WSM turkey breast

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LowRent

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
205
Having been inspired by Wolfe's topic, I decided to try turkey breasts on my almost brand new WSM. I'd purchased it just a week or two prior.

I did a whole, bone-in, skin-on turkey breast last Sunday. Brined in 2 gal on H2O with a half-cup each of kosher salt & light brown sugar. Also had a dash of peppercorns in the brine.

For the brine I brought a quart of water to a boil, added all the dry stuff & mixed until dissolved. Let same cool for about an hour. Poured into 5 gal water cooler along with 3 quarts of tap water & 4 quarts of ice. 1 + 3 + 4 = 2 if you follow me. The breast sat in this brine for about 20 hours. There were still ice cubes when I pulled it out of the cooler.

I used the Minion method to get the WSM started, but, evidently, didn't quite use enough hot coals. Immediately after placing the hot coals on the unlit coals I put the breast on and closed the lid. The lid stayed on/closed until I removed the breast.

The temp never got much over 220, and hovered at or below 200 for almost 1.5 ours.

At hour 4.5 - 5.75 the breast temp plateaud at 154. The pit temp (taken with a 10" therm through the upper vent) was starting to roll back from 220 to 210 over that time. I then checked the briquettes and they were just about gone. I only used a layer-&-a-half or so to begin with. Of course, I had some chunk hickory in there too.

I added another half-chimney of hot coals 20 minutes later, i.e. at around 5.75 hour mark. Temp shot up to 280 but I didn't care. I just wanted what turned into a 6.5 hour cook to end as we were all hungry. Pulled the turkey off when finally got to 160. Wrapped in heavy foil & placed in newspaper lined cooler for 45 minutes.

The turkey was good, but not great. It was a little drier than I was expecting, and frankly, not as juicy as when I'd just roasted in the past on the One Touch Gold 22.5 using indirect heat & the same brine.

I think the breast was just out there too long. I believe that had I gotten the temp up earlier, like to 225-250, the time would have been right and the result much more juicy.

Next time, in addition to getting the temp up where it should have been, I think I may pull the breast at 155. Carryover will result in at least another 5 degrees to end at 160, won't it?
 
Okay first off your brine was too weak, it didn't have enough salt. You were basically soaking the bird in seasoned water, not a brine. Figure roughly 1/4 cup of salt per quart of water and roughly 1/4 cup of sugar per 1/2 gallon of water. Whatever else you add to your brine is up to your imagination and taste.

The low temperature concern me with poultry. If you're dome temp was at 220* you were really only cooking in the 205* range. I start off with approx. 10-15 lit coals using the MM. Leave all vents 100% open until the dome temp hits 200*, then shut them all down by 3/4. For poultry it the temp isn't in the 250* range (lil' higher or lower it's still good!), I make a vent adjustment within 30 minutes.

You temperature problems could have been caused by your thermometer for a number of reasons. If it was 10" there is a chance it was touching the turkey, that would have kept your temp down. Or the thermometer, like many being used could have probably been incorrect. Try calibrating your thermometers and see if they are within a couple degrees of 212* when placed in boiling water. If it's more than say 7-8 degrees I'd toss it.

Hope this helps, don't give up! Keep trying, smoked turkeys are awesome!
 
I just did me turkey last week without brine..averaged 250 degrees, took about 4 and a half hours...was awesome..very juicy. I will brine the next time just to see what the difference is...
 
Larry Wolfe said:
Okay first off your brine was too weak, it didn't have enough salt. You were basically soaking the bird in seasoned water, not a brine. Figure roughly 1/4 cup of salt per quart of water and roughly 1/4 cup of sugar per 1/2 gallon of water. Whatever else you add to your brine is up to your imagination and taste.

Wow. That would be a truly strong brine. You recommend that salt level even for a 20 hour soak? I usually use an 1/8 C of kosher & sugar each for about a 1/2 gal for my 24 hour brines.

Larry Wolfe said:
The low temperature concern me with poultry. If you're dome temp was at 220* you were really only cooking in the 205* range. I start off with approx. 10-15 lit coals using the MM. Leave all vents 100% open until the dome temp hits 200*, then shut them all down by 3/4. For poultry it the temp isn't in the 250* range (lil' higher or lower it's still good!), I make a vent adjustment within 30 minutes.

You temperature problems could have been caused by your thermometer for a number of reasons. If it was 10" there is a chance it was touching the turkey, that would have kept your temp down. Or the thermometer, like many being used could have probably been incorrect. Try calibrating your thermometers and see if they are within a couple degrees of 212* when placed in boiling water. If it's more than say 7-8 degrees I'd toss it.

The vents were all at 100% open the entire time. There was never cause to close them.

The thermometer was neither touching the bird or the grill. I could move it to verify same. Also, I used a Poulder digital for the bird and pit temp. It tracked fairly closely, i.e. within 5 degrees, of the cheapo through the vent. I'm fairly confident that most of the time the temp at grill was around 210-215... but, it was lower for the first hour-&-a-half.

I just didn't use enough hot coals, and may not have let the ones I used burn long enough before adding them. Just a newbie error. Nothing more. I'm doing a brisket flat today. I used 20 hot and the temp in the dome was up to 250 within 30 minutes. Right now the flat is at 166 and the dome temp is 230. I just opened the vents a little before tending to this thread. Vents are all a little over 25% open as I write this.

I know I could benefit from more accurate thermometers... but I'm pretty sure santa is bringing a Stoker setup for Christmas. Not that I wouldn't like a good bimetal analog in addition to the Stoker, but I have to pace my purchases.

Larry Wolfe said:
Hope this helps, don't give up! Keep trying, smoked turkeys are awesome!

Everyone's input does help, and I'm not even contemplating giving up. This was the first try with a new toy. I've got a lot to learn.
 
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