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Smoking a whole turkey is easier than you think! Tips on how to Prepare, How to Brine, What temperature to Smoke a Turkey, and How long to Cook!

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How to Smoke a Turkey

We’ve been married for 23 years, and had Turkey every year for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Typically, we’ve usually had  Oven Roasted Turkey, and a few times we’ve had Fried Turkey, but last year, we researched How to Smoke a Turkey and tried that for the first time!

It was DELICIOUS!

In fact, every last bite of the 15 lb Turkey was devoured, and people were looking for more.

I’d just had major surgery, so Nick and the boys were on their own for the Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Preparation.

We have some amazing local friends who invited us to eat dinner with them, they handled most of the meal, we just brought the Turkey, a couple of sides, and a dessert.

If serving for a holiday meal (or you just want Turkey & Dressing) try this delicious southern cornbread dressing – it’s so good!

We also enjoy turkey served with Make Ahead Turkey Gravy!

Years before we moved to Texas, Nick began researching smokers.

He loves to grill and it’s always been his dream to have his own smoker.

He bought a Camp Chef Smoker, and it uses Pellets to smoke. (It was worth the investment, we smoke on it at least 1-2 times per week. Living in Texas, we are able to use it year round.)

When he smokes turkeys, he prefers to use Apple, Hickory, or Cherry Wood Pellets in the smoker.

If you do not have a smoker, you can also prepare a turkey in a dutch oven! This recipe for dutch oven turkey breast is divine! It produces a perfectly roasted turkey breast with crispy skin, slathered in a garlic and herb compound butter and topped with homemade gravy. 

BRINING THE TURKEY:

We chose a 15lb Butterball Turkey, let it unthaw for a few days ahead of time in the refrigerator, and the day before began the brining process.

It should be completely thawed, not frozen.

Ziploc Big Bag Double Zipper, X-Large, 4-Count

HOW TO BRINE THE TURKEY

We prepared the turkey (remove giblets, wash, pat dry) then placed the turkey in a XL Ziploc Bag. Add in 1 gallon vegetable broth, 1 gallon ice water, 1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 12 oz molasses, 12 oz honey, 8 oz minced garlic, 1 tbsp rosemary, 1 tbsp thyme, 1 tbsp sage, and 1 tbsp poultry seasoning.

Do you HAVE to brine? No. But, it does come out more flavorful and moist if you do.

An alternate brining recipe is this citrus turkey brine. You can add different things to the brine but make this brine with quality ingredients so your Thanksgiving menu is perfection.

SMOKING THE TURKEY:

In our research, we found that the rule of thumb is to smoke the turkey at 275 degrees, 15 minutes for each pound.

We had a 15 lb Turkey, so we smoked it at 275 degrees for just under 4 hours.

When smoking food, the key factor is indirect heat and consistent temperatures.

The goal is to keep your ambient grill temperature at an even 275 degrees F for the entire smoke.

Times may vary according to type of smoker, did it hold a constant temperature, etc. so be sure to allow some extra time and monitor the smoker temperature while it’s smoking.

*Edited to add, we do not spatchcock our smoked turkeys, but you could if you wanted to.

Kizen Instant Read Meat Thermometer – Best Waterproof Ultra Fast Thermometer with Backlight & Calibration. Kizen Digital Food Thermometer for Kitchen, Outdoor Cooking, BBQ, and Grill!

We use a Food Thermometer to test the temperature before we remove it from the smoker.

Turkey is safe to take eat when it’s reached 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast and 180 in the thigh.

When our turkey reached it’s perfect temperature, we removed it to a roasting pan for transport, and allowed it to rest for 20 minutes on our drive to our friends house, covered in foil. When we arrived, we removed the foil, and carved it. We prefer to use an electric carver.

Hamilton Beach Electric Knife for Carving Meats, Poultry, Bread, Crafting Foam & More, Storage Case & Serving Fork Included, White (74250R)

We received an electric carver as a wedding gift 23 years ago, and it’s still going strong! It makes slicing SO quick and easy, so you can get the turkey on everyone’s plate as fast as possible, and get down to enjoying the meal!

HOW MUCH SMOKED TURKEY PER PERSON?

When determining what size turkey to buy at the supermarket, we estimate 1 1/2 lbs of turkey per person.

The uncooked turkey contains bones, giblets, and other parts of the turkey you won’t be consuming, so while people won’t be EATING that much turkey, that’s the estimated weight prior to preparation.

Also take into consideration who will be eating the smoked turkey.

We fed 9 people with this 15 pound turkey, with no leftovers. However, 5 of those were teenagers (4 boys, 1 girl) ages 14-19. Teenage boys can EAT. It probably would’ve fed 12 adults with leftovers.

Do you Stuff a Smoked Turkey:

Sometimes we stuff ours with Sliced Apples, Oranges, and Butter. 

Other people we know like adding onions and garlic to the mix, but we’ve never tried that simply because I have an onion allergy. I LOVE smoked turkey and if it’s been stuffed with onions, I can’t eat it.

Consider serving with easy sourdough stuffing!

Do you use a rub on your Smoked Turkey:

We have not, yet. We DO use rub on most things we smoke, but the turkeys just haven’t needed it. The flavors from brining it provide a delicious result. I always encourage creativity when cooking, so give it a try if you’d like and share the results in the comments (be sure to let us know what rub mix you used!).