Smoked Turkey

Course: BBQ, Entree, Thanksgiving

Cuisine: American

Keyword: How to smoke a turkey, Smoked Turkey, smoking a turkey

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 5

Servings: servings

Calories: 866kcal

How to smoke a turkey. Delicious holiday turkey recipe. Smoked Turkey or Smoked Turkey breast is fantastic and makes for a tasty option!

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Ingredients

12-14 pound turkey

Turkey Brine

chicken stock I like to use half water and half chicken stock. If you choose to do all water increase salt by 1 cup.
water
kosher salt
¾ cup brown sugar
8 garlic cloves, smashed
2 small or one large Vidalia (sweet) onion(s), quartered
1 TBS peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Turkey

grapeseed or olive oil
light kosher salt and pepper or a light dusting of a rub
1 stick butter
2 onion quarters
Sprigs of fresh sage, thyme, rosemary and tarragon

Instructions

Thaw turkey. remove neck and giblets. Rinse and pat dry.
Prepare brine by combining equal parts chicken stock and water. Stir in salt and sugar until dissolved. Place turkey into the pot (or what you are using), breast side down. Tuck in onion quarters, garlic, peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves. If turkey is not fully submerged top off with additional water.
Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
Remove turkey from the brine and discard brine.
Pat turkey dry with paper towels and allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Place a pan to catch turkey juices on a rack under where the bird will be or on the bottom. Preheat smoker to 250 degrees.
Rub turkey with grapeseed or olive oil, season lightly with S&P or a dry rub. Place butter, herbs and onion in cavity of the bird.
Place turkey in smoker. Add woodchips (usually added from outside the smoker via a tube or slot. (you may wish to add additional chips as bird smokes).
Cook turkey 18-22 minutes per pound or until thermometer inserted deep in the leg area (but not touching bone) registers 155-160.
Allow turkey to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Note: If you wish to baste the bird with melted butter or melted butter combined with chicken stock, do so after the first hour.

Notes

Nutritional information is very loose, its calculated by the ingredients. You are not eating that broth, onions, garlic, salt, butter etc. so the actual calories etc are much lower for this particular recipe.

When smoking a turkey its recommended to stick with one around 12-15 pounds for best results. Attempting to smoke a very large turkey may end up with a dry.

Total smoke time of 5 hours is approximate based on a 14-15 pound turkey.

Nutrition