Smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving is a long-standing tradition in my family! And, it's easier and quicker than you would think! Learn how to smoke a whole turkey in this smoked turkey recipe.
What’s Thanksgiving without a turkey? Cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving is an American tradition. When I married into my husband’s family, I was surprised that they made turkey for other occasions, too!
Football games, or any cold weather gathering were enough to fire up the smoker and throw on a whole turkey! Learning how to smoke a whole turkey took me several years, but I married into the right family to learn.
The common thread here was that the turkey they make is a total treat because it was cooked on the smoker. Smoked turkey takes on so much delicious flavor.
My husband smoked his first turkey solo when we were in college, and all our friends gathered around the bird and picked the perfectly cooked meat off with our fingers! We’ve since found our utensils, thankfully, but one thing remains.
"Made 15 pound turkey at 325 cooked for five hours. Used the dry rub and followed directions. I have to say it was probably the best turkey I’ve made super moist and delicious." - Linda, Pinterest User
How to Smoke a Whole Turkey
This quick smoked 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 Turkey
When choosing a whole bird, you first need to identify whether you’d like to buy a frozen or fresh bird. And that choice largely depends on when you need it! Fresh birds have limited availability, typically just the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving.
Frozen turkeys are available year round, but do have the added consideration of de-thawing, which takes several days. A side note, if you can't find a turkey, ask the meat counter to order one for you!
I chose a 17 pound frozen Honeysuckle White turkey. These turkeys have a salt and sugar brine injected into them already, which will save you quite a bit of time! We'll talk about brining a bit more below.
I love Honeysuckle White's turkey because they have opted to never use growth-promotants when raising their turkeys. This means it takes a little longer to raise them to the right weights.
Honeysuckle White also uses independent family farms to raise their turkeys, meaning that purchasing one of their turkeys helps return your hard earned dollars back to a family farmers right here in the United States.
Preparing the Turkey: Dry Brine vs. Wet Brine
We have experimented with both dry and wet brines for our smoked turkey recipes. The conclusion we’ve come to is that 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.
Second, a wet brine adds about a day to what can already be a fairly long process of de-frosting and preparation. And finally, when you take just a few easier steps to ensure juiciness (see below), your bird will not dry out, which is what a wet brine aims to prevent.
We do two extra things to ensure a juicy and flavorful bird.
First, and most important, we rub softened butter under the breast skin before cooking it.
Second, we apply a dry brine to the turkey for a short amount of time, typically an hour. This helps to keep the skin nice and crispy, and very tasty.
If you use a dry brine, remember to gently wipe off the brine with a paper towel (or rinse the bird in the sink), to remove most of the salt before cooking.
Preparing your Smoker for the Turkey
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not super comfortable with a smoker. But, my husband is, and he's been smoking meat for a good long while! Setting up your smoker for the first time will largely depend on what kind you have. We have a Weber Smokey Mountain, and he swears by it. If you also have this smoker, here's a tutorial on getting it set up for the first time.
How Long to Smoke a Whole Turkey
The rule of thumb is to smoke the turkey at 300 degrees, 15 minutes for each pound. We used a 17 pound Honeysuckle White turkey for this recipe, and smoked it at 275-300 degrees for just under 4 hours. The turkey is safe to take off the smoker when it’s reached 165 degrees.
Remember, this is a faster smoke than you will see on some recipes for how to smoke a whole turkey. I sometimes see upwards of 8 or 9 hours recommended.
If you want to smoke the turkey all day, you’ll need to lower the temperature to 225 degrees and follow a rule of about 30 minutes for every pound.
How Long to Smoke a Turkey Breast
Any 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 just throw on a turkey breast.
If you are smoking a turkey breast, you will want to follow the rule of 225 degrees for about 30 minutes per pound. If you choose a fairly typical 4-lb turkey breast, you'd be looking at about a 2 hour cook time.
Make sure to follow all of the steps for dry brining and rubbing butter under the skin if you smoke a turkey breast. The low fat content of the breast makes it extra important to add fat to the cooking process to help it stay nice and juicy.
Choosing the Right Wood to Smoke a Turkey
Here’s where personal preference rules. I don’t have a definitive answer for you, but our favorite wood for smoking turkey is pecan.
Use whatever you’re accustomed to; hickory, oak, cherry, apple, mesquite. I truly don’t think you can go wrong here! I prefer lighter, sweeter woods like pecan, cherry and apple.
Side Dishes To Serve with Smoked Turkey
Here are a few of my favorite side dishes!
