SheikYerbuti Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 If Earl is done doing his thing, I'm going to smoke a 20 lb turkey tomorrow. 1. Should I brine it first? 2. How long in the smoker? Lots of experience with pig. . haven't done much bird in the smokehouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Definitely brine it and the only way to tell when it is done is with a temperature probe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Definitely brine it and the only way to tell when it is done is with a temperature probe. Yup. Doing a few birds tonight myself on the pit along with ribs.... up camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 If Earl is done doing his thing, I'm going to smoke a 20 lb turkey tomorrow. 1. Should I brine it first? 2. How long in the smoker? Lots of experience with pig. . haven't done much bird in the smokehouse. search 'brine' in this thread and you will find much info. Most definitely you should brine your bird. I have smoked a turkey. What you need to know going in is that if you smoke the bird, the skin will be rubbery and not very appetizing. I like crispy skin. I roast my turkey on the Egg at 350-375 degrees. I use a mild wood and the turkey still has a nice smoky flavor but the skin is nice and crispy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhippens Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 (edited) did one 2 weekends ago. took about 7 hours on mine. it was great. i did brine it overnight with water, seasoning salt, and thyme. that was only a 13 lb bird though. i would be very careful with a 20 lb. bird that's it definitely done. i've seen some folks say not to do one that big because it's in that middle ground of dangerous temps for a long period of time, but i have no idea what smoker you have, so i'm just saying it out loud. nonetheless, a 20 lb'r will take some time. Edited September 4, 2010 by rhippens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted September 5, 2010 Author Share Posted September 5, 2010 search 'brine' in this thread and you will find much info. Most definitely you should brine your bird. I have smoked a turkey. What you need to know going in is that if you smoke the bird, the skin will be rubbery and not very appetizing. I like crispy skin. I roast my turkey on the Egg at 350-375 degrees. I use a mild wood and the turkey still has a nice smoky flavor but the skin is nice and crispy. So here's how it went down: Did a little research and one site said to brine for 1 hour for every pound of bird. That meant a 20 hour brine, which I didn't have time for. So went without the brine. Smoked it for about 5 hours using a hickory and applewood mix. The troops were getting hungry at that point so I brought it up to temp in the oven. Came out pretty good. Plenty juicy without the brine. Biggest problem was not enough smoke flavor. It was a little smoky. . .just wanted more. And yes, the skin was too tough to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted September 5, 2010 Share Posted September 5, 2010 When I do a turkey on The Egg, I only do a 10 lb bird. That may be why I get a more smoky flavor than you would with a 20lb bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.