Cooking time.......

[T Rex]

Hi Forum members, I need some advice. Mrs. T Rex wants me to cook the Easter turkey on the KK............ of course! I picked up a 16.28 lb. bird which we also plan on stuffing and I was wondering how long will it take to cook at 325F? I was thinking indirect and in a roaster so that I can make gravy with the drippings......

Thanks in advance.

T Rex

ps I also have an 8" roti but I haven't used a rotisserie on the KK yet and I don't want to screw up the Easter Sunday turkey............

[Tucker]

Cook times

I do a turkey for Thanksgiving each year, I cook it same amount of time you would in the oven.

not sure of the minutes per pound, 15-20minutes per pound: or you could get one with a popup thing in it and cook til it pops.

the 25-30# birds we do at Thanksgiving usually go on at 9am at come off at 3-4pm

[T Rex]

Re: Cook times

I do a turkey for Thanksgiving each year, I cook it same amount of time you would in the oven.

not sure of the minutes per pound, 15-20minutes per pound: or you could get one with a popup thing in it and cook til it pops.

the 25-30# birds we do at Thanksgiving usually go on at 9am at come off at 3-4pm

Thanks Tucker, kind of what I thought...... I have a Guru and I was thinking of perhaps placing the temperature probe for the meat in the stuffing until it hits 165F or so.......

I will "giterdone" tomorrow and post pictures and an eating report.

T Rex

[mguerra]

rethink

There is quite a body of thought that suggests you cook the stuffing separately, not in the bird. As far as turkey techniques, search the forums, there's a number of turkey posts and threads.

[Amphoran]

I'm smoking a 12 pound turkey tomorrow for Easter Dinner. Allowing 40 min/pound at 225, with a fair amount of applewood distributed through the basket. It's brining as I type in 1cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp black pepper and 1/4 cup tarragon per gallon. I expect to have it on the KK about 8 am tomorrow.

Photos to follow, this one won't be imaginary.....

Mike

[LPT41]

Brining

I have never been one to use salt for seasoning food. Crizin' around the forun and other places I see the use of brining to prep meat before cooking. Questions I have: (1) What does the salt do for the meat (2) Since I don't care for heavy salted foods would brining do this? It's a rare occasion when I add salt to my food but never in excess. Any thoughts?

[mguerra]

temp

Amphoran, have you done one before at 225? Several posters suggest that a slow cook dries out the bird, and they should be cooked at 300 to 350. I have done one brined bird cooked at 300 plus and it was excellent, but have not tried the lower temp.

[mguerra]

brining

Using proper proportions, brining won't make your meat too salty. But it does enhance the moisture, which is the purpose. Brining is not primarily a seasoning maneuver, it is a moisture enhancer. However, you use the occasion of brining to add flavor to the meat via the spices and flavorings added to the brine. An excellent batch of primers on brining can be found on this page:http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html

Scroll down to the poultry section for several brines, but more to the point, scroll down to the "Reference Articles" for further brining basics.

[LPT41]

Thanks, that will be my reading lesson tonight.

[Loquitur]

Re: Cooking time.......

Hi Forum members, I need some advice. Mrs. T Rex wants me to cook the Easter turkey on the KK............ of course! I picked up a 16.28 lb. bird which we also plan on stuffing and I was wondering how long will it take to cook at 325F? I was thinking indirect and in a roaster so that I can make gravy with the drippings......

Thanks in advance.

T Rex

Hi T Rex:

This is a picture of my stuffed Thanksgiving turkey, which came out fantastic!! It was 17.5 lbs and I did it at 325 Stoker for 4 hrs 10 min. In the Cooking General section there is a thread named Thanksgiving 2009 which has further info and some pictures of other turkeys. Definitely use a pan to catch the drippings for gravy. Best of luck!!

[mguerra]

gobbler

Susan, did you cook the stuffing inside the turkey? If so, what part of the bird did you measure as your done temp, and what was that done temp?

[Loquitur]

Yes, Doc, I cooked the stuffing inside the turkey. I had 1 probe in the breast and the other in the thigh and removed it from the KK at 158 breast, 168 thigh. The time was in accord with the recommendations on the package for a stuffed turkey and the internal pop up was already up. My plan was to further cook the stuffing by itself in the oven if it didn't reach 165 but it wasn't necessary. I don't recall what the stuffing was when I took if off the KK but it got there via the carry over effect. I think how long the stuffing will take depends on its density and how tightly it's packed and its easy enough to just stick the stuffing in the oven for a while longer, if need be, to preserve the juiciness of the turkey.

