Smoking a Turkey

[dale2242]

I am going to make my first attempt at smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving on my Pit Boss pellet grill.
The Pit Boss recipe says to cook it at 275* until the breast is done.
All of the the recipes say to cook until internal temp is 165-170*.
The bird is a small one, 12-14#.
I have read many recipes and have found many different lengths of time to cook it and at many different temperatures.
I want it to be done when the rest of the dinner is ready.
I don`t need your brine or rub recipes, just temperature and how long it will take to be done.
Thanks folks, dale

[Lloyd Smale]

when the little red thing pops up

[Jsm180]

I try to keep the temp close to 250 and look for 165 internal temp. My cook times run around 6 hrs. 275 smoker temp on a 12 lb bird will be done in 4 hrs or so from my experience and not have the flavor of a slower cook.

[MaryB]

I just did one that size spatchcock style(Split along backbone then flatten). Spatchcock makes it cook faster and way more even. Get better smoke flavor into the meat too. Took 3 hours at 300. Windy day so temps were fluctuating... calm day probably 2 1/2 hours. Don't expect edible skin smoking the bird, usually comes out rubbery.

[DougGuy]

Too many variables to pinpoint a time. Your grill temps will vary with ambient temp, wind speed, humidity, type of pellet wood used, etc. If grill temps are around 325 it will cook rather quickly, if they are under 280, might be an hour difference. Straight hickory cooks the hottest, mixed pellets cook cooler.

As MaryB pointed out, spatchcock exposes more of the meat in a thinner layer which would cook faster, personally I would go for the hotter faster cooking time as the lesser temp will tend to keep the meat on longer and dry it out.

I'm thinking about a 9 or 10lb breast on my Traeger, there is only me and the GF, I'd really like a Turducken roll stuffed with Boudin!!!!

[gwpercle]

For a 14 pound turkey at 275 degrees allow 6 hours cooking time , it will be cooked @ 165 to 170 degree test with a instant read thermometer . I would allow an extra 30 to 60 minutes , every time you check the temp. or if the wind blows or outside temp. is cool it will extend the cooking time .
If you can't brine it ... inject it with seasoned melted butter ... old Cajun cooking trick !
Good Luck ,
Gary

[PB234]

I have been smoking the bird for 3 hours (some say to go 4) after which the internal temperature is about 100 degrees. Then I turn it up to 350 figuring on 20 minutes a pound. When done the internal temperature is 170 degrees. The turkey is removed from the grill, wrapped in foil then placed into a cooler (which now acts as a heat retaining device) to retain the heat with a blanket surrounding the turkey. I use a blanket made for movers of furniture. Use a good meat thermometer inserted into the bird and another good one to measure the internal temperature for the smoker as the factory supplied ones are often wrong. My smoker runs about 20 degrees higher than what it set for.

If your timing is off and done early it will hold in the cooler for a while. It seems I am often done before planned. Don't know if it is the 350 or the smoker running hotter than it measures itself.

This year I am trying sugar maple pellets as they are mild which I like for poultry. Previously I used a blend of pecan and cherry. Pecan is a bit too strong for my taste but we are all different. I buy pellets from https://bbqrsdelight.com/ . Others like other pellet manufacturers. If I decide to make the smoke taste a bit stronger I'll add some cherry to the sugar maple.

[lylejb]

What I did last year, and plan to do twice this year was 2hrs on smoke only, then set the temp to 325f and time at 4hrs. It was done before that, I pulled it out by temp, 165 in the thickest part of thigh. This was on a masterbuilt vertical pellet smoker. The bird was smaller, about 12 or 13 pounds and had been brined overnight. The flavor was excellent. The skin was browned like in an oven, not the deep, shrunken mahogany some smoked Turkeys come out. Hope this helps.

[dale2242]

My first smoked turkey came out great. It weighed 14#.
The family was happy to have it for Thanksgiving dinner.
I started with a commercial brine mix. Brined it for 36 hours.
After brining it was rinsed and patted dry inside and out.
A light coat of olive oil was brushed on the outside and a coat of Grub Rub was applied inside and out.
The turkey was placed in a baking pan with 3/4 " of chicken broth .
The Pit Boss pellet grill was set at 250* and the turkey was smoked for 7 hrs.
Every 1/2 hr or so I spritzed it with chicken broth.
It came out very tender and juicy.

[winshooter]

I tried smoking a turkey once but could never keep the damn thing lit.

