'Nuther Smoked Turkey Question...

[JamesB]

Hey Dats, not trying to start anything here and I'm no expert here either. I'm just the overly cautious type when it comes to food safety... Not paranoid mind ya, but cautious. To me 150° for poultry is still undercooked and yes that could be argued...

I do tend to eat things that a lot of others might not. I like my red meat red and my white meat pink so to speak, but poultry is the one thing that I take precautions with. Having been on the food poisoning ride before, I don't wish that on anybody! But it is up the the individual to decide...

Happy Cook'n!

James.

[DATsBBQ]

It's better to error on the side of safety, your point is well made.

[OSD]

I don't think too many people would have a commercial rapid chiller to cool the bird back down quick enough to be safe. I agree with DATs that cooking to 150* would take it out of the danger zone for that part of the cooking, but when cooling it back down you are putting it back in the danger zone til it would cool to 41* and then when re-cooking it would be in the zone again til it reached 140* again. Between the cooling and re-cooking time I would think it would be in the danger zone too long and bacteria could really grow and do some harm. JMHO
I agree with JamesB that I wouldn't want to chance it.

"Food that is not cooled fast enough is one of the leading causes of food borne illness."

This is from the food handling safety course booklet.

[Hilbilydlux111]

Maybe I can bring this post to a screeching halt!!! I have a problem that is along the same line, but I have been asked to smoke a turkey for work. I only have about 5 hours the morning of the lunch, and don't have the time time to babysit a turkey the night before on the smoker. How would my bird turn out if I fully cooked it in the oven the night before, and then put it on the smoker for a couple of hours in the morning to heat it up and add some smoke flavor? I am not a fan of smoking turkey. I smoked 5 last year for different family meals during the holidays.

[JamesB]

Cooking in the oven and then re-heating in the smoker would certainly add an element of smoke flavor and would work very well just to re-heat the turkey.

5 hours is also plenty of time to cook a 12-14lb bird in the smoker. I cook turkeys at or close to oven temps. Normally at ~325°. A 12-14lb bird at these temps takes me about 3-4 hours depending on other circumstances.

[DATsBBQ]

I like to break out the old weber kettle for Turkeys. Coals on the left and right and drip pan underneath and bacon across the top of the bird. Let her rip, maybe 3 hours max. Replace bacon as it cooks up. They come out great each time I do 'em like that.

[Kenny 13]

Cooking in the oven and then re-heating in the smoker would certainly add an element of smoke flavor and would work very well just to re-heat the turkey.

5 hours is also plenty of time to cook a 12-14lb bird in the smoker. I cook turkeys at or close to oven temps. Normally at ~325°. A 12-14lb bird at these temps takes me about 3-4 hours depending on other circumstances.

That's a point I was going to mention. I used to cook turkey in the smoker at lower temperatures, but last Thanksgiving I cooked a brined 14 pound bird in about 3.5 hours at 325*. Doing it that way, 5 hours should be plenty time.

[Papa Tom]

OK here's how it's done. Buy a frozen bird or take the one out of the freezer you got last year and thaw in the plastic wrap according to directions. The bird should be nearly bug free due to the freezer stay. Prep and smoke the bird at the usual 225° for a couple hours. Put the thing in one of those plastic baking bags leaving the tie just loose enough for pressure to escape and oven cook to your heart's desire ( I do the low temp thing ). When cooked tighten the tie and remove to cool there should be no new bugs introduced and the ones inside are cooked and taste just like chicken. When cooled enough refrigerate and if necessary reheat in the bag.
I usually brine the birds first and sometimes I cure them, all work well this way.