Electric smoker question

[H60mech]

Hey guys, i just got an electric smoker, and was trying to figure out how long at what temp i should smoke my thanksgiving turkey for. Any help would be awsome, ive only used it twice since i've had it.

[Iluv2hunt]

You want to go about 300* for turkey. It needs to be cooked to about 165-170 in the breast, and 175-180 in the thigh. Keep in mind the temps will rise by 5-8* after you pull it out of the smoker. Poultry has a tendency to have a bit of rubbery skin. One trick you can do is pull bird out of smoker before you hit target temp, and pop it in the oven on LO broil for about 10 minutes to crisp skin...(DON'T GO MAKE A DRINK OR EAT SNACKS WHILE IT'S IN THERE. STAY BY THE OVEN. SKIN CAN BURN QUICK, YOU JUST WANT TO CRISP IT UP)

You can cook it early int he day and place it in a tin pan, wrap in foil and place in a cooler, It will stay hot for several hours.

Also, figure about 20-30 min/pound

good luck. Also, I like fruit wood for poultry

[GoodOyster]

If it has one of those mechanical (bimetallic spring) temp gauges, don't trust the temperature reading! Get you a decent digital thermometers, maybe something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Thermome ... eter+grill

A guy at work who does BBQ catering uses one similar to that one. He likes the remote function so he can monitor it from his kitchen or living room.

[H60mech]

Thanks guys for the info. Oyster, my smoker has a built in digital timer/temp gauge, but it wouldnt hurt to have one so i can sit on the couch and monitor.

[jtcmedic]

1 brine turkey
2 big green egg cook it
3 enjoy.


Side note Adam going out to get squirrel this weekend due to your post. Gonna cook them in the egg!
Be safe

[H60mech]

Man, i dont make that much $$$, atleast not enough to buy a BGE!

[Iluv2hunt]

A meat thermometer is a must. There's no way to know where the meat temp is at without one

[nachogrande]

you know what they say about too many cooks, and I'm gonna really be splitting hairs here. a true smoke house cooks "cold", you can stand in them. somewhere between 85-110 degrees I'd guess. what we do with gas,electric or charcoal is imo grilling with a water pan and soaked wood chips to add a smoky taste. and it works and tastes good. I've used gas and charcoal types but kept temps lower in the 140-180 range as possible as you don't want the water bowl to boil and steam the meat, let alone having to refill it every 15-30 minutes. however lower temps take longer to cook food. I only did turkey breasts, as a whole turkey would take way too long. any of the above methods should work fine. I'd just keep a close eye on the chips and water pan if you plan on using them, at higher temps. bon appetitte.

[milkman]

Poultry takes on smoke much faster than other types of meat and the little bit of fat that it has reduces the need for a real low and slow cook. I'm going to go at about 300 with a couple of chunks of Apple wood for about an hour to an hour and a half and then increase the heat incrementally until I hit 400 at the end to achieve crisp skin.

[nachogrande]

I bought the brinkman propane smoker primarily to do the trout I was getting fom a nearby fly fish only stream. even on low temps they didn't take very long to cook and were hard to overdo. next to trout was shrimp, salmon then turkey. applewood and hickory wood 50/50 are awesome. kinda hard to find applewood down here. mix some sour cream, horseradish and dill, then refidgerate for a few hours, for a dipping sauce.

[Pochop7]

You just made me hungry