Arranging Two Turkeys

[Teejilla]

Hey all,
I'm planning on cooking two 13 lbs birds in my 3D for Thanksgiving. I'm looking for advice and implications of arranging the two birds inside the box.

It *might* be possible, with some kitchen twine and care, to get them both on the same rack. But I dont want them to touch the sides of the box or each other, so I might have to go with two racks.

If I have them one over the other, do I need to swap places halfway through? I'd hate to open the box and lose precious heat/smoke

Thanks!

Side note - first post - you're all awesome - got my 3D a week ago, already did 3 amazing smokes following your instructions!

 

[JustChillin]

Welcome to the forum and to the SI family. Since I have a #2 and would not attempt to smoke 2 turkeys at the same time, I will let the #3 owners give you some advice.

 

[TX Gent]

Upfront I'm using a small #1 so I don't have the experience to back up what I'm about to say ...

I've read many of the topics and followed the threads and it seems somewhere in my foggy mind others have used two racks with the birds slightly offset from each other to encourage smoke flow around both. Also if I'm not mistaken, putting the tail end at the back and the breast toward the door is the preferred placement. Although opposites might be better to once again encourage smoke flow and even heating since the birds would be on two levels.

I'm not sure there is an absolute set way or rule. Due to the way the smokers work I really don't think one can screw it up and we might be talking very small differences in the end. Anyone with more experience and knowledge please don't hesitate to correct me or chime in.

Do come back and give us the results of your double bird smoke so others can learn from your experience Teejilla.

Good Luck Teejilla and a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[SuperDave]

Stacked or on the same rack, one bird is going to finish before the other so the door is going to be opened before one of the birds is done. The birds can sit in the cooler with towels for quite some time before dinner so that isn't a problem if you plan for it.  In the stacked scenario, I don't like the idea of one bird being the heat shield to the other without swapping places 1/2 way through.  The smoke is long gone by then so don't let that bother you too much.  A rack swap can be done relatively quickly if you decide to go that way.  If you go with the all on one rack scenario, put an extra rack in the smoker should you need to rearrange or get the back turkey out first. 

 

[Teejilla]

Wanted to close the loop here and say thanks for your input, everyone!

Getting those birds in and smoked ended up being pretty hectic! I ended up going to Cabela's (my first experience with Cabela's, fwiw) and I picked up two metal poultry stands. I wasn't sure I would need them, but man I was glad I had them. I was going to go with Dave's over/under suggestion but it turns out they wouldn't fit! So I ended up using the stands and putting them on the same rack. It was dark, 6 in the morning, and I'm worried about time, struggling with 2 turkeys, jamming these contraptions in them, spilling stuffing, handling the birds with my welders gloves... but all's well that ends well. Everyone loved it!