My first PBC turkey

[PongGod]

Over the past 9 months I've had mostly good experiences with the PBC doing chicken, ribs, brisket, and a few other items, so today I'm beginning my next adventure with smoking a 12# turkey. I injected it yesterday with a homemade marinade concoction, stuffed the cavity with several pieces of orange and onion, and seasoned the outside with olive oil and a homemade rub. Here are a few initial photos since I hung it two hours ago. BTW, I just probed for temperature and I'm already getting 165F in the thigh. 165-170 is supposed to be the target temperature, right? That seems awfully quick to me. Any experienced opinions on this are welcome!

[attachments deleted after 6 months]

[teesquare]

You may see the thigh temp go to 180-185F before the breast hits 165F. Not to worry - the thighs can take the extra heat without drying. If it is possible to check the breast temp  - I would while it is cooking.

[sliding_billy]

Looking good.

[Las Vegan Cajun]

Looking good so far. 

[Pappymn]

Looks great

[PongGod]

You may see the thigh temp go to 180-185F before the breast hits 165F. Not to worry - the thighs can take the extra heat without drying. If it is possible to check the breast temp  - I would while it is cooking.

I went ahead and pulled it at 2-1/2 hours. I was getting thigh readings slightly over 170 on one side and well over 200 on the other, which seemed weird. I kept putting the probe in different spots and kept getting similar readings. So I wrapped it all in towels and it's resting in the cooler. I just can't imagine that it's undercooked based on those readings. Waiting for some friends to come over a bit later, so fingers crossed. 

[teesquare]

You may see the thigh temp go to 180-185F before the breast hits 165F. Not to worry - the thighs can take the extra heat without drying. If it is possible to check the breast temp  - I would while it is cooking.

I went ahead and pulled it at 2-1/2 hours. I was getting thigh readings slightly over 170 on one side and well over 200 on the other, which seemed weird. I kept putting the probe in different spots and kept getting similar readings. So I wrapped it all in towels and it's resting in the cooler. I just can't imagine that it's undercooked based on those readings. Waiting for some friends to come over a bit later, so fingers crossed. 

Be SURE to check the breast. Breast meat does not cook as fast. Be safe, and make sure the breast reaches 165F. The uneven cooking of one thigh vs another could be a few different things:
1. direction of wind affecting barrel temps inside.
2. perhaps when you probed - you may have not probed exactly the same? If you put the probe on the thigh bone - it will register differently than in the meat itself. Location in the meat should be into the thickest part as well.
3. charcoal arrangement in the pit. You could have a "pile" of 'coal under one thigh - and not as much in the basket under the other.

Again, please be safe - make certain the breast is done ( USDA says 165F ) before serving.

[PongGod]

You may see the thigh temp go to 180-185F before the breast hits 165F. Not to worry - the thighs can take the extra heat without drying. If it is possible to check the breast temp  - I would while it is cooking.

I went ahead and pulled it at 2-1/2 hours. I was getting thigh readings slightly over 170 on one side and well over 200 on the other, which seemed weird. I kept putting the probe in different spots and kept getting similar readings. So I wrapped it all in towels and it's resting in the cooler. I just can't imagine that it's undercooked based on those readings. Waiting for some friends to come over a bit later, so fingers crossed. 

Be SURE to check the breast. Breast meat does not cook as fast. Be safe, and make sure the breast reaches 165F. The uneven cooking of one thigh vs another could be a few different things:
1. direction of wind affecting barrel temps inside.
2. perhaps when you probed - you may have not probed exactly the same? If you put the probe on the thigh bone - it will register differently than in the meat itself. Location in the meat should be into the thickest part as well.
3. charcoal arrangement in the pit. You could have a "pile" of 'coal under one thigh - and not as much in the basket under the other.

Again, please be safe - make certain the breast is done ( USDA says 165F ) before serving.

I just stuck the probe into the breast since it's been sitting in the cooler for about 40 minutes and it's reading 163F so I'm pretty confident that it's sufficiently cooked.

Thanks everybody for all the tips! Will post some final pics once we take it out to slice it up.

[PongGod]

Here are the final pics. Overall, it turned out pretty good, but didn't blow my socks off. The white meat was drier than I expected based on my experiences with PBC chicken. Next year I think I may try to do a prime rib, which would be another first for me.

