I smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving every year! By far the best way to do so.
My current method is using one of these which holds the turkey upright, which greatly helps get the dark meat cooked faster. Beer-can turkey/chicken is similar. It still takes forever, but it turns out well. Spatchcocking might be a nice thing to try.
My favorite part of smoked turkey is making Turkey Stock, for soup. WAY WAY WAY better than the actual turkey itself.
I like it, but with a foul of such enormity that I mentioned, it wouldn’t fit within the confines of my smoker. Barely cleared by a 1/4" laying down. Beer-can chicken is always a winner, though.
They even easier to cook evenly this way, the the advantage of taking dark meat to the slightly higher temp it prefers.
It takes some practice to look nice, but it’s a great way to save money on poultry if you’re so inclined.
Alternatively, if you look for a Capon, they’re a larger chicken (technically a rooster that’s been snipped, so to speak, rather than a hen.) they’re smaller than a turkey and have a somewhat milder turkey-flavor
I smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving every year! By far the best way to do so.
My current method is using one of these which holds the turkey upright, which greatly helps get the dark meat cooked faster. Beer-can turkey/chicken is similar. It still takes forever, but it turns out well. Spatchcocking might be a nice thing to try.
My favorite part of smoked turkey is making Turkey Stock, for soup. WAY WAY WAY better than the actual turkey itself.
I like it, but with a foul of such enormity that I mentioned, it wouldn’t fit within the confines of my smoker. Barely cleared by a 1/4" laying down. Beer-can chicken is always a winner, though.
You can break it down into parts And cook them individually/ in batches
They even easier to cook evenly this way, the the advantage of taking dark meat to the slightly higher temp it prefers.
It takes some practice to look nice, but it’s a great way to save money on poultry if you’re so inclined.
Alternatively, if you look for a Capon, they’re a larger chicken (technically a rooster that’s been snipped, so to speak, rather than a hen.) they’re smaller than a turkey and have a somewhat milder turkey-flavor
These techniques are pretty uniform across birds.
A worthwhile consideration. The bird only stays whole for the cook, but is served carved buffet style.
Large turkeys can be unwieldily for sure.
The solution going forward is simple. Cubed turkeys. Worked for Space Truckers.
Perfection