First Smoke # 2 Questions on Turkey Breast and Chicken Thighs?

P

Papa Rick

New member
Got the smoker and cart yesterday and unpacked it today and WOW WOW WOW!!  Awesome product, very sturdy built for sure.  It is going through the seasoning right now.  Have a few questions on this first one.

I am doing 2 Turkey Breast one is 5 1/2 lbs and then 7 lbs.  I will also be smoking 18 chicken thighs also.  Plan on using the Cherry smoke I ordered from here also.

1.  What temp would be best to do this and what time frame on all items, as I will start the turkey breast and then add the chicken thighs later.

2.  Where would you place everything in the smoker?  Would it be best to put the 2 breast on the bottom and breast on top since they are smaller? 

3.  Would you try and put everything us as high as you could?

I have done these before on a Char Griller, but they were spaced out and didn't have to worry about one dripping on the other so looking for any suggestions and or advice as this will be my first of many smokes with this AWESOME unit!

4. 
 
This is a tall order!  I would put the turkey breasts on the same rack and below the chicken wings.  I would probe the smaller breast and remove at 160 to 165IT, your decision.  This should take about 3.5-4 hours at 225 to 235F setting.  After removing the small breast, I would move the probe to the larger breast, and I am guessing it might need another 30-45 minutes.  At the same time, I would do a taste test on the chicken wings and see if they are done.  If so, take them off and let the last breast finish.  The last time I did chicken wings they only needed about 3.5 hours at 225, so they should be ready by the time your first breast is done.

I smoked two 5# turkey breasts last weekend that need about 4 hours to finish, so I would think the 7# breast might go closer to 4.5 to 5 hours. 

Let us know how you make out.  Cheers!
 
I am doing Chicken Thighs, not wings, and they are bigger than I wanted to do with the Turkey Breast, but did not have any choice with this.  How long should it take the Chicken Thighs to be done?

I did not know if it was possible to try and get them done about the same time they are close to eat or not?
 
The way my smoker cooks I would put the thighs on the top rack. The turkey I would put immediately below that with the larger breast in the back of the smoker as it runs hotter on my #3. Probe the smaller breast and switch to the larger one when you pull the small one.

The thighs shouldn't be a problem getting done but you can speed them up by leaving the thigh bone but removing the flat portion of the pelvis.
 
Sorry about the mix up...I saw wings(!) when you were talking thighs.  My chicken thighs are not huge, but take about 3.5 hours to smoke on a #2.    When you remove the first turkey breast, use a remote therm to check the thighs; they should be done at around the time of the smaller breast.
 
Thanks for the advice! :)

I have the Turkey Breast in 6:50 a.m. cst. Temp set at 225.  Question on the Chicken Thighs is this:  We are going to be eating at 12 cst and I only have to travel 10 minutes to get there, so when should I put the Thighs on?  At 7:30, if it takes 3.5 to cook them should be done at 11 pm (16 Big thighs).

I don't want to have them sit already cooked too long (Looking for advice on how long thighs can sit after I pull them and still be safe and should I cover them in tin foil to keep the juice and heat in until we start to eat them)?
 
Better to finish early than not in time!  If they finish early, I would put them in a pan and wrap the top with foil and place them in the oven (or a cooler) to keep them hot.  They should maintain a warm temp for an hour or more.  They should be safe for an hour with no problem.
 
Papa...I would suggest that you start everything at the same time...you don't want to be opening the door a half hour after you start the turkey breasts to insert the thighs...this is when the greatest amount of smoke will be coming from the wood box!  Start everything at the same time, and then check the thighs at 3.5 hours with a remote therm.  If they are done, then remove to a pan and foil.
 
This is a learning process for sure!  ;D A good one but still a learning one as the previous grill was a Char Griller, glad to have it, but there was so much baby sitting with that compared to this one (LOVE IT), just have to learn how to use it.

I had already put the breast on and added the thighs at 7:45, and will watch them from here and see how it all turns out. 

I really do appreciate the advice and suggestions, as my biggest concern if I started them all at the same time was the thighs getting done early and sitting out too long.

