Just cooked a 20 lb Turkey in a little over 3 hours

My oven goes down to 170, if I were you I'd put it in the oven.

I would cook it to 165 deep in the breast, the last 10 degrees seem to take forever

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310 is way to high

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From Meathead at Amazing Ribs...

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I recommend you cook most poultry at 325°F. Readers know that I love low and slow and many of my recipes recommend a 225°F setting. That's a great temperature for gently melting tough collagen-based connective tissues without getting their protein panties in a bunch and squeezing out moisture (see my article on meat science). But turkey doesn't have the same composition as pork ribs or beef brisket, so we don't need to worry about melting tough collagens. Turkey can handle higher temps, and higher temps are needed to render the fats in the skin in order to crisp it. The higher temp helps brown the skin in the short cooking time allotted. We want brown skin because when cooking, brown means deep rich, complex taste. Browning is the result of a process called the Maillard reaction and, although it starts at low temps, it really kicks in at about 310°F when amino acids and sugars form scores of scrumptuous new compounds. This chemical reaction is responsible for the rich flavors in toasted bread, coffee beans, and dark beer. At 325°F you can render more fat from the skin and get the skin crispier. Nothing worse than soggy wet flabby rubbery skin, and that's what you get at low temps. Also, at lower temps, it is possible the bird will stall at about 150F internal temp. The stall is a phenomenon that occurs when evaporation from the meat cools it so that the temp doesn't rise until the surface dries out. If you stall while cooking a turkey you will need new dentures the next day.

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If you're smoking them, you're probably not going to get crispy skin unless you grill it afterwards. With a Weber kettle for instance, you can get a crispy skin with indirect heat at 325, more so than 225.

Don't get me wrong. I've smoked chicken quarters at 240 for about three hours and they've come out delicious.

310 is not to high for a turkey. I normally smoke mine around 300. You need a higher temp with chicken/turkey so that you render the fat and get a crispy skin. But like others have said. Smoke it until it is 165 deep in the breast. I normally have two probes, one in the breast and another in the thigh.

Turned out great . 20lb is probably way too big since the dark meat was a bit tough but the breast were on point and very juicy




Now time for turkey and andouille gumbo

Doing the same thing on Thanksgiving day with a 20lb'er. Getting a brined one from Trader Joe's tomorrow.

20 Pounds is a little big for a bird. I usually try to find one around 15 pounds to smoke. Dark meat and breast done around the same time if you tie it tight.