# setup for a big Thanksgiving turkey on a 22" OldSmokey



## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

*setup for a big Thanksgiving turkey on a 22" OldSmokey
*2-sided indirect with a big drip pan & roasting rack










here's a stand-up chicken in the 2-sided indirect cook










the extra wire racks from OldSmokey are only $10 each
so i have one with 2 wires broken out on both sides
and one with 3 wires broken out on one side for single sided indirect cooks










and now i have a set of GrillGrates on my grilling grate for the OldSmokey


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)




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## nokatch (Mar 24, 2009)

You ever done a full packer brisket with the Old Smokey? If so, how would you start the charcoal? 2-sided like you have shown with the chicken?


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## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

keep the drip pan about half full of water...
the steam given off keeps the turkey moist.
we use an old Brinkman (slightly modified) bullet type smoker..
charcoal on the bottom... water pan middle and the bird on top


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Nice.


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

nokatch said:


> *You ever done a full packer brisket with the Old Smokey?
> If so, how would you start the charcoal? 2-sided like you have shown with the chicken?*


no, I use the 1-sided setup and build a small Minion fire on the right side
it runs around 250Â°


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

here's some additional pics on the setup
i use a 10"x 14" pan upside down as a separator for the two piles of charcoal, and as a riser to set a 12"x 17" drip pan on. this keeps the ashes out of the drippings for gravy


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

Consider using a pizza stone as a diffuser. Set it up over the charcoal. 

You only have to load the unit once. The increased thermal mass with the pizza stone will moderate any temp swings. Plus, it will force the smoke up the sides, with even gaps around the edges, and thus surround your bird/BBQ with smoke. 

Just a thought.


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

if you block the bottom the dark meat cooks slower than the breasts and doesn't brown. the lip of the drip pan is 3" below the grill. plenty of air moving under the bird
adding charcoal and wood chunks two times is no big deal


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

You are already "blocking" the bottom with the drip pan. Further, its the temp, not the flame, that cooks when you are doing indirect. Same with the brown skin. That's from the temps, not because direct vs. indirect. 

A pizza stone will hold that temp longer and dampen some of the temp fluctuations. It will also eliminate you having to remove the lid to add wood or charcoal, further dampening the temp swings because you are not releasing all that heat. On a ceramic, opening the lid is no big deal because its got all that mass. Temp drops just a hair. Very different when you are using an uninsulated cooker. 

If you want to slow the cooking rate of the breast, use an ice bag on the breasts prior to cooking. A couple minutes with an ice pack, and the thighs will be done at the same time as the breasts on a whole bird.


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

*Ernest, *show us a cook on your setup


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

Here are some Baby Backs and some pulled pork. 

Anything specific you would like to see?


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

show us a turkey cooked using your pizza stone for an indirect cook


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

I don't cook turkeys, except on T-Day. So, I don't currently have any pics of that. 

I did not mean to offend you. But, if you want to move from charcoal cooking/grilling to actual smoking as in BBQ, you need a diffuser if you are using a small cooking surface. With a larger cooking/grill surface, you can create a mini-offset. But, you can't do that with a large piece of meat like a turkey and a small cooking surface. 

In the old days, my father used a piece of plate steel. Others used pans filled with rocks. Now days, pizza stones are more readily available in a bunch of sizes, so that is easier and likely cheaper than getting plate steel cut. It will moderate the temp swings, and it will allow you to use the smoke to actually cook the bird. 

I have no problem with charcoal/grilled meats. I've eaten a ton of it. But, it has a very different taste than actual smoked BBQ. I thought that smoked food was what you were seeking to accomplish, and thus my comments.


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

you completely missed the point of my cook
I am not trying to SMOKE the turkey
I am ROASTING it at 350 in a charcoal cooker
I don't like birds smoked at 250. I don't like the rubber skin


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

I roasted chicken in regular electric oven at 350 degrees. I roasted chicken in smoker at 350 degrees using charcoal and no wood chips. The smoker roasted chicken always tasted better than the electric oven roast version and I think it has to be due to the smoke flavor coming from fat dripping. 

I have not done it with turkey though.


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## CaptJack (Jun 13, 2004)

mas360 said:


> I roasted chicken in regular electric oven at 350 degrees. I roasted chicken in smoker at 350 degrees using charcoal and no wood chips. The smoker roasted chicken always tasted better than the electric oven roast version and I think it has to be due to the smoke flavor coming from fat dripping.
> 
> I have not done it with turkey though.


 and the reason I have it setup two-sided indirect (at 350) with a drip pan is so you can collect the drippings/schmaltz for the GRAVY, and still charcoal roast the bird


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

Yup...that drip pan definitely is the way to go with Thanksgiving turkey. Gravy would not be groovey without that delicious drippings. I bet roasting turkey in charcoal grill produces better end product than in electric oven. 

I used pizza stone for chicken roast since I had no use for the chicken drippings and the sizzling smoke from chicken fat gave it flavor. I also saved the fat trimmings from steaks and put them on the pizza stone to get the beef smoke flavor.... 

One thing I have not tried out is using lump charcoal versus briquettes. I wonder if that would have any bearing on flavor.


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