Advice - 26# Thanksgiving Turkey

[APrond1]

Hello everyone. New here - and also new to smokers in general. I've been an avid griller (kettle, gas, etc) for years but tomorrow I am going to pick up my new EX6 and couldn't be more excited. Once I get it all setup, I plan to season the grill and then do a pork butt on Sunday to make sure everything is running smoothly. If that goes as planned, I am hoping to smoke my first Turkey for the family on Thursday. However, I may have gotten ahead of myself a bit and am hoping you folks can point me in the right direction.

As stated in the title, I have a 26# bird defrosting at the moment in the fridge - I had purchased the bird a few weeks ago with the intent to just roast it in the oven as usual. I then got the big idea to bite the bullet on my EX6 and smoke it instead. However, after browsing through some recipes/info tonight, I've read in a few places that smoking a bird over 20# is pretty risky because the meat will sit too long in the danger zone (40F - 140F). Considering I have zero experience smoking - what are everyone's thoughts on this?

Should I return to the store and just buy two birds and keep this one for oven roasting? Or can the big bird be done?
Dry brine vs wet brine?
Temp?

Anything else I may have missed would certainly prove helpful as I don't want to screw up Thanksgiving for 12+ people!

Thanks!

 

[Goneincognito]

I have never cooked one so I can't advise on times or anything but I see people spatchcocking the larger birds.

To make sure you set yourself up as best you can for success, I would recommend you use Weber, Jumberjack or Cabella's pellets and remove the finger guard from the hopper.

Also make sure you thoroughly read the manual and update everything before you run it for the first time.

 

[APrond1]

I have never cooked one so I can't advise on times or anything but I see people spatchcocking the larger birds.

To make sure you set yourself up as best you can for success, I would recommend you use Weber, Jumberjack or Cabella's pellets and remove the finger guard from the hopper.

Also make sure you thoroughly read the manual and update everything before you run it for the first time.

Thank you - I appreciate the advice. And yes, my pork butt on Sunday is intended to be the trial run just to make sure there are no hiccups before the bird on Thursday.

 

[bbqking]

In my opinion opinion, 26# is huge. I definitely recommend a smaller bird for grilling. Like 12-15 lbs. Also I wet brined my Turkey last year, put then both in a foil roasting pan, then on my ex6. Ran about 300, until breast read 155. I basted every 30-45 minutes, but it didn’t really need it. I pulled them off and covered with foil. Slicing temp I. Breast was right at 160. Best Turkic’s I’ve ever done. Rave reviews

 

[abmet]

I spatchcocked one two years ago on my EX4 but it was only 16lb and turned out great. 26 is big bird. Pork butt test run is good idea but I’d be little leery of doing thanksgiving meal for others on grill I only used once since takes some time to learn the nuances of each grill for me at least. What about doing two smaller birds. Roasting one and smoking one?
100% agree with goneincognito to remove the finger guard (don’t take all screws out at same time). Also make sure to do software and firmware updates before first burn in.

 

[PattiA]

A 26 pound turkey will be difficult, but not impossible to spatchcock. The largest I've spatchcocked is 20 pounds. You might need a helper to help you wrestle the bird into submission, especially if you've never spatchcocked a turkey before. It is easier to learn spatchcocking on a chicken. If you don't want to tackle spatchcocking, you can still break down the turkey for cooking on the SmokeFire using this method:

.

For cooking the turkey, I think it is important to remember that the SmokeFire is really just a wood-burning oven. The software should keep the temp even like it does in an oven. I'd dry brine the spatchcocked or broken down turkey and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. You'll might need to cut it completely in half and put it on two sturdy half sheet pans or heavy duty foil roaster pans. Add a water pan for some moisture. Preheat the SmokeFire for a good 1/2 hour after it comes up to your cooking temp. I would put it on the top grates. If you put it directly on the grates (I wouldn't), be sure to have some pans underneath to catch the grease so you don't have to worry about a grease fire.

I'm an outlier, my finger guard remains in place on my EX4 because it has given me no reason to remove it. I keep an eye on the pellet hopper, but not obsessively. (And I probably just jinxed myself.)

I was nervous about all the things that could go wrong when I first started cooking on my EX4. If everything goes well with your Sunday cook, there isn't any reason to worry about cooking the turkey. I would go for a method that uses the temps that you use when cooking a turkey in the oven rather than messing with SmokeBoost and low temp cooking for the turkey. Go in brave.

 

[Barkley]

I'm VP of a poultry company in Toronto, and we process Toms that are upwards of 50 pounds. F'ing small dinosaurs.

I'll echo the words of others upthread. The bigger the bird, the bigger the need to spatchcock. It's really not as complicated as it sounds - just remove the spine then press on the breastbone and it pops flat. Makes for a quicker and easier cook.

But if you're going to spatchcock you'll need to either throw compound butter under the skin or baste frequently. No one likes dry turkey.

 

[APrond1]

A 26 pound turkey will be difficult, but not impossible to spatchcock. The largest I've spatchcocked is 20 pounds. You might need a helper to help you wrestle the bird into submission, especially if you've never spatchcocked a turkey before. It is easier to learn spatchcocking on a chicken. If you don't want to tackle spatchcocking, you can still break down the turkey for cooking on the SmokeFire using this method:

.

