Smoked Turkey – The Quintessential Guide

This Smoked Turkey – The Quintessential Guide will walk you through all you need to know to make the best turkey ever!

Moist, flavorful, and perfectly browned turkey that you will want to show off by bringing it to the table to carve!

How to Brine a Turkey for Smoking

A great brine will make your turkey fantastic. It adds in moisture, salt and flavors right into the bird so you will have the best turkey ever.

For smoking a turkey we find that brining it is essential to have a great result.

MAPLE BRINE FOR TURKEY

Ingredients

• water
• Kosher salt
• Maple syrup (use the good stuff)
• Fresh bunches of thyme
• Bay leaves
• Large cloves garlic, crushed
• Black peppercorns
• Turkey

1. Place all ingredients except poultry in a large stockpot. Bring to boil and cook until salt dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely,(you can add a little ice to help it cool a little quicker).
2. Once cool, put the poultry in the brine and refrigerate overnight. Turn once if possible.

1. Prepare your smoker to a temperature of 225 degrees F. I love to use a blend of hickory and apple wood chips for a turkey.
2. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Why Brine a Turkey?

Here are Ken Noland’s thoughts from BBQing With The Nolands on brining a turkey.

“I’m going to talk a little about preparing your bird for smoking. Whenever I smoke a whole bird, doesn’t matter if it’s a turkey or a couple of chickens, I always wet brine them at least overnight or even up to 24 hours.

Basically, a wet brine is a highly concentrated mixture of saltwater. The combination of the water with the salt helps to bring out the flavors of the food that you then cook. The great thing about a brine is that you can add other flavors to the solution to enhance the flavors of your food.

The brine helps to impart those additional flavors into the meat as well. Common additions to a brine are peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic. I usually add some maple syrup to my brine too.

I think that it adds a touch of sweetness and just a hint of maple flavor. You would never know it was there if I didn’t tell you. It’s just a wonderful background flavor that you get, but aren’t sure what it is exactly.

I brine for a few reasons. Firstly, when you are smoking a whole bird it takes time. Usually, I estimate 25 – 30 minutes per pound for cooking time. If you don’t wet brine your bird they can dry out, and nobody likes a dry turkey breast, am I right!?

The second reason that I like to brine my whole birds is that when you use a roasting pan or a drip pan. The juices that you collect make the most unbelievable smoky gravy you have ever tasted!”

Ingredients

• Apple, sliced
• Onion, peeled and sliced
• Olive oil
• Herbs de Provence

1. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. I like to use apple or hickory wood to smoke my turkey.
2. Loosely stuff the cavity with onion and apple slices and rub the entire bird with olive oil and Herbs de Provence. You don’t even have to truss or tie the legs. You want that smoke getting into the cavity too.
3. Herbs de Provence is excellent on turkey, it contains savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Sometimes it contains lavender but I would look for one that is either low on lavender or has omitted it.
4. Place the turkey breast side up in the smoker in an aluminum roasting pan or on the grill with an aluminum drip pan underneath.
5. Smoke for 7-8 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F using an instant-read thermometer.

1. Remove and tent with foil for 20 – 30 minutes while you make the gravy.
2. Pour the drippings into a gravy separator.

There is no need to baste the turkey while it is in the smoker; the brine keeps it nice and moist!

You need to make sure that your smoked turkey reaches a safe internal temp of at least 165 degrees F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. I use the Thermoworks Thermapen; it works great!

If you would like a constant read thermometer like this Smoke^™ Remote BBQ Alarm Thermometer while you are smoking, I recommend this thermometer.

Great for multiple items in your smoker too. Also comes with a remote that is very handy to check temperatures when you are doing a long smoke like a turkey.

Is Smoked Turkey Better Than Roasted Turkey?

There is flavor in all the browning. Slowly smoked with wonderful herbs and fruits, you will honestly not get a better turkey than this.

I think you have to try one yourself. Smoking in my opinion gives you a magnificent bird, one that can’t really be compared to roasting.

Making Turkey Stock

If you would like to make homemade turkey stock for the gravy, in this post I walk you through. This uses up every bit of that turkey.

