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What’s Thanksgiving without turkey? Cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner is an American tradition.Your family will LOVE the juicy meat and smoke flavor! This is a LONG post, packed with information on smoking a turkey. Feel free to click on a link in the Table of Contents below to jump to the information you're looking for! Learning how to smoke a whole turkey took me several years, but I married into the right family to learn! My husband's family loves to smoke turkey for any cold weather occasion, not just Thanksgiving Day! Smoked turkey takes on so much delicious flavor and it's just so dang delicious. Even if you think turkey is dry or boring, I bet you'll think differently after you try a smoked turkey! Whether you're using this recipe as your Thanksgiving turkey or "just because," I know you'll love it!
This perfect turkey recipe has been a favorite of ours for over 15 years now, and I am quite convinced that you will feel the same once you give it a try! Below, you can find the steps on how to smoke a whole turkey for Thanksgiving. Choosing the Right TurkeyWhen choosing a whole bird, you first need to decide whether you’d like to buy a frozen or fresh turkey. And that choice largely depends on when you need it! Fresh birds have limited availability, typically just the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. Frozen turkey is available year-round, but do have the added consideration of de-thawing, which takes several days. Pro Tip: If you can't find a turkey, ask the meat counter to order one for you! I used a 17 pound turkey for this recipe. Preparing the Turkey: Dry Brine vs. Wet BrineI have used both dry brines and wet brines for our smoked turkey recipe. I think dry brining the bird is best when you're learning how to smoke a whole turkey. A few reasons for this; first, there are some questionable safety issues related to soaking a big bird in a water bath for a long period of time (and you have to have the space to store the turkey and gallons of water in a refrigerator). Second, a wet brine adds about one day to an already long process of de-frosting, prep and smoking. And finally, when you take just a few steps (including a simple brine of spices) to ensure juiciness, your bird will not dry out, which is what a wet brine aims to prevent. How to Make Juicy Smoked TurkeyWe do a few extra things to ensure a juicy and flavorful bird:
At this time, you can also choose to inject your turkey with injection liquid, although it is optional. Preparing your Smoker for the TurkeySetting up your smoker for the first time will depend on what type of smoker you have. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain and I swear by it. If you also have this smoker, here's a tutorial on getting it set up for the first time. Assuming you use a charcoal smoker, you will need to put water in the water pan for this smoked turkey recipe. If you don't have a water pan, you can use an aluminum pan. Adding water to your water pan does two things: 1) add moisture (steam) to the air in the smoker and 2) helps keep temperatures regulated. I typically start with 5-6 cups of water, knowing that I can add more if needed. You can also add hot water to the pan, which will help get the temperature of the smoker up quicker. This turkey recipe will work fine on Traeger smokers (or similar pellet smoker). Traeger pellets have added moisture content, so you won't need a water pan. For a regular electric smoker, do add a water pan. Whether or not you add an additional drip pan to collect juices for gravy is up to you! Just make sure you add a bit of liquid to your drip pan before starting the smoking process, or your drippings will dry out and burn to the pan. How Long to Smoke a Whole TurkeyYou have two options for how you smoke your turkey:
The turkey is safe to take off the smoker when it has reached 165 degrees. I recommend using an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature in two places: the thickest part of the thigh, and the thickest part of the breast. How Long to Smoke a Turkey BreastAny other white meat lovers out there? I’m the lone one in my family, so if I was doing this smoked turkey recipe just for myself, I would throw on a turkey breast. If you are smoking a turkey breast, prepare your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and smoke for 30 minutes per pound. If you choose an average 4 pound turkey breast, the cook time you would be about 2 hours. Please do not skip the dry brine and butter rub for your smoked turkey breast. The low fat content of turkey breast makes it extra important to add fat so it's good and juicy. If you have an air fryer, you can always check out my Air Fried Turkey Breast recipe! It gets amazing reviews. Choosing the Right Wood Chips to Smoke a TurkeyFor wood chunks, personal preference rules. My favorite wood for smoking turkey is pecan wood chips! The flavor is incredible, but know that if you use pecan chips, your turkey skin will have a deep bronze color. I truly don’t think you can go wrong here! I prefer lighter, sweeter woods like pecan, cherry and apple wood chips, but hickory wood and mesquite work well, too! How to get Crispy Skin on a Smoked TurkeyAlthough the dry brine will help, it is difficult to get crispy skin on the outside of your turkey without using higher cooking temps. To do get crispy skin, you can pull the bird off the smoker a few degrees early and finish it on the grill for a few minutes per side. Or, pop it in a roasting pan, then broil under your oven broiler for a few minutes. Side Dishes To Serve with Smoked TurkeyHere's an extensive list of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. And, if you want to try your hand at frying a turkey, you will love my Deep Fried Cajun Turkey recipe! I've received several comments that it's the most flavorful turkey folks have tasted Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe:Ingredients
Prep: For the Dry Brine
Spice Rub:
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information: Yield:
15 Serving Size: 1 Have you checked out my new cookbook, A Crowded Table? It's full of delicious seasonal recipes like this one! Check it out here. How long does it take to smoke a 15 pound turkey?At 225 degrees F, you can plan on approximately 30 minutes per pound for your turkey to smoke. For example, this 15 pound turkey will take 7 and 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F. I always plan an extra 30 minutes, just in case.
How long does it take to smoke a turkey 20 lb?It depends on the size of your turkey and the smoker you're using. Generally, though, you should allow for about 30-40 minutes of smoking per pound. So, if you have a 20-pound turkey, it'll probably take 10-12 hours to completely smoke it.
Is it better to smoke a turkey at 225 or 250?Turkey can be smoked at a smoker temperature as low as 225 degrees, but it's much quicker if smoked at 275-300 degrees, or even higher. When smoking at a lower temperature you're looking at more time in the smoker, but that means the turkey could potentially have a richer smoke flavor.
How long does it take to smoke a 12 to 15 lb turkey?This 12-15 lb turkey is smoked (covered) for 6 hours. If you have a larger turkey you will need to smoke the turkey longer. Just check the internal temperature! Remove the turkey from the smoker and let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes to retain all the moisture back into the meat.
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