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[Pappymn]

Seems a few people here had mixed results with turkey. But not chicken

[Las Vegan Cajun]

Looks pretty darn good.   

I had a similar experience with my first, and only so far, turkey in the PBC I did on Thanksgiving.  The PBC turkey wasn't bad, but I also did one in the BEESR at the same time and the BEESR roasted turkey blew away the PBC roasted turkey when it came to juiciness and tenderness.   Maybe I need a few more turkey cooks in the PBC to dial it in like the BEESR, for now my go-to method for turkey is still the BEESR.

[PongGod]

Looks pretty darn good.   

I had a similar experience with my first, and only so far, turkey in the PBC I did on Thanksgiving.  The PBC turkey wasn't bad, but I also did one in the BEESR at the same time and the BEESR roasted turkey blew away the PBC roasted turkey when it came to juiciness and tenderness.   Maybe I need a few more turkey cooks in the PBC to dial it in like the BEESR, for now my go-to method for turkey is still the BEESR.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Last year for Thanksgiving I borrowed the propane-powered Big Easy infrared fryer from a friend of mine and it was by far the best turkey I ever cooked. Afterwards I swore I was going to buy one for myself until I found the PBC instead. Not sure whether I want to go ahead and buy a Big Easy just for doing turkeys since that's a once or maybe twice a year event at most. I'm just a bit puzzled why the PBC's consistently excellent results with chicken don't seem to translate into similar results with turkey. Hopefully we'll get some more opinions from some folks who have had better fortunes cooking turkey.

[CaptJack]

cook the turkey breast side up next time
who cares how much heat the back gets

when you cooked it breast side down all the juices in the breast cooked out, dripped down on the fire

when I cook chicken pieces on the OldSmokey, direct over the charcoal at 8"
I cook it bone side down. I never turn the pieces over
I just cook them to the temp they need to be
they always come out juicy and tender like the SRG
but with bbq flavor

[PongGod]

cook the turkey breast side up next time
who cares how much heat the back gets

when you cooked it breast side down all the juices in the breast cooked out, dripped down on the fire

when I cook chicken pieces on the OldSmokey, direct over the charcoal at 8"
I cook it bone side down. I never turn the pieces over
I just cook them to the temp they need to be
they always come out juicy and tender like the SRG
but with bbq flavor

That's an interesting idea that may be worth trying. I was just following the PBC video instructions and those of others on the forum who also did it breast down.

Also, I should note that during my momentary panic upon seeing the internal temps get so high sooner than I expected, I texted Noah about it and got a reply in less than 5 minutes. On Christmas Day! Many of you other PBC owners on here know exactly what I'm talking about; the personal service you get from these folks is simply unparalleled!

[Las Vegan Cajun]

Looks pretty darn good.   

I had a similar experience with my first, and only so far, turkey in the PBC I did on Thanksgiving.  The PBC turkey wasn't bad, but I also did one in the BEESR at the same time and the BEESR roasted turkey blew away the PBC roasted turkey when it came to juiciness and tenderness.   Maybe I need a few more turkey cooks in the PBC to dial it in like the BEESR, for now my go-to method for turkey is still the BEESR.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Last year for Thanksgiving I borrowed the propane-powered Big Easy infrared fryer from a friend of mine and it was by far the best turkey I ever cooked. Afterwards I swore I was going to buy one for myself until I found the PBC instead. Not sure whether I want to go ahead and buy a Big Easy just for doing turkeys since that's a once or maybe twice a year event at most. I'm just a bit puzzled why the PBC's consistently excellent results with chicken don't seem to translate into similar results with turkey. Hopefully we'll get some more opinions from some folks who have had better fortunes cooking turkey.

If you do get a Big Easy, either the SRG or the BEESR, you'll discover many more uses with it other than just turkey once or twice a year.  These cookers are very versatile and can be used for cooking just about anything.  In addition to roasting meats in my BEESR I also use it to bake potatoes, roast beets, roast corn, and a variety of other vegetables while I'm cooking meats on one of my other cookers.  I'm still happy with my PBC as well as my Traegar, and my WSM, my BEESR adds more versatility to my outdoor cooking experience.