[gwpercle]

I wonder how Dale2242's Turkey came out ?
I don't see any feedback ... mine came out great but I cheated ...
brown-n-bag in the roaster oven . After years of Deep Frying in peanut oil , Smoking , Oil Less Frying , Air Frying and Roasting... everyone around here , including me , prefer the texture and flavor of a seasoned and butter injected Turkey cooked in a Brown-N-Bag in a electric roaster oven ... saving all the drippings to make a wonderful Turkey Gravy ... I love gravy .
I would have bet money that deep frying in peanut oil would be best but the truth is by the time you get all the pieces cooked ...the white meat is pretty dried out and the wings are just crispy near burnt things you can't eat .
The Brown-N-Bag is much better .
Gary

[farmbif]

I've yet to try it but I'm determined now after getting smoked turkey from the honey baked ham shop. it wasn't very good
ive had good results with chickens for years using white oak and maple, keeping temp in smoker at about 225-250 and pulling it when internal meat temp gets to about 165, just like jsm180 says.
dry rub with sugar salt lots of garlic powder and some onion powder and just a bit of smoked paprika and a bit of chili powder and cumin to make things interesting.

[MaryB]

Smoking works well if you spatchcock the bird. Everything cooks evenly.

[dale2242]

I left the turkey whole and brined it overnight.
I bought 3 different turkey brine kits but didn`t care much for any of them.
It seems every kit has a lot of rosemary and thyme. My wife and I neither one like those herbs.
I took all the herbs I could out of the brine mix and didn`t use the rub that also had a lot of herbs in it.
I will make my own brine hereafter.
I have a rub called Grub Rub made it Texas I like for poultry and pork.
I cooked it in a roasting pan uncovered with1/2" of chicken broth.
I spritzed it with chicken broth every hr. or so.
I slow cooked it on the pellet grill at 225* until done.
We thought it was much juicier than an oven baked turkey

[gwpercle]

I left the turkey whole and brined it overnight.
I bought 3 different turkey brine kits but didn`t care much for any of them.
It seems every kit has a lot of rosemary and thyme. My wife and I neither one like those herbs.
I took all the herbs I could out of the brine mix and didn`t use the rub that also had a lot of herbs in it.
I will make my own brine hereafter.
I have a rub called Grub Rub made it Texas I like for poultry and pork.
I cooked it in a roasting pan uncovered with1/2" of chicken broth.
I spritzed it with chicken broth every hr. or so.
I slow cooked it on the pellet grill at 225* until done.
We thought it was much juicier than an oven baked turkey

I'm hitting our like button .... LIKE !
Gary

[fcvan]

My grandfather smoked everything to perfection, pheasant, duck, turkey. and used the same method, low and slow, around 220-225 degrees. My first wife was not much of a cook, but for our first thanksgiving she did the brown paper grocery bag thing, before brown-in bags were a thing. It was rubbed with butter and some basic seasoning, and cooked for 12-14 hours. When it came time to take the turkey out and place on the platter the bird just collapsed as if it had been in a pressure cooker. There was no carving the turkey, it was served from the bird with 2 forks. The most moist and tender bird I ever had at that point.

My favorite way to cook turkey however, is rather different. My folks gave me one of those counter top turbo convection ovens. A 9 pound or less bird would fit. I put the bird in upside down at the highest temp, 500 I think. 30 minutes later, flip the bird. 60 minutes and done. Oh yeah, smeared with olive oil or butter, seasoning of your choice. The bird would be seared shut, the moisture retained inside, and the turbo oven didn't vent so basically it was like a pressure cooker, but without pressure, just steam cooked from the inside out.

Still, I want to smoke a turkey, with alder, cherry, or hickory. I use all of those, I smoke a lot of different meats, all in a Little Chief, and will do a turkey like grand dad did, low and slow. Smoke for the first 3 or 4 hours, then just 225 without smoke to finish, about 10-12 hours total. A buddy bought a Traeger at his wife's insistence, set it and forget it. He doesn't, he 'minds' the Traeger with a frosty cold beverage in his hand.

[45workhorse]

A wielding blanket placed over your smoker, will help keep smoke and heat in. Especially in cold windy weather. Just don't cover the handle to open the lid, it WILL be hot to the touch.

As for how long......

[MaryB]

When smoking the meat is done when it is done. There are no set times. When I catered my families big family reunion my little brother who is in food service kept harping on me to name when it would be ready. I finally thumped him on the head and told him to be quiet, it will be ready when it is ready. He let saying "turn the heat up! Cook faster!" Um dude, this is BBQ, it is low and slow. I had said supper between 5 and 7 and I hit it at 6:15 so I was right in the slot. He kept saying there is no way you an make money catering if you can't say "We will be eating at X time". I looked at him, pointed to the $6,000 smoker that was paid off and said "Really? Odd, I paid that off within 6 months of buying it by giving people an approximate time frame." He thought he knew it all because he had a culinary degree... I was putting rub on the pork butts, I go with a mustard slather then a really heavy coat. He had a fit saying it was going to be way to salty... I finally got my older brother to come get him before I whacked him even harder over the head. Little bro had never cooked BBQ in his life, to him BBQ was a steak or burger on his gas grill...