Turkey too BIG?

[JackT]

OK folks, have heard everyone talk about not cooking a turkey that's too big. Reasons include "danger zone", extended cooking time and basically, space. Had an 18 lb Tom turkey that was begging to be smoked and I didn't want to offend him by telling him he was too large. That would be almost discriminatory! Where there's a will, there's a way. Had to ask ol Tom to split things up and we could do the smoke thing together. He was much obliged, but afterword just felt like a leftover Brined, halved and smoked. A big bird can be done.

 

[BedouinBob]

Whew! You survived!  Seriously, since you spatchcocked the bird it doesn't behave like an 18 lb bird. It is a great alternative to doing bigger birds. How long and how hot, etc. did you use?

 

[JackT]

Not quite spatchcocked, completely halved. It took close to 8 hours @ 250 with switching the top half to bottom at 4 hours. Cooked until the thick of the thigh hit 170 and then let rest an hour or slightly longer. Can't complain about the cook time, as I had planned about 7 hours. Started early so all was good.

 

[DivotMaker]

Good call, for a bird that big, Jack!  The two 9 lb halves didn't stay in the danger zone long, so that's definitely the way to go with a bird bigger than 14 lbs!  Looks fantastic!

 

[JackT]

Thanks Tony, it tasted pretty good too! The brining makes all the difference. It was turkey sandwiches for lunch today, so still enjoying it.