What temperature do I smoke a turkey at?

I just procured a gas (BBQ grillware) smoker and the thermostat has numbers
where the old smoker had 'warm' 'medium' and 'hot'.

I smoke birds in the old smoker for 6 hours on medium but in the new own
medium would be around 300* Fahrenheit.

According to http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_gasmark.htm, 300* is
'somewhat moderate', not "very moderate" and well under plane ole
"moderate".

So, 300* sounds about right, right? Or should the temp be lower since I'm
slow cooking at 8 hours?

I cook pork (leg) shanks in the oven for 6 hours at 200*

I'm confused, puh'leez hep me

YM

Yoo Momma wrote:

So, 300* sounds about right, right? Or should the temp be lower since
I'm slow cooking at 8 hours?

I do mine at around 260F. Forget the dial. Get a polder-style probe
thermometer. Clip the probe into a couple of wooden clothes-pins so that the
pins will sit on the grill surface like minature saw-horses -- that will
indicate the true temperature of the pit.

As to time estimates, there are too many variables: size of turkey, whether
it's been brined (home or packing house), how cold internally is the bird
when you put it on the grill, stuffed, how often you open the pit "just to
check", etc. A second probe can be inserted into the breast of the turkey
to indicate when it is done.

Be careful with the amount of smoke. It is REALLLLLY easy to oversmoke
poultry and accumulate a thick slimy coating of creosote on the skin.

Check out the BBQ FAQ at: http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/toc.html to
get more info. There is a whole section on turkeys that will give you a lot
more info.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Thanks Dave

I took the 15.5lb. bird out to become room temp at 12am.

I put three apples inside and wrapped it all in tinfoil but then opened it
up for the first 1.5 hours. Someone told me that the smokye flavor gets into
the meat when the skin is still 'open'. Once heat gets to it the pores close
and what oil you put on it forms a barrier.

I set the burner on low and it seems steady around 225, I'll bump it up a
notch.

YM

"Dave Bugg" wrote in message
...
Yoo Momma wrote:

So, 300* sounds about right, right? Or should the temp be lower since
I'm slow cooking at 8 hours?

I do mine at around 260F. Forget the dial. Get a polder-style probe
thermometer. Clip the probe into a couple of wooden clothes-pins so that
the pins will sit on the grill surface like minature saw-horses -- that
will indicate the true temperature of the pit.

As to time estimates, there are too many variables: size of turkey,
whether it's been brined (home or packing house), how cold internally is
the bird when you put it on the grill, stuffed, how often you open the pit
"just to check", etc. A second probe can be inserted into the breast of
the turkey to indicate when it is done.

Be careful with the amount of smoke. It is REALLLLLY easy to oversmoke
poultry and accumulate a thick slimy coating of creosote on the skin.

Check out the BBQ FAQ at: http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/toc.html to
get more info. There is a whole section on turkeys that will give you a
lot more info.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

"Yoo Momma" wrote in message

I set the burner on low and it seems steady around 225, I'll bump it up a
notch.

Unlike brisket or pork shoulder, turkey does not need the low and slow. It
can be done at the same temperatures as the oven and get good results.

Yoo Momma wrote:
What temperature do I smoke a turkey at?

At what temperature do I smoke a turkey?

Sheldon

"Sheldon" wrote in message
oups.com...

Yoo Momma wrote:
What temperature do I smoke a turkey at?

At what temperature do I smoke a turkey?

Sheldon



I haven't seen you over here before...Sheldon..I don't go into RFC much as
it is so prolific ..too many to read :-).... But a knowledgeable group ..

--
Bigbazza (Barry)..(The Boy from Oz)

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news

"Yoo Momma" wrote in message

I set the burner on low and it seems steady around 225, I'll bump it up a
notch.

Unlike brisket or pork shoulder, turkey does not need the low and slow.
It can be done at the same temperatures as the oven and get good results.


Thanks again. I turned it up to 350 for the last hour (over 10)

It turned out pretty good, not to smokey because it was sealed in foil for
at least 8hrs.

The meat still clung to the the joins but was fairly easy to come off.

You think a 15.5lb. bird could have been cooked for 4hrs. @ 350 and the meat
falling off the bone?

"CB" wrote in message
.. .

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news

"Yoo Momma" wrote in message

I set the burner on low and it seems steady around 225, I'll bump it up
a notch.

Unlike brisket or pork shoulder, turkey does not need the low and slow.
It can be done at the same temperatures as the oven and get good results.


Thanks again. I turned it up to 350 for the last hour (over 10)

It turned out pretty good, not to smokey because it was sealed in foil for
at least 8hrs.

The meat still clung to the the joins but was fairly easy to come off.

You think a 15.5lb. bird could have been cooked for 4hrs. @ 350 and the
meat falling off the bone?

(spoken with a Free'inch accee'eent) "But of course"