Wanting to smoke my first whole turkey

[Mailman483]

Hello everyone.  Curt from Battlefield, MO.  I own a Little Guy, Model 1.  I've had it for several years and aside from replacing the temperature control hardware, (mine is non-digital), it has performed very well.  I have searched and read the forums as a guest up until now.  I have smoked many pork butts and a few racks of ribs, but that's it.  I'm about to smoke a whole turkey for Christmas.  I've been studying up by reading this forum and others.  Has anyone else with a Model 1 smoked a whole turkey?  I'm going with a 12-14 pound bird.  I'm looking for any recommendations or suggestions on successfully pulling this off.  I'll be brining for at least 12 hours before preparing it to put in the smoker.  Considering cherry or apple wood.  Thanks in advance for any "sage" advice.  See what I did there? 

 

[Lonzinomaker]

Welcome to the forum.
I have a #1 and have done several turkey breasts in it.  I dry brine the breast for 24 hours and every body likes how tender and moist the meat is. The meat is not oozing liquid when cooked, but it is very tender. Just be sure to monitor temp and pull when it is done (I use 140 deg X 15 min as my done temp).
I also use a mix of apple and cherry for the smoke.
If your turkey fits with a little space around the bird for smoke flow, you should be good to go.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Note that you probably won't get crispy skin on the turkey.  The analog units don't get hot enough for that.  That said, I've tried many times to get a moist, tender turkey with crispy skin and achieving all of those goals has been elusive.  I may try using my model 2 analog next time I smoke a turkey and not worry about the crispy skin.

I look forward to hearing how yours comes out.

 

[Mailman483]

Well now that it?s all over, I wanted to give an update on the results of my first ever whole turkey smoke.  I brined it overnight for a total of 11 hours.  Took it out of the brine, rinsed it and patted dry before applying seasoning - Hard Core Carnivore Fried Turkey Seasoning.  The Grill Guys, (name of the store where I bought it), calls it turkey in a bottle.  Cranked the little guy as high as it goes - 250 degrees with 3 ounces of apple wood, and put it on just before 6 a.m.  I set it on top of the middle rack and felt there was enough clearance for the top of the bird.  Basted it with butter after the first couple of hours, and then hourly after that.  The temp climbed steadily, and I really thought it would be finished earlier than the projected 6-7 hours.  At the 6 1/2 hour mark, everything else was ready to eat, so I pulled it and put into the oven at 350 in order to get it to the recommended safe temp of 165.  As you can see from the photos, it was overcooked, even though the internal temp was where it needed to be.  I ended up removing the skin as it was rubbery and chewy.  Can?t really give an impression of the seasoning, as it was on the exterior only.  The meat itself was still moist and due to the brining had a good flavor.  I don?t think I?ll be doing another turkey anytime soon.  As was mentioned, a higher temperature is necessary in order to achieve a crispy skin, and I do like my skin crispy. 

 

[old sarge]

Looks completely normal from what I have seen others do.  As for the rubbery skin, some folks torch it or grill it or feed it to their pup ( rubs and smoke not recommended for the pooch).