Outdoor Living & Lifestyles - smoking a turkey

I like to smoke our turkey for thanksgiving and I have a hard time keeping the cooking temperature at the "ideal" level. Its usually pretty cold but I keep the smoker out of the wind. I changed to hardwood from kingsford thinking it would offer more heat. Am I maybe using too much or too little??
Thanks,
Shishkabob

What kind and brand of smoker do you have?

How do you measure the temperature? - Built in dials are worthless. Should be a thermometer inside on an upper shelf.

Ya, I agree.
We need to know exactly what smoker you are using, how you have prepared the bird and how big it is.

A turkey is difficult to do on the smaller smokers as many of them have a hard time keeping the heat up for as large a mass as a turkey.
A turkey you might want to smoke at a higher temperature say in the 250 - 275 degF range to allow it to cook somewhat faster.
You need to be careful with poultry if your cooking times get really long like over 12 hours as bacteria can bloom at the low internal temps.

One way to help your bird along if your smoker can not handle it is to start it in the oven and put it in the smoker when the internal temp is around 100 degF

Just putting the short ribs in the smoker now............give us more info and we'd be glad to help!

Thanks for the reply.
I have the most basic Brinkman smoker. I have been using the original thermometer, what type should I look at?
I usually try and keep the weight around 10-11 lbs.
Should I be looking at other smokers too?
Any good place to go for recipes?
Thanks,
Bob

I also use a basic Brinkman water bath with good charcoal and sprinkle soaked apple or hickory chips. I have discovered that the non-descript lid thermometer is misleading, especially in cold weather. I use a good oven thermometer on the shelf to get a more accurate reading, but opening too often will give low readings. I plan to get a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature (maybe two so I can watch air temperature also and plan re-feeding.

the basic unit is OK since I do not have the interest in buying a bigger fancier toy/unit that I have to start learning all over with.

I cook at a slightly lower temperature range and be patient and do not let the time go over 10 - 12 hours. Bringing the critter up to slightly less than room temperature is good and pre-cooking will shorten the wait. This does help with the outside temperature below zero. Without wind, the very low temperatures do not have as much effect, contrary to what the TV weatherman says.

I am always prepared and expect the too frequent addition of more charcoal. It is a project to be monitored and you have to dedicate the ability to monitor since you cannot afford it to cool off and try to bring it back up.

I find the largest bird I will attempt is a 12#'er. Beef and pork are much easier to do properly. Venison can be great.

For recipies, I have searched the internet and looked for the common ingredients and procedures and then add or subtract as I experiment.

Dick

Is this what you have?

http://www.brinkmann.net/images/products/OutdoorCooking/810-5301-C-F.gif (http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/Series.aspx?category=Outdoor+Cooking&subcategory=Charcoal+Smokers+%26+Grills&series=OUT-1001-3&seriesname=Gourmet%20Charcoal&id=0)
Image courtesy of brinkman.net

I have not used this type but I believe that if your heat is not high enough you need to add more charcoal during the cooking process.
Pretty much any smoker out there will make a good product as long as you stick with it and practice..............a lot. :thumbup:

If all you are doing is smoking one turkey a year then what you have should work fine.
If you wanted to upgrade there is a lot of choice out there.

This is what I had been using until I built a new one.

http://www.brinkmann.net/images/products/OutdoorCooking/810-3030-0.gif (http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/Detail.aspx?category=Outdoor+Cooking&subcategory=Charcoal+Smokers+%26+Grills&sku=810-3030-0&series=OUT-1001-9&seriesname=Pitmaster&id=920)
Image courtesy of brinkman.net

I was able to turn out not too bad a meal out of it but my laziness steered me to building an all electric temperature/smoke controlled cooker.

As Dick said though I need to learn to smoke all over again :D

I must have similar smoker to what you have, because I have the basic, less-expensive Brinkman with the built-in thermometer that has the "Ideal" range. I bought a numerical thermomter and added it (by drilling a 1/4" hole in the lid a few inches from the built-in thermometer. It helps me better guage temps.
Back to your turkey question - I did a medium size turkey back in December on a cold, windy day. After fighting to keep temps in the ideal range for 2 hours, I finally moved the bird to oven inside. At this point I figured I had a good bit of smoke flavor already. I did a rub on the bird the night before and added a little apple vinegar to the bag while it was sitting in the fridge all night. I also stuffed the bird with apples, rosemary and other spices, along with a lot more rub right before I threw it in the smoker. I added the rest of the rub to the outside of the bird and added the rest of the apples, apple cider, and rosemary to the water in the smoker. For my first bird, it was pretty darn good. I don't think I'd change a thing next time.

I've found that smnoker to be tough for keeping temps for any thing I cook. I start my fire with a charcoal chimney for about 20 minutes, then dump the red hot coals into the base. I also add some wet chips and a smoke pouch. I find I have to tend to to it about every 15 minutes to keep it 275-325 inside. If I take the lid off the top, the fire roars back to life, but when i add the lid again, the temps fall off as the fire dies. Maybe I need more ventilation. I may try to add an adjustable vent on the bottom sometime.

I've found the hardest part of smoking a turkey is finding papers big enough.

Sorry, had to do it.

We came from a deep frying turkey area.

I do it the easy way. I smoke the turkey in the smoker for about 4-5 hours. Then I take it out, butter the outside and inside, cover it with foil, and place in a 215 degree oven overnight.

Next mornin' the meat falls of the bird.

Lone Stranger,
I guess my question would be...isn't the turkey dry after cooking all night....even if it's only 215 degrees??
After cooking outside in the smoker for about 6 hours I have put it in the oven for about an hour at 300.
Thanks for the idea though,
shiskabob