Pulled Turkey

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Cliff H.

Master Chef
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
6,143
Location
Jonesboro, Arkansas
I was watching FN this afternoon. This bbq joint was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

http://www.theepittsagain.com/

This guy does pulled turkey. 14 hours in an Ole Hickory gas fired smoker.

I can only assume that the temps are below 250 because he had everything in the pit at once.

The bird appeared to be fall apart tender like pulled pork.

I don't understand the science behind this because of the lack of fat but there appears to be something to it. :idea:
 
Whole turkeys could be tricky if too large. The cavity temp stays in the danger zone too long. But then again, he probably has repeat customers.
 
****** CLIFF!!!! :LOL: I saw the same episode and was going to do that this weekend but all the turkeys in the stores around here were beat all to hell and the wrappers were torn!!

That turkey in the episode intrigued me and I WANTED TO DO IT AS SOON AS I SAW IT!!!
 
So what temp are we going to attempt this at ?

My thought is to run it up above 140 just like I have been doing and then turn down the heat for low and slow for the next 12 hours or so. 8)
 
Cliff H. said:
So what temp are we going to attempt this at ?

My thought is to run it up above 140 just like I have been doing and then turn down the heat for low and slow for the next 12 hours or so. 8)

Cliff 140 is too hot it does not spend enough time in the danger zone if you do that way :LOL:
 
chris1237 said:
Cliff H. said:
So what temp are we going to attempt this at ?

My thought is to run it up above 140 just like I have been doing and then turn down the heat for low and slow for the next 12 hours or so. 8)

Cliff 140 is too hot it does not spend enough time in the danger zone if you do that way :LOL:

We wouldn't want that to happen. :LOL:
 
Cliff I'm going to do it just like I normally do my turkeys, at 250*. It generally takes anywhere from 1.5 - 2 hours to get it a 15lb turkey past 140*, I don't feel that's a problem at all. At least it never has been for me. I don't necessarily feel you "must" cook the turkey for 12-13 hours either, you can easily shred the meat if you pull at 165*. But I really want to cook it awhile longer than normal to see any benefits if any. The one the guy did on the episode, looked great when he stuck the fork in the breast and it just fell apart!
 
Rag said:
Whole turkeys could be tricky if too large. The cavity temp stays in the danger zone too long...

Really it doesn't. The outgrowth of pathogens that likely occurs during a slow come-up isn't an issue if the turkey is taken to safe internals. The two pathogens most associated with turkey, Salmonella and Campylobacter, are not heat resistant. The turkey will be pasteurized once temps and time take their toll.

[Note that once the turkey is cooked it should be treated like any cooked meat: if not planning to consume soon after cooking it should be cooled relatively quickly. This is especially important if the turkey is pulled. Handling cooked food--especially meats--after cooking, like pork for pulling, chicken for chicken salad, say, or in this case turkey for pulling, is likely to contaminate it with Staph. aureus, a pathogen that many people carry naturally on their skin. Meat that is handled should be further cooled then chilled. When reheating, don't allow too much time to do so. Staph grows within a temp range of 7ºC - 48ºC (44ºF-118ºF), with an optimum of 35ºC - 37ºC (95ºF-98ºF). It forms a toxin in a range of 40ºC-45ºC (104ºF-118ºF). The toxin is very heat resistant. ]
 
Pulled turkey, huh? Sounds like the way I carve. :oops:

I can't say exactly why, but pulled turkey doesn't sound very appealing to me.

--John
(K Kruger, your pathogen info is always informative and useful.)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom