Yessir, be sure to call Hickory Hills before heading down. I believe they're open year round now but they used to close up for a few months in the winter time.
Question for You guys. Ill be smoking a turkey for our family's christmas gathering. I dont want to get the bird done too soon and have the quality suffer from sitting too long and I dont want to have everybody waiting for the turkey while everything else gets cold.
I figure if its done an hour or 2 early thats no big deal as I can foil wrap it and let it rest.
Anybody familiar with how long I need to plan?
Ive read everything from 6.5 hours to 12 hours.
30-40 minutes per pound, etc...its all over the place.
Its a 15 pound bird. Going by the 30 minutes per pound im estimating around 8 hours give or take.
Ive only done one other one and it was so long ago I dont remember how long it took.
anybody with experience and input would be appreciated.
I know every piece of meat is different but a little general experience may help me narrow it down.
Those numbers are on a low and slow smoke. I always cook my turkeys at 300-350 or so and they are done in about 3.5-4.5 hours. And I always give a 1 hour rest.
I smoked 3 turkeys so far this year and they have all been about 15 lbs and finished in that time frame. Also reading your above post make sure you brine your turkey for a day or so. If you dont smoking it will.dry it out quickly. I personally brine for 24 hours and then inject my turkey but the brine will at a minimum ensure the bird is juicy.
I agree with Grunt Soldier. I've smoked a lot of turkeys and they're always done in the 4-5 hour range. I smoke mine between 275* - 300* and I brine them as well. I've tried injecting but couldn't tell a difference so I don't do it any longer.
You can keep anything you smoke hot for hours by foil wrapping (I use two layers of the heavy foil), putting it into a cooler and covering with a thick towel or two. Six hours in a cooler like this and smoked chicken are still hot enough to be uncomfortable to pull with bare hands. If you want to err on the side of caution give yourself a couple hour cushion and have a cooler at the ready. The only downside to this is the skin won't be crispy but I smoke heavy enough that the skin isn't any good anyway.
Without a doubt the best way to smoke/grill a turkey. Follow this recipe to the letter and your results will be fantastic. I found this guys recipe about 5 years ago on a different site and it is perfect. His tip about putting ice on the breast before cooking makes a huge difference in final results.
I appreciate everyones input. My only concern is keeping my smoker (weber smokey mountain) at 325+ degrees for an extended period of time. Ive been known to have enough trouble keeping it at 225-250 for more than a couple hours at a time. Ill play with it and see what happens.
Man I trimmed up two 16lb briskets today. Going to drop them on the grill around 0500 in the am. Luckily I put In my wireless grill mod so I can monitor it from any beat lol. Pics to follow and hopefully the app works like the owner says it will. I'm nervous as it's all cloud based but that gives me access anywhere (hopefully) lol
Off to work. Briskets are on. Let's hope I'm able to make it home today or the wife is going to have a lot to learn and very little time to learn it lol