Cajun Butter Smoked Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving
Having a smaller crowd for Thanksgiving dinner this year? Smoke a juicy turkey breast on the smoker! Made with a savory dry rub and butter bath, and ready in about 2 hours.
This delicious smoked turkey breast is the perfect easy recipe if your family prefers white meat for Thanksgiving! One of the most popular recipes on my blog is my Whole Smoked Turkey, which thousands of you make every Thanksgiving. But it’s meant to serve a crowd of people, and I know that’s just too much turkey for many of us! I’m proud to share this equally delicious, buttery Cajun smoked turkey breast recipe for smaller Thanksgiving gatherings.
“Excellent!!! Only change I made was to cut back on the spice heat!! Everyone loved it!! Will make it again!”
I think this Cajun smoked turkey breast recipe is a great option for smaller gatherings! It has a quick smoke time and always turned out juicy and flavorful for us.
To prep my turkey breast for smoking, I coat it in a homemade spice rub. For the spice rub, you can choose to purchase a pre-made Cajun rub (preferably low sodium).
Or can make your own seasoning rub using the recipe I have linked below. It’s really pretty simple to do and uses basic spices like paprika, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Easy!
If time allows, you can season the turkey breast ahead of time and wrap it in plastic wrap, then store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to smoke it. I do recommend letting it rest at room temperature for a bit to take the chill off before putting it on the smoker.
I finish my turkey breast on the smoker wrapped in aluminum foil and coated in an herb, garlic and butter bath. Yum! Turkey breast is low fat protein, so the butter bath will help to make sure it’s nice and juicy!
Brining Turkey Breast
For this recipe, I don’t have include the step of using a kosher salt dry brine or a wet brine. You absolutely brine your turkey breast, but I don’t think it makes a noticeable difference in the juiciness of the breast meat in this recipe.
Please remember that a lot of the turkey we find at the grocery store is already pre-brined and injected with a salt and sugar solution to help it stay juicy. Sometimes another salty brine can make your turkey too salty, so I tend to skip it unless I’m able to get a fresh turkey.
This recipe calls for a pretty short smoke time and adds a butter bath and aluminum foil wrap to keep the turkey breast nice and moist! Turkey breast is low fat protein, so the butter bath will help to make sure it’s nice and juicy, and the aluminum foil keeps moisture in once the turkey breast has already taken on some smoke flavor.
Check out 70+ of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes!
Recipe Substitutions
Like most smoked turkey recipes, there are plenty of ingredient substitutions you can make! Here are a few ideas:
- Substitute butter for olive oil and vice versa
- In the for the butter bath, you can use fresh rosemary or fresh thyme instead of the fresh dill or parsley.
- In your water pan, you can also use apple juice, apple cider, chicken broth or turkey broth instead of water.
- I used a boneless breast, but I do think you could adapt this recipe for a bone-in turkey breast. You also can use a skin-on turkey breast, but if a skinless turkey breast is mostly what you’ll find at the grocery store.
- Yes, you can do this recipe on your charcoal grill or gas grill over indirect heat.
Does your family love dark meat? Try these roasted turkey legs!
What Type of Wood Chips Should I Use?
I think that with poultry, a lighter wood like apple wood or cherry wood is perfect! For a more robust flavor, you could use mesquite wood, hickory or pecan wood chips. The same recommendations go for flavored wood pellets if you’re using a pellet smoker!
If you have the ability to use a water pan in your smoker, do so! I recommend adding aromatics to your water, like bay leaf, black peppercorns and fresh herbs.
Want to learn how to smoke a whole turkey? Try my Smoked Whole Turkey for Thanksgiving!
Serving Suggestions
I think this smoked turkey breast would be wonderful for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner! Serve with green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, or sweet potato casserole!
Storing Leftover Smoked Turkey Breast
Store leftover turkey in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Leftover turkey can also be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months.
It’s best to reheat leftover smoked turkey breast gently in the oven, covered by aluminum foil. Add a splash of chicken or turkey broth to help it stay moist while it warms up.
If you’re lucky enough to have leftover turkey breast, I recommend using it up in sandwiches, soups and casseroles! I definitely recommend my Turkey Cranberry Sliders or 30 Minute Leftover Turkey Bean Soup.
Cajun Butter Smoked Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 20 ounces turkey breast, boneless
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the spice rub:
- 3-4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, preferably low sodium
For the butter bath:
- 8 tablespoons butter, salted
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/8 cup fresh dill or fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or smashed
Instructions
- Heat the smoker to 250 degrees, adding your wood chunks or pellets to give the turkey breast your preferred smoke flavor.
- In a small bowl, prepare the Cajun spice rub.
- Pat the turkey breast dry with a paper towel to remove any watery liquid. Then, gently brush the turkey breast with olive oil.
- Then, rub the spices all over the turkey breast, covering the entire surface.
- Prepare the butter bath. Place the butter, herbs and garlic in a heat-safe pan (cast-iron skillet, small aluminum pan). Place the pan on smoker grates to allow the butter to melt and take on some smoke flavor.
- Place turkey breast directly on smoker grates. Let the turkey smoke for 1.25 hours or until the turkey hits an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- At this point, transfer the turkey to a large aluminum foil boat or disposable aluminum pan. Pour the melted butter bath over the top of the turkey and cover/seal with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in.
- Continue to smoke for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees using an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Remove and rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
- Slice and serve!
Excellent!!! Only change I made was to cut back on the spice heat!! Everyone loved it!! Will make it again!
Pam, I’m so glad it turned out good for you, and glad you adjusted the heat to your liking. Thank you!
Delicious flavor – easy to put together and everyone in my family enjoyed it1
So glad, thank you Melissa!
Great recipe
We recently got a smoker and made this for a small dinner party in our new home. This was so good on the smoker! Everyone loved it with the spice rub! I’ll make this again for Thanksgiving!
This looks so good! I make turkey breast throughout the year, so I’m excited to find this recipe. We smoke a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, so I’ll be increasing the amounts and using it on the absolutely ginormous bird I plan to get.
That makes me happy! 🙂 We do turkey breast throughout the year too, for homemade deli meat. I’m glad you liked it?
Big hit at Thanksgiving! The meat was incredibly juicy, great smoked flavor and the butter added a lot of goodness! Everyone asked that I do it again next year so I will!
That’s awesome, thank you!
I smoked your cajun turkey breast for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, and it was so good. Added fresh rosemary to the butter too.
Love the idea of adding rosemary! Sounds great.