Bull Smoke Turkey

[Nikeguy53]

How long will it take to smoke18 lbs bird?

 

[Greg Jones]

How long will it take to smoke18 lbs bird?

What temp are you looking to smoke at? That will be the bigger factor in determining the time. Regardless, always go with the longer time. Any protein is more forgiving of additional rest time rather than the alternative.

 

[Jim6820]

What @Greg Jones said!

 

[Beach Bum]

I'm doing 21lb spatchcocked this year. It will be 2 hours at 180 and then crank to 375. Based on past years I think maybe another 2 plus hours to finish? Hope that gives you at least one way to try it.

 

[Pacman]

Yeah, temperature is the name of the game as @Greg Jones said. Then the question is what you want to serve. Are you going for "smoked turkey", kiss of smoke, or tastes like oven-roasted, but done outside (freeing up oven space for sides)?

I get the most compliments/fewer objections of an hour of smoke at 200 - 225 then crank up to "roasting" temps of 350 +/- to get the skin crispy and be more traditional.

I did a 19 pound bird, brined and spatchcocked last year and it took about 4.5 hours using the model above. I dialed back to a 15 pound bird this year. I'm guessing about a 3.5 - 4 hour cook.

If you want a genuine "smoked turkey" you'll cook for longer at lower temp. If you want "oven roasted" you'll just run at 350 - 375 for the whole ride. The happy medium formula that works for me is above.

Spatchcocking and brining are your friends....just to toss that in.

 

[Jim6820]

And, what @Pacman said too. Good advice from both of the above. Nothing more I can add.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Am I the only one who thinks SMOKED turkey magically turns into HAM? I love it on the grill, on the recteq, but too long too Smokey gives me hammy vibes.
Too bad the Black Friday deals to help with all the turkey questions can’t arrive in time to make things easier.

 

[Greg Jones]

Same here, and my wife really agrees. I cook a smallish bird (under 12#), spatchcock, and go with hotter/faster on the cook. Better experience for us.

 

[Jim6820]

We prefer the “kiss of smoke” version described above. Overly smoked turkey takes on something of a bitter taste IMO.

 

[SmokeZilla]

As each bird and each cook is different the typical rule of thumb is 15 minutes per pound at 350F. HOWEVER, as identified above it depends on how you do it. I do birds about that size on a rotisserie and it takes about 3.5-4hrs at 325. If I spatchock it comes in at about 2.75-3hrs, smoker at 245F takes longer. If I brine for 36 hours the same methods take about 20-30 minutes longer. I finally gave up, plan for a 4 hour cook and 30 minute rest. If it finishes early, oh well. For me the temp is what I usually use as a guide.