Thanksgiving's Comin'

ridg...@novoicenetno.com

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Nov 7, 2012, 10:25:00 AM11/7/12

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I'm going to do 2 turkeys this year - one in the WSM.
Never smoked one before. Any idea on how long it will take?
Tips/ Advice appreciated.
The other I'm going to do on the spit over open fire.

Shinglhed
Eat, drink, and be merry.....and by all means over do it!

Message has been deleted

Nunya Bidnits

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Nov 7, 2012, 12:35:15 PM11/7/12

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ridg...@novoicenetno.com wrote:
> I'm going to do 2 turkeys this year - one in the WSM.
> Never smoked one before. Any idea on how long it will take?

That depends on how hot you're planning to cook. Hotter is usually better
where poultry is concerned.

I think you'll want to use a baffle, which is the water pan in a WSM. I'd go
sand, not water in this case because you need to cook poultry hot. You'll
get better heat stability with the sand. If you leave it alone, it should
roast in similar time to an oven if you cook hot. Estimate this process at
15 minutes per pound, but you need to go by thermometer temps, not time. It
will probably take longer than the estimate.

Not using the baffle would probably be too much radiant heat over time which
will give you a scorched bird. Using water will make it a lot harder to
maintain the hotter temps... it will need more fuel to maintain temp, and
when the water gets low, temps will spike and be hard to get back under
control.

Consider spatchcocking it for more even cooking. If not, then breast down
works better than breast up like Steve said. Where you're hot cooking, you
can put the turkey out an hour ahead to warm it up. If you have fridge temps
at the center of the bird when you start cooking, but room temps at the
outside, guess what will happen when you try to get uniform doneness. Don't
do this if using low cook temps.

Another possibility is to slow smoke it for just an hour or two, starting
with a cold bird, and then finish in the oven. But you don't want to slow
cook it to the end. Turkeys are too big and dense to cook through to at low
temps within a safe time range. But you can smoke it for a while and finish
it at normal temps in your home oven.

Do NOT stuff birds cooked this way. It will take forever to get hot in the
center and isn't considered safe nor will you get even cooking.

MartyB

chompers

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Nov 7, 2012, 12:45:52 PM11/7/12

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Good warning on the stuffing.

Instead, do the stuffing this way:

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=26255

It's in a baking dish with the turkey wings on top to add moisture and
flavor.

The sausage adds flavor and fat, the broth adds moisture. Worth the
registration to read the rest of the recipe.

Big Jim

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Nov 8, 2012, 7:18:23 AM11/8/12

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<ridg...@novoicenetno.com> wrote in message
news:h7vk98tq77hnv3t2s...@4ax.com...

20 minutes a pound at 325°
BeeJay

ridg...@novoicenetno.com

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Nov 8, 2012, 9:12:05 AM11/8/12

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Thanks to all. This newsgroup has been my encyclopedia when it comes
to smoking. You have saved me many times from ruining meals and have
all helped me get much better at this. Thanks again!

monroe, of course

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Nov 8, 2012, 11:35:34 AM11/8/12

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ridg...@novoicenetno.com wrote:

> Thanks to all. This newsgroup has been my encyclopedia when it comes
> to smoking. You have saved me many times from ruining meals and have
> all helped me get much better at this. Thanks again!
>

Shhhhhhhhhh! if word gets out that we've actually been
helping people-our reputation here will be totally SHOT!

monroe(AFB purist/curmudgeon in good standing)

tutall

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Nov 8, 2012, 4:06:25 PM11/8/12

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On Nov 8, 8:35 am, "monroe, of course" <mage...@knowyerchicken.org>
wrote:

> ridge...@novoicenetno.com wrote:
> > Thanks to all. This newsgroup has been my encyclopedia when it comes
> > to smoking. You have saved me many times from ruining meals and have
> > all helped me get much better at this. Thanks again!
>
> Shhhhhhhhhh! if word gets out that we've actually been
> helping people-our reputation here will be totally SHOT!

Who the hell do you think you're telling to not be nice you big pile
of McDonald's bbq rib leftovers?

Am effin sick and tired of people telling us to not be nice. JFC, if I
hear "try and be an a-hole" one more time, I'm gonna shoot your dog.

And his too, dammit.

We're gonna be nice if we even if have to hurt you to do it.

Nice and angry sometimes, but still nice. :-)

Nanzi

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Nov 10, 2012, 10:05:11 AM11/10/12

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Love, love, love this idea for the wings with the oven dressing not stuffed.
Thanks for the link. Would have done this for years had I known. Now, at 68 years old, I usually don't host Big Turkey Day dinners. Phew!!
Nanzi

smokeringer

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Nov 10, 2012, 12:37:44 PM11/10/12

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Hey, that'll work well with turkey legs too and they're easier to find
by themselves.

Zz Yzx

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Nov 10, 2012, 3:34:07 PM11/10/12

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On Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:25:00 -0500, ridg...@novoicenetno.com wrote:

>I'm going to do 2 turkeys this year - one in the WSM.
>Never smoked one before. Any idea on how long it will take?
>Tips/ Advice appreciated.
>The other I'm going to do on the spit over open fire.

I've had the best results in my WSM by spatchcocking the boyds. It
gives a great deal of doneness control and they always come out moist
and smokey.

-Zz