My 2 hour Turkey

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