If you would like to make homemade turkey stock with the carcass, here is a great post to walk you through that. Wonderful in soups and sauces and it freezes well too.

FOR THE SMOKED TURKEY GRAVY

The gravy in my opinion is one of the best things about a smoked turkey. The smoke flavor is fantastic. The turkey gravy that we have for you goes great with this turkey recipe. You will love its buttery smoky goodness.

Ingredients

• Drippings from the pan
• butter
• flour
• chicken or turkey stock
• sherry
• Salt and pepper

While the turkey rests covered in foil you now have time to make the gravy.

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, and when it is bubbling whisk in flour.
2. Let the flour cook for 30 – 60 seconds.
3. While continuing to whisk rapidly pour in the drippings.
4. Whisk in the stock and then let the gravy cook until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4-5 min.
5. Stir in the sherry and season with salt and pepper.
6. Usually, it doesn’t need too much salt, if any, because of the brine.
7. Pour into a gravy boat and serve with sliced turkey.

How Long Will It Take To Smoke a 15 lb Turkey?

You will want to smoke your turkey for about 30 minutes per pound, so a 15 lb. turkey will take you about 7.5 hours.

Pin it HERE!!

Pin it HERE!!

Smoked Turkey – The Quintessential Guide

Tara Noland

This Quintessential Guide for Smoking a Turkey will be all that you need to make the best holiday meal ever! We will walk you through the brining process to smoking the bird and then the gravy! This will be a turkey you are very proud to serve!

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Additional Time 1 day d

Total Time 1 day d 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Turkey

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 276 kcal

Ingredients

 

MAPLE BRINE FOR TURKEY

• 6 quarts water
• 1 1/2 cups Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup use the good stuff
• 2 fresh bunches of thyme 2 Tbsp. dry
• 6 bay leaves
• 4 large cloves garlic crushed
• 2-3 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1-15 lb turkey

FINISHING TOUCHES FOR TURKEY

• Apple sliced
• Onion peeled and sliced
• Olive oil
• Herbs de Provence

BEST EVER GRAVY

• Drippings from the pan you can add water to this if the drippings are too thick, up to 3/4 cup
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 4 Tbsp. flour adjust flour if water was added to the drippings
• 2 cups chicken or turkey stock
• 1-2 Tbsp. sherry
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

SMOKED TURKEY

• Place all ingredients except poultry in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil and cook until salt dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. (you can add a little ice to help it cool a little quicker)
• Once cool, put the poultry in the brine and refrigerate overnight. Turn once if possible.
• Prepare your smoker to a temperature of 225 degrees F. I like to use apple or hickory (or a combination of both) wood to smoke my turkey
• Remove the bird from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
• Loosely stuff the cavity with onion and apple slices and rub the entire bird with olive oil and Herbs de Provence.
• Place the turkey in the smoker in an aluminum roasting pan or on the grill with an aluminum drip pan underneath.
• Smoke for 7-8 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F using an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove and tent with foil for 20 – 30 minutes while you make the gravy.
• Pour the drippings into a gravy separator.

FOR THE GRAVY

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, and when it is bubbling whisk in flour.
• Let the flour cook for 30 – 60 seconds.
• While continuing to whisk rapidly pour in the drippings.
• Whisk in the stock and then let the gravy cook until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4-5 min.
• Stir in the sherry and season with salt and pepper.
• Usually, it doesn't need too much salt, if any, because of the brine.
• Pour into a gravy boat and serve with sliced turkey.

Equipment

Western Premium BBQ Products BBQ Smoking Chips Variety Pack, 4 Pack

HIC Turkey Oversized Serving Platter, Embossed, Fine White Porcelain, 17-Inches

Light Autumn Gravy Separator & Fat Separator Cup – with Strainer and 2 Stoppers – Large 4 Cup Capacity – Better Than Glass for Grease and Oil

Reynolds Kitchens Heavy Duty Aluminum Pans for Roasting, 16×13 Inch, Pack of 3

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 10gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 17143mgPotassium: 319mgFiber: 1gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 180IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 107mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition calculation is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!