How to Smoke a Turkey (with Video)
You can hardly have Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey. We’ve all had an oven baked turkey, so if you’re ready to take the holiday to the net level, bring on the smoke! Smoking the turkey takes the taste and tenderness to another level! This recipe for how to smoke a turkey is so good, you may want to smoke two birds for when your crowd “gobbles” up the first one 🙂
After I smoked my first turkey a few years ago, I’ve never done it any other way. You can’t beat the flavor, the tenderness, the aroma, and when done right, how easy it is to carve at the dinner table. So grab your apron, turn on your smoker, and get ready for an incredible smoked turkey!
We are fortunate enough to either raise our own turkeys on our homestead, or have friends close by that raise turkeys the same way we do. We love knowing where our food comes from, and the taste is michelin quality! Wherever you get your turkey, smoking it will take a good bird and make it better, always.
Then, after some smoked turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, and Becky’s dutch apple pie, you’ll be ready for the best holiday nap of your entire life!
Why This Recipe Works
- It is Simple. Don’t be intimidated. You almost can’t mess this up. Brine, prep, smoke, and eat.
- Keeps the “mess” outside. I grill or smoke any chance I get. I loathe cleaning the kitchen, especially after a big meal. When I cook outside, the kitchen stays way cleaner.
- Faster, more even cooking. Spatchcocking flattens the bird, and gets rid of that giant air cavity in a traditional oven roasted bird. This speeds up cook time, and cooks everything more evenly, so your thighs are done the same time your breasts are.
Supplies needed for Smoking a Turkey
Turkey: I always will opt for smaller birds (11-13lbs) instead of the giant 20lb turkeys. They are easier to handle, quicker to cook, and if I’m feeding a lot of people, I’ll cook 2-3 small ones, everyone’s happy.
Fuel / Wood Chips: The last thing you want is to run out of smoking fuel on the big day. Make sure you have a healthy supply of wood pellets, wood chips, charcoal, whatever fuel you need for you smoker/grill, etc.
Smoker: Your turkey can be cooked on whatever smoker or grill you prefer. I like my pellet smoker for turkeys, but I have also done turkeys on a charcoal grill. Just make sure what you use allows you to maintain steady temperatures, use indirect heating, and has the ability to add wood chips for smokiness.
Brine: My go to brine is a Brine Kit from Redmond Real Salt. All the spices, sugars, salts, and flavors pre-mixed. Pretty much a “just add water” brine mix. If you don’t have access to an already done up kit, they are fairly simple to make from scratch.
Butter, Seasonings – Not a necessity, but often I will add some garlic butter or sage butter in between the skin and the breast meat before putting on the smoker. I’ll also sprinkle the top with a light dusting of seasonings for added flavor
Apple Cider Vinegar – Tenderizes the meat, helps the flavors penetrate deeper into the meat, and helps retain moisture in the meat.
Smoking the Turkey
STEP 1: Make the brine. In a medium saucepan, heat brine and water according to the directions (Redmond’s Brine Kit makes it super easy!!) Once cooled, add brine liquid to turkey bag with turkey in it, ensuring the entire turkey is submerged in the liquid. Remove any air bubbles from the bag, and tie it closed. Set bag with turkey and brine in a 5-gallon bucket, and let sit in a refrigerator for 18-24 hours.
STEP 2: Spatchcock the Turkey. After brining is complete, remove turkey from bag, rinse, and pat dry. With a sharp kitchen knife or boning scissors. remove the backbone from your turkey. Flip the bird over and using the palm of your hand, gently press down on the breasts of the bird to break the breastbone. When done right, the bird should lay fairly flat on a cutting board.
STEP 3: Pre-Heat Smoker.
STEP 4: Add any final Butter or Seasonings. My go to for a smoked turkey is a sage compound butter that I slide in between the breast and the outer skin, and then some Redmond Red Rock BBQ seasoning sprinkled on top.