For cooking the turkey, I think it is important to remember that the SmokeFire is really just a wood-burning oven. The software should keep the temp even like it does in an oven. I'd dry brine the spatchcocked or broken down turkey and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. You'll might need to cut it completely in half and put it on two sturdy half sheet pans or heavy duty foil roaster pans. Add a water pan for some moisture. Preheat the SmokeFire for a good 1/2 hour after it comes up to your cooking temp. I would put it on the top grates. If you put it directly on the grates (I wouldn't), be sure to have some pans underneath to catch the grease so you don't have to worry about a grease fire.

I'm an outlier, my finger guard remains in place on my EX4 because it has given me no reason to remove it. I keep an eye on the pellet hopper, but not obsessively. (And I probably just jinxed myself.)

I was nervous about all the things that could go wrong when I first started cooking on my EX4. If everything goes well with your Sunday cook, there isn't any reason to worry about cooking the turkey. I would go for a method that uses the temps that you use when cooking a turkey in the oven rather than messing with SmokeBoost and low temp cooking for the turkey. Go in brave.

Well....perhaps instead of a butt tomorrow i'll just grab a whole chicken and spatchcock it and see how it goes!

Much appreciate the detailed response - I'd be lying if I said I'm not super nervous, and frankly, not really about the cooking part - but about undercooking it (ie, 4+hours in the no-fly temp zone of 40-140F) AND not having the bird done on time. I have no idea how long it will take - even spatchcocked. 4 hours? 8 hours?

My gut is starting to tell me that I really should just go buy two smaller birds and save the larger bird to practice on a weekend when I can whip up some Mac N Cheese for the kiddos if all doesn't go as planned.

Then again - if I just cook it at 325F and treat it as an outdoor oven - I don't really see a difference from a kitchen oven? Hmmm.

 

[APrond1]

I'm VP of a poultry company in Toronto, and we process Toms that are upwards of 50 pounds. F'ing small dinosaurs.

I'll echo the words of others upthread. The bigger the bird, the bigger the need to spatchcock. It's really not as complicated as it sounds - just remove the spine then press on the breastbone and it pops flat. Makes for a quicker and easier cook.

But if you're going to spatchcock you'll need to either throw compound butter under the skin or baste frequently. No one likes dry turkey.

Holy Cow! Well, Holy Turkey I guess is more appropriate. 50#? That's....you're right. Dinosaurs!

I typically butter under the skin regardless of how I am cooking, and I did plan to dry brine it moreso for lack of refrigerator space to wet brine it than anything else.

 

[APrond1]

So...a few questions.

1. If I go the 2x 12-16 bird route - what temp should I smoke at? Shooting for 160+ at the breast and 185 at the thigh correct?
2. If I decide to spatchcock the behemoth 26# bird - perhaps 325F? And timewise shoot for normal oven durations?
3. Any particular favorite flavor of chips?

Appreciate all the help!

 

[Barkley]

I'll defer to others re temp, but compound butter under the skin, a good brine, and a good meat thermometer are key. For chicken we cook to 168F, but I'd have to look for the safe temp for turkey. Salmonella and Campobacteria are both done at 168, but I'd have to look at the other turkey pathogens to properly answer.

 

[abmet]

When I did 16lb spatchcocked it took a little over 4 hours at 300. I cranked up to 375 towards end (30 minutes or so) attempting to crisp skin a bit. it was 167 at breast.

 

[Barkley]

When I did 16lb spatchcocked it took a little over 4 hours at 300. I cranked up to 375 towards end (30 minutes or so) attempting to crisp skin a bit. it was 167 at breast.

Salmonella dies in 5 seconds at 168F. 10 seconds at a slightly lower temp, and 1 hour at a lower temp still. This is why sous vide cooking is a thing - you kill the pathogens without overcooking the outside and drying out the meat. A late heat to crisp up skin is always a fan favourite.

 

[APrond1]

Minor update - due to time constraints, I ended up picking up an 8# whole chicken and threw that on the smoker today. Ran it at 275F for about 4 hours with the last 45 minutes or so at 350F. I ended up going to 165F at the breast (I wasn't aware of 168F?) - let it rest for about 20 minutes and then sliced it. I must say it was very very good - especially as my first go.

 

[GRT1959]

Don't just spatchcock the turkey - cut it all the way in half after removing the backbone. I did that for a trial run with a 14# turkey last month and it was done in around 90 minutes, less than half the time you would expect for a 14# bird. You basically double the surface area (more smoke flavor) and it only takes half as long to brine. I ordered an 18# free range bird from the local meat market that will be butchered today (Monday) and delivered for pickup tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll take it straight home, cut it in half and get it in brine for 9-10 hours, rinse and dry, then put it back in the fridge uncovered to let the skin dry some more before getting up early Thursday morning to fire up my EX6 and apply my rub. My plan is to smoke the two 9# halves on the top grate with drip pans beneath.