[T Rex]

Re: Cooking time.......

Hi Forum members, I need some advice. Mrs. T Rex wants me to cook the Easter turkey on the KK............ of course! I picked up a 16.28 lb. bird which we also plan on stuffing and I was wondering how long will it take to cook at 325F? I was thinking indirect and in a roaster so that I can make gravy with the drippings......

Thanks in advance.

T Rex

Hi T Rex:

This is a picture of my stuffed Thanksgiving turkey, which came out fantastic!! It was 17.5 lbs and I did it at 325 Stoker for 4 hrs 10 min. In the Cooking General section there is a thread named Thanksgiving 2009 which has further info and some pictures of other turkeys. Definitely use a pan to catch the drippings for gravy. Best of luck!!

Hi Loquitur, this is exactly what I was looking for.......... If my bird turns out looking anything like yours, I will be ecstatic.... (as will be Mrs. T Rex) Since my Guru only has one meat probe, I was going to put the probe in the stuffing and use my Thermapen to check the breast and leg joint once the Guru probe is at 160F - 165F. Our stuffing is made with ground veal/pork, onions, mushrooms, cubed bread, apple, celery, cranberries and spices. As we saute the meat, onions and mushrooms in a frying pan then mix in the other ingredients, the stuffing is pretty much already cooked, then cooled before we put it in the bird.

It is blowing and raining "cats & dogs" out here today however, I have been so looking forward to this cook that I guess I will just have to suck it up.. the wine that is!

T Rex

[mguerra]

share?

T, could you post your stuffing recipe in the "Recipes" section?

[T Rex]

Re: share?

T' date=' could you post your stuffing recipe in the "Recipes" section?[/quote']

I will post it later today. Are we tied at the hip or something........ this is the second time we are posting at the exactly the same time!

T Rex

[Amphoran]

Doc,

When I'm roasting a turkey, I do them anywhere from 350 to 550, most often around 500.

Today, I'm SMOKING the turkey - low and slow, lots of applewood in the basket, brined bird.

Texture, color and flavor totally different than a roasted turkey - much closer to a lightly cured ham.

Cheers,

Mike

[Loquitur]

Re: Cooking time.......

Since my Guru only has one meat probe, I was going to put the probe in the stuffing and use my Thermapen to check the breast and leg joint once the Guru probe is at 160F - 165F. Our stuffing is made with ground veal/pork, onions, mushrooms, cubed bread, apple, celery, cranberries and spices. As we saute the meat, onions and mushrooms in a frying pan then mix in the other ingredients, the stuffing is pretty much already cooked, then cooled before we put it in the bird.

It is blowing and raining "cats & dogs" out here today however, I have been so looking forward to this cook that I guess I will just have to suck it up.. the wine that is!

T Rex

T-Rex:

When it gets close to the time set forth on the package for a stuffed turkey, start checking the breast and thigh. I recommend taking the bird out when they get to your temp. You can continue to heat your stuffing in the oven if you need to. It will already have all the good turkey flavors and texture from having been in the turkey as long as it was.

Your stuffing sounds wonderful. I'm tied to my family tradition of a bread stuffing with mushrooms and sausage.Like yours, the meat and veggies are already cooked before the turkey is stuffed.

[Amphoran]

Here's the photo.

After brining, rinsed, dried and rubbed with olive oil. 7 hours at 230 deg. (to an internal temp of 165).

Skin was dark mahogany color, and redolent of applewood, breast was slightly dry but nicely smoky (and well received); dark meat was spectacular, very moist, smoky, very much like a good ham.

This was a a first try; next time I'll try cooking it breast down to see if that keeps them moister, then one in the roti. The problem with that is that you can't monitor the temperature without opening the lid.

Cheers,

Mike

[Loquitur]

Those birds look great! This is my 10 lb Easter ham smoked at 235 deg for 5 hours. Cooking at these low temps is new to me and I love the effect on the texture of the meat. It was tender and silky unlike anything I've had before. I intended to score it but I forgot and when I remembered, didn't want to open the lid again. Neeless to say, it was a huge hit!!

[T Rex]

Those birds look great! This is my 10 lb Easter ham smoked at 235 deg for 5 hours. Cooking at these low temps is new to me and I love the effect on the texture of the meat. It was tender and silky unlike anything I've had before. I intended to score it but I forgot and when I remembered, didn't want to open the lid again. Neeless to say, it was a huge hit!!

Hey Susan, I will "score" it for you................ how about a 10 out of 10

What did you use for the glaze?

T Rex