Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey
November 7th, 2009 by katie
Thanksgiving dinner is always a balancing act between the turkey, the casseroles, the stuffing, and the rolls all vying for a place in the oven. Why not relieve a bit of the stress and cook your turkey in the smoker? This smoked turkey is delicious. The breast meat is flavorful, the dark meat juicy, and it makes a fine turkey sandwich the next day-everything you could ask for in a Thanksgiving bird!
Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
brine 12 hours, smoke approximately 4-5 hours depending on size, adapted from Alton Brown, 2004- 1 gallon hot water
- 1 lb kosher salt
- 1 lb honey
- 2 quarts vegetable broth
- 1 bag of ice
- 1 fresh or thawed turkey, up to 20 pounds
- oil, for rubbing turkey skin
- Twelve hours before you plan to smoke the turkey, heat a gallon of water until boiling.
- In a large (54 quart) cooler, combine hot water and salt, stirring until salt is dissolved.
- Stir in honey and vegetable broth until combined.
- Add the ice, stir, and submerge the turkey breast side up in the brine.
- Cover and allow to sit 12 hours.
- When ready to cook, prepare smoker by bringing it to 250°F.
- Remove turkey from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Rub or brush the turkey all over with oil.
- Smoke the turkey for approximately 20 minutes per pound keeping the temperature at 250°.
- Remove the meat when the thickest part of the breast is 160°F.
- Cover with foil and allow to rest one hour before carving.
Unlike most roasts, I won’t recommend saving this carcass for stock unless you have a need for smokey stock.
Posted in Main Dish
November 7th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Wow! Your turkey looks so good! I wish I could try a piece of your smoked turkey.
November 8th, 2009 at 10:43 am
That is indeed one of the sexiest turkeys I’ve ever seen.
I sooooo wish I could smoke a turkey this year.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
That looks so good. And I don’t like turkey. Could I rent a smoker? Haha…rent a smoker, get it? Lol.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
That is one beautiful bird. Nice job.
November 8th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I use a round weber bbq to smoke mine.Indirect heat, drip pan and kingsford briquettes an the sides (they last longer)
Tasty and moist without brine. Tried brine but was just as moist w/o
November 9th, 2009 at 9:46 am
This looks so tasty. I am going to brine my turkey this year, and I may use this recipe here. Thanks for the inspiration.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:48 am
I have always wanted to smoke a turkey…hmmmm maybe this year?
November 12th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
This looks delicious!
November 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Your Turkey looks yummy. I have been surfing the internet trying to find one good turkey recipe to try for this Thanksgiving instead of the same old same old…. I’m glad I found your turkey! Am going to post a link to your blog so I can send my friends and family to your post. They would love this one.
November 21st, 2012 at 9:42 pm
I have been smoking turkey for years. Never did the brine thing but the smoke really is good for turkey. It makes the bird a true delicacy. It doesn’t have to be a heavy smoke. I often smoke for an hour or two then finish off in the kitchen oven to easily get it to the right temperature.
Best thing about smoked turkey are the leftovers – instead of getting blah flavor with time, smoked turkey just gets gets better and better. The smoke flavor seems to develop and improve with time. A smoked turkey does not ever go to waste. People keep asking for it days latter.
November 19th, 2013 at 10:26 am
Be careful brining the turkey. Make sure the turkey you bought is not pre-brined/injected. If that is already done, you will end up with an extremely salty turkey. Just thought I’d add this warning. Not everyone knows that turkeys tend to be pre-brined.
November 21st, 2013 at 7:55 pm
We’ve smoked for years. Best method we put the turkey on the lower rack and a couple of pork roasts above it. The pork drips on the turkey all night long — automatic basting.Brining doesn’t make much difference, but pork makes it heavenly! Probably not low calorie though. Thanksgiving is the time for wretched excess.
November 24th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
1 lb of salt seems like a lot for 1 gallon of water and a bag of ice. I’ve always heard the rule of thumb was 1 cup of salt for each gallon of water.
Let me know if my math is off here. Thanks
November 25th, 2013 at 9:31 am
Smoking two 10 lbs, how much time increse for 2 birds. mastercraft electric smoker
November 26th, 2014 at 12:02 pm
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November 26th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
This is the second year in a row I’m using your reciepe. This turkey is amazing. I made a few small tweaks:
1.5x the honey – I’m using fair trade honey which isn’t quite as ‘distinct’ tasting.
Smoked over cherry and apple
Spatcocked the turkeys for more even cooking and brining
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