STEP 5: Smoke. 225 degrees for roughly 30 minutes per pound. A few hours in, I always advise to start checking temp to make sure you don’t overcook, especially with smaller birds.
STEP 6: Spray intermittently with apple cider vinegar. Every hour or so, quickly open your smoker lid and spray the turkey with apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. This keeps the meat moist, and enhances the overall flavor.
STEP 7: Once to temp, let sit for 30 minutes. Turkey is done when the meat hits 165 degrees. I check the breast and the thighs, to make sure everything is done together.
STEP 8: Carve, and eat! No further explanation needed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
The general guideline is to cook your turkey 30 minutes for every pound of weight. So a 12 lb turkey you should expect around a 6 hour cook. Of course, grills, smokers and other factors may alter this slightly. I suggest checking the meat temp using a meat thermometer every half hour or so, beginning at the 4 hour mark.
A few things that will help here, which are all part of this recipe: Brining helps retain moisture. Spraying with vinegar during the cook. And not mentioned yet, but tenting the turkey during the cool down period will ensure no moisture is lost after the cook is complete.
No fear! A gas grill, charcoal grill or an oven will work just fine. The important part is having a consistent, low temperature(225). The smoke flavor and aroma won’t be quite as present if using a conventional oven or a gas grill, but you’ll still get a great tasting turkey!
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t spatchcock if you don’t want to This is totally an optional step. I prefer it, but if you are more comfortable with a regular, “backbone-in” turkey, then by all means. Just make sure to adjust cook times if needed
- Make sure to plan ahead a few days One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is thaw a frozen turkey and cook it in less than 24 hours. It just doesn’t work. Plan ahead. Allow your bird enough time to thaw.
- If you don’t have a smoker, a charcoal grill will work. Be sure to off-set the charcoal on one side and the turkey on the other. You may also have to monitor the temperature more than you would a smoker.
- Don’t stress Smoking a turkey sounds like a lot, but it’s really quite simple. Read these steps thru completely before starting, and then give it a try.
If you made this How to Smoke a Turkey recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Equipment
- 1 five gallon bucket clean, to be used for brining the turkey
- 1 large bag can be found at the grocery store in November typically, or online
- 1 smoker or grill
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey
- 1 pkg brine kit from scratch brines work perfectly fine too
- ½ cup butter, plus herbs (1 stick)
- 1 jar seasoning salts whatever your favorite poultry seasoning is
Instructions
- Make the brine. In a medium saucepan, add brine to water and heat according to the directions on the package (Redmond Brine Kit makes it super easy!!) Once cooled, add brine liquid to turkey bag with turkey in it, ensuring the entire turkey is submerged in the liquid. Remove any air bubbles from the bag, and tie it closed. Set bag with turkey and brine in a 5-gallon bucket, and let sit in a refrigerator for 18-24 hours.
- Spatchcock the Turkey *optional*. After brining is complete, remove turkey from bag, rinse, and pat dry. With a sharp kitchen knife or boning scissors. remove the backbone from your turkey. Flip the bird over and lay onto. flat surface like a cutting board. Using the palm of your hand, gently press down on the breasts of the bird to break the breastbone. When done right, the bird should lay fairly flat on a cutting board.
- Pre-heat your smoker
- Add any final Butter or Seasonings. If you want additional butter flavor, add an herb butter of your choice to the turkey. Gently separate the skin from the breast meat, and slide small chunks of the butter in between the breast and the outer skin, and then some Redmond Red Rock BBQ seasoning sprinkled on top.
- Smoke the Meat. 225 degrees for roughly 30 minutes per pound. A few hours in, I always advise to start checking temp to make sure you don't overcook, especially with smaller birds.
- During the cook, spray intermittently with apple cider vinegar. Every hour or so, quickly open your smoker lid and spray the turkey with apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle.
- Once to temp, let sit for 30 minutes. Turkey is done when the meat hits 165 degrees. I always temp check the breast and the thighs, to make sure all parts of the bird are cooking evenly and together.
- Carve, and eat! No further explanation needed here.
