Smoking a 25 lb super-turkey for thanksgiving: UPDATE: GREAT SUCCESS

I'd look for a smaller bird..

25lbs? Pics or GTFO!

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I'd look for a smaller bird..

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the old lady already bought it

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pics

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turkey jerky

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ahh shite. so even if i cooked it a low temp longer i have no shot?

so another question, if smoking will dry the bird out and possibly not cook it all the way what would y'all recommend. i can't really get her to take it back so i guess i will try and just figure another way to grill it on the fly?

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smoking a turkey

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couldn't be further from the truth - a turkey smoked right is good, good stuff

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if smoking will dry the bird out and possibly not cook it all the way

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that's not the case. If you try to go low and slow, the skin will not crisp up. Better idea is to smoke it at a higher temp - 300+. You'll still get the smoked flavor and the skin will crisp. Although, I'm not entirely sure how a 25 lb turkey will react to any kind of cooking.

ETA: best 6000th post ever? ...probably not.

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lefty

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i think we have something to brine it in, may end up being one of those huge plastic boxes used for storage

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Burlee

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i thought it was a great 6000th post fwiw

and ok, so maybe try to hasten the process and smoke it at 300, got it. how long would you leave it on for and or what internal temp you aiming for?

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vedder

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suggestions?

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so maybe try to hasten the process and smoke it at 300

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you're not hastening the process at all. turkey is not very fatty, so no reason to go low and slow. It's much more advisable to smoke it at higher temps so the skin doesn't get "leathery". the smoke will still get in to the bird at higher temps giving it that smoked taste.

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suggestions?

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separate the skin carefully from the meat before brining so the brine will get to the meat. Brine overnight and then rinse off and dry the bird. Then let it sit in the fridge and "cure" for 12 - 24 hours. When seasoning it, be sure to get whatever seasoning you're using under the skin too so it'll get intot the meat. get the breast up to 160 degrees and then pull and let sit. It'll cook another 5 - 10 degerees after you pull it.

at 300+, it'll take about 15 minutes per pound.

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suggestions?

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I'm with everyone else on the size of your turkey--i'm not sure how confident i'd be that you can get this thing fully cooked without drying out certain parts.

with that said, i didn't do anything special. brine the bird and then dry throughly before putting on the smoker. there is a fine line between dry and perfect with a turkey, so if you have a thermometer, use it. i have one that plugs into the bird and has a remote so that i can monitor the temperature. i pulled it off when it hit 160 at the thickest part of the breast (it will probably continue to rise to 165 as it rests). that is the advice most websites had and it worked just fine on sunday.

i agree with burlee on the smoker temp--you want higher than low-and-slow--around 325. otherwise, your skin won't crisp-up. i have a weber smokey mountain so i just set it up with the minion method and then adjust the vents from there to keep the temperature where i want it.