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Smoked Turkey on Pit Barrel Cooker (with pics)
Posted on 7/23/17 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 7/23/17 at 8:32 pm
I wanted to smoke a turkey so I could have a run under my belt for the upcoming holiday season. My wife also loves turkey and I've been hungry for a good gumbo (I want a left over turkey carcass for the base of my next gumbo). So here is my first smoked turkey on the PBC.
11# turkey w/ rub and slight injection of BBQ baste. Yes the neck, liver, and gizzards are getting some smoke also.
On the PBC they go.
This is the final product. The sausage, gizards, livers, etc were eaten for appetizer earlier. I should have carved and then taken another pic but everyone was ready to eat. All in all the meat was very juicy everywhere, the legs and wings were a bit over cooked for my taste, but everyone that ate them loved it. The bird cooked for 4 hours but should have come off about 20-30 min sooner. I got distracted late in the cook and by the time I checked the thermometer the temp was 167-170. Anyway, really enjoyed the meat and there is none left if that says anything. I was lucky to save my carcass.
11# turkey w/ rub and slight injection of BBQ baste. Yes the neck, liver, and gizzards are getting some smoke also.
On the PBC they go.
This is the final product. The sausage, gizards, livers, etc were eaten for appetizer earlier. I should have carved and then taken another pic but everyone was ready to eat. All in all the meat was very juicy everywhere, the legs and wings were a bit over cooked for my taste, but everyone that ate them loved it. The bird cooked for 4 hours but should have come off about 20-30 min sooner. I got distracted late in the cook and by the time I checked the thermometer the temp was 167-170. Anyway, really enjoyed the meat and there is none left if that says anything. I was lucky to save my carcass.
4
Posted on 7/23/17 at 9:14 pm to Ry_garou
Good looking bird.
Do the pit barrel cookers not have a heat shield like a kamado grill? I.e. are you smoking over direct heat?
Also, it looks like charcoal briquettes in the pit. Where did your smoke come from?
Do the pit barrel cookers not have a heat shield like a kamado grill? I.e. are you smoking over direct heat?
Also, it looks like charcoal briquettes in the pit. Where did your smoke come from?
This post was edited on 7/23/17 at 9:24 pm
Posted on 7/23/17 at 9:16 pm to Ry_garou
Is there a way to spatchcock it and still hang it?
Posted on 7/23/17 at 9:47 pm to KosmoCramer
There is a grill grate that can be used so if you want to spatchcock then it would lay on the grate. Half of the grate is also hinged if you want to hang things and also have things sit on the grate.
As far as the smoke I used some cherry wood chunks that I put on the charcoal. Yes it uses charcoal. No heat shield is needed. The meat that is hanged has the moisture from the top of the meat dripping down to the end closest to the heat, and onto the heat creating steam. The drum is designed to circulate heat. This link explains the science much better than I can. I will tell you that previous to the PBC I had a side load fire box smoker. The PBC cooks and smokes as good if not better than my old smoker set up, and with much less effort. I have done chicken, pork shoulder, ribs, cowboy ribeye, and various veggies so far. Here is the link if you are interested in how it works.
How it works
As far as the smoke I used some cherry wood chunks that I put on the charcoal. Yes it uses charcoal. No heat shield is needed. The meat that is hanged has the moisture from the top of the meat dripping down to the end closest to the heat, and onto the heat creating steam. The drum is designed to circulate heat. This link explains the science much better than I can. I will tell you that previous to the PBC I had a side load fire box smoker. The PBC cooks and smokes as good if not better than my old smoker set up, and with much less effort. I have done chicken, pork shoulder, ribs, cowboy ribeye, and various veggies so far. Here is the link if you are interested in how it works.
How it works
Posted on 7/23/17 at 10:02 pm to Ry_garou
Was it dry? It looks dry. Turkey doesn't seem like it work well on the setup.
Posted on 7/23/17 at 10:17 pm to GRTiger
The wings were the only thing that were dry. I take some blame for that by letting it took a bit longer than it should have. The breast and thighs were juicy and delicious. There are some YouTube videos of larger turkeys cooked this way and they are evenly cooked and juicy.
I've only had this for a couple months now so I am still calibrating how much charcoal I need for the meat being cooked. For a smaller turkey like this one I probably should have had less charcoal.
I've only had this for a couple months now so I am still calibrating how much charcoal I need for the meat being cooked. For a smaller turkey like this one I probably should have had less charcoal.
Posted on 7/23/17 at 10:23 pm to Ry_garou
Nice
I am such a sucker for turkey.
Where is the money shot of a turkey sandwich?
I am such a sucker for turkey.
Where is the money shot of a turkey sandwich?
Posted on 7/23/17 at 10:30 pm to Ry_garou
If you spatchcock, it'll cook the light and the dark more evenly. Just FYI
Posted on 7/23/17 at 10:31 pm to MeridianDog
Lol I know. My guests were ready to dive in and I missed my opportunity to get a money shot. I'll try and get a pic of the finished gumbo for you.
Posted on 7/24/17 at 12:55 am to Ry_garou
Looks terrific. I love smoked turkey and it makes great gumbo. I'm really thinking about a pit barrel. Everything I've had on one is delicious. I'm sold.
Posted on 7/24/17 at 1:47 am to Ry_garou
that looks great and I'm not even much of a turkey person
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