Smoking a turkey?

Question

What is the best temperature to smoke a turkey?
What is the ideal cooking temperature?
What is the best way to determine if the turkey is done?
How can I cook a turkey completely without over cooking it to the point where the meat is falling off the bones?

Answer 1

My husband smokes a 14 pound turkey in a covered barbeque. He lights the fire and banks it on the edges so the turkey is not directly over the coals. He soaks hickory chips in water for two hours and puts some on the coals. As the turkey cooks he watches to make sure there is smoke and puts more chips on the minute the smoking stops. He cooks the turkey a little less than two hours. When the temperature gets to about 163 or so he takes it out. The turkey will continue to cook as it sits covered with foil for 10 minutes or so. It has to rest a bit before cutting or the meat will shred. When the thigh temperature reaches 165 to 170 it is fine to eat. We have always taken the lower temperature because we want the turkey to be juicy and not overcooked. The meat will be red when you cook it because the smoking makes it change color.

This is a delicious way to smoke the turkey. Most of our guests like it better than oven cooked.

Answer 2

You have 4 Q's there, here are 4 short answers:
180
325
Internal temp at the thigh 170
Roasted in a pan covered w/liquid

Answer 3

i tried to smoke a turkey once...but the rizzla papers werent big enough