Does it hurt to add a small piece of wood during the process?  I bought the cherry wood and put one small chunk in to start with, didn't have scales to measure it and read that smaller is better than bigger, so only put one chunk in to start with.
 
You are off and running...can't wait to hear how it all turns out!  It is a learning experience, but it doesn't take too many smokes to become a real expert at lazy Q!    As for additional wood, I would advise not to do it...the wood box is very hot...I think you will be fine with the small piece that you started with, which was probably in the 3oz range.  The SI smokers take very little wood to produce good smoky flavor.  Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Wow that one piece of wood is still smoking good!  Before on the Char Griller, I would spend five to ten dollars to get the smoke taste using wood chips! 

The breast have been on the grill 1 1/2 hour, temp is 122 and 127, not sure what and how temp should go on this but taking notes and will learn as I go.

Thanks swthorpe for all the advice and suggestions!  As many have stated on here it is hard not to open and check everything as I used to do with the previous griller, but a nice change.

Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Pulled them both 9:40 am  temp on both breast was 165.  Wrapped in foil, wrapped a beach towel around each one and placed in a box.  Surprised they both cooked so fast on 225, only took 2 hrs 50 minutes.  Hopefully they will keep until 11:45 when I will cut them up?  I believe they will as it is only 2 hrs 5 minutes after pulling them.

Put Chicken thighs on at 7:50 on top rack and they are already at 150.
 
Wow, that was a little quicker than I have seen...usually I hit bit of a stall at around 145-150 before pushing through the 165.  I think you will be OK on keeping them wrapped for a couple of hours. 
 
10:30, opened the smoker, got 16 thighs, 8 with Italian Dressing on them left them that way.  8 more were wrapped in bacon, pulled them out put a little Sweet Rays BBQ Sauce and small amount of Brown Sugar on them, turned up the smoker to 250 and will take off at 165.  I am hoping this will put the crispy on the bacon before I am done.
 
First Time on the smoker # 2, was not as good as I had planned! :-[

None of this was due to the smoker, but on the human side.  I did not pull the Turkey Breast when the probes said they were done due to the fact I could not believe they were done that quick.  I kept them until they hit 165, wrapped them in foil, beach towel, placed in a box and held them 2 hours 20 minutes and then opened them up and carved them.

They were still moist, looked good and tasted good. 

The Chicken Breast were a different story, they too were done quicker than I thought they should be, held them longer to 170, looked dry, had a great taste, but were indeed very dry no moisture in the meat what so ever.

Only used one chunk of Cherry wood, could not believe the chunk smoked for over 4 hours.

Loved the Smoker it did what everyone said it would do:  Make your job much easier for sure!! :)

Lesson learned on this was one I will remember in the future:

1.  These smokers are built like a tank and well worth the money.

2.  I had the Maverick ET-733 Wireless Thermometer for the first time and they were great.

The main lesson I learned was this, if you will follow the instructions it is almost impossible (Unless you let the human side of you tell you otherwise) to mess up the cooking part of it.

I am looking forward to many more cooks with this smoker, it is AWESOME!!
 
Thanks for the update, Papa!  You will see better and better results as you get more smokes under your belt.  It doesn't take much practice with the SI, but practice makes perfect.  Cheers
 
Great analysis of the first smoke, Papa.  That's how we learn - keep records of what worked, and what didn't, and modify accordingly!  By the way, you mentioned "one chunk" of cherry going 4 hours; do you have a digital scale, and did you weigh the chunk?  "One chunk" could be 2 oz or it could be 6 oz.  Your smoke should have been about 2 oz. needed, so I suspect your chunk weighed much more than that.  Weighing your wood will save you from over-smoking your meat, and allow you to dial-in the taste you're looking for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Model 2 overly smokey
Replies
15
Views
373
bekirby3
B
T
Considering the Model 2 unit...which one...
Replies
3
Views
711
old sarge
old sarge
M
Wanting to smoke my first whole turkey
Replies
4
Views
3K
old sarge
old sarge
K
First Bacon - Wanting to cold smoke and finish hot smoke but have a question
Replies
3
Views
3K
old sarge
old sarge
K
First Sausage and First Use of the Smokin-It 3D Pro Smoker
Replies
3
Views
3K
old sarge
old sarge
Back
Top