- Baked Corn Casserole
- Corn Spoon Bread
- Bacon and Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes
- Bacon Green Bean Bundles
- Grandma's Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
- Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Bacon
- Broccoli Cranberry Salad with Apples, Bacon and Walnuts
- Sweet Potato Soufflé with Toasted Marshmallow Topping
- Turkey Cranberry Sliders
- Cranberry Pecan Brussels Sprouts Salad
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!
Smoking a whole turkey for Thanksgiving is easier than you think!How to Smoke A Whole Turkey
Ingredients
For Dry Brine
Instructions
Notes
Thank you to Honeysuckle White for sponsoring this recipe. And, thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
What a gorgeous bird! I've never smoked a turkey before, but this post makes me want to give it a try. Thanks for giving me a different way to make our turkey this year!
Jen @ The Weary Chef says
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the Philippines but I would love to try this for special occassions. It looks amazingly delicious! I can't wait to try it! Thank you so much for sharing this! I love it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That looks amazing! We recently got a kamado-style ceramic smoker (Coyote Asado) and I've been thinking about smoking a turkey this year. YUM!
Dee says
I personally hate the smell of roast turkey in the house, so this would be perfect -- looks great, too!
Laura at I Heart Naptime says
Oh my goodness, this looks divine! I've had a smoked turkey once, and I swear - it was the most delicious bird, ever.
Cookin Canuck says
Now that is a gorgeous bird! I can only imagine how much flavor the smoke adds to it.
Judy says
How many pans of smoke chips do you use in the 4hr period and how often do you refill them?
Michelle says
Hi Judy! We opt for wood chunks rather than chips since they smolder longer and tend to be less high maintenance. But, chips work too! We start with two generous handfuls and then check about halfway to see if we need to replenish at all. I have the stance that it's easier to add than take away and am always nervous about the wood flavor being "too much."
Good luck! 🙂
Margery says
This looks great! Do you use the water pan for this? I know some people forgo the water to get a crispier skin. Thanks!
Michelle says
We do use the water pan!
Lyn says
We just this summer purchased a Pit Boss smoker. Every Thanksgiving we do a turkey in the oven. However I always stuff my turkey with a bread stuffing. Can I still do this if I smoke my turkey. My guests would be very disappointed if I didn't serve the stuffing.
Michelle says
Hi Lyn! I wouldn't recommend cooking the stuffing in the turkey. We tried it a few years ago and the bread was so absorbent of the smoke, it was too much. Way too much smoke flavor in the bread, we couldn't hardly eat it. I think I would smoke the turkey, do the stuffing in the oven, then stuff afterwards. Good luck! 🙂
Jason Webb says
I also use the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker! It is such a great smoker for the price - it gets used much more often than just on Thanksgiving!
Michelle says
Completely agree! We're big fans of both the smokey mountain and the standard weber kettle grill!
larry says
I have a Texas style smoker . 6 ' long and 30" wide with a fire box. I use mesquite wood and it's delicious..smoke at 225 degrees. For 30 min. Per pound.. always comes out great. Remember mesquite has a very hot fire. Doesn't take a lot of wood. I use fajita seasoning and inject with butter and water with a little bit of cranberry or red wine added. Great.
Matt says
Other than the chance of too much salt, why wipe all of the salt off before smoking? Does it ruin the skin or draw out too much moisture? In other words, could I lightly salt the skin and leave it on with no damage to the skin?
Thanks!
Michelle says
Excellent question! The amount of salt called for with the dry brine is more than most could tolerate eating, leaving it on wouldn't damage the skin in any way except some might consider it inedible and oversalted! If you chose to skip the dry brine process, lightly salting and seasoning the skin would not cause a bit of damage!
Sarah says
I made this last year and the entire family agreed it was the best turkey they’d ever eaten. Some decided before trying that no turkey could beat what my grandma made 20 years ago but had to agreed after trying that it was the best. I have another one in the smoker right now and my family is thrilled. My husband and FIL are going to cut their fishing trip short to be home in time to eat. Thanks for the recipe!!
Michelle Goth says
I'm so glad this turned out great for you! It is definitely a favorite for us. Thanks Sarah! 🙂
Lauren Kleiman says
Smoked turkeys are my favorite way to enjoy Thanksgiving. My dad would always smoke a turkey for Christmas and reading this brings back so many wonderful childhood memories.
Lauren Kleiman says
This smoked turkey is stunning and I love the addition of brown sugar.
Jenn says
Such an awesome method that yields so much flavor! Thanks for the detailed recipe post!