How to brine, prepare and smoke a turkey on a pellet grill. Have you ever wanted to smoke a Thanksgiving turkey and don't even know where to start? I will take you though a step-by-step process to get a juicy and tender smoked turkey on the table.
The first time I smoked a turkey on the Traeger I was instantly hooked and we haven't prepared a thanksgiving turkey any other way since then.
There is a little bit of work upfront to thaw, brine, and prep the turkey but the cooking process is so simple. Just place it in the smoker and let it do its thing. No basting or tending to required.
Start off by smoking at a low temperature for a few hours then turn up the heat to finish it off.
Browse the different sections to learn more and get my favorite recipe.
Don't want to make an entire turkey? Check out my quick and easy smoked turkey breast recipe that uses a homemade dry rub.
After carving and enjoying your smoked turkey, do not toss that carcass! Instead make turkey carcass stock which makes the best turkey noodle soup or turkey stroganoff.
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What is a Brine?
A brine is a way to infuse flavor into a turkey. It's a solution that is full of salt, seasonings, and sugar that is absorbed into the meat giving it flavor and also helping it retain moisture.
When smoking a turkey it can have a tendency to dry out. By brining, it gives the turkey an opportunity to retain as much moisture as possible, before even hitting the grill.
A wet brine or dry rub can be used. For this recipe, we opt for a wet brine.
A wet brine is water with dissolved salt, sugar, and some spices. We let the turkey soak overnight in the solution before prepping it to go on the smoker.
Does a Turkey Need to be Brined Before Smoking?
The answer to this is completely up to you and your time frame.
However, with that said, I would 100% recommend brining a turkey before it is smoked. We have done this same recipe with and without the brine and for us, it did in fact make a huge difference.
NOTE: Do not brine a turkey that has been pre brined or salt injected. This will make it way too salty.
When we brine it the day before, the turkey is so juicy and tender after smoking it. When we didn't brine it, the turkey ended up more on the dry side.
The unbrined turkey still turned out great, and I would still have been proud to serve it on Thanksgiving, it just wasn't the same as our brined turkey.
If you are going to brine your turkey, it will require some extra space. A 5-gallon food grade bucket is what I use. It just takes up a lot of room in the fridge.
A special brining bag can also be used for this process and takes up less room than the bucket.
How long does it take to smoke a turkey?
The cooking time for a turkey on a pellet smoker all depends on the size of the turkey.
A larger turkey is going to take a lot longer than a smaller one. Start with smoking it for 2 hours at 180 degrees.
When cooked at the lower temperature of 180 it will produce a lot more smoke giving your turkey even more flavor
After the initial smoke, take the internal temp, and raise the smoker to 350 degrees until it is finished.
For an 16-pound turkey, it took about 5 hours total. 2 hours at 180 and 3 hours at 350 degrees. Smaller turkeys are going to take a lot less time.
The best practice when making a turkey is to always allow more time than you think you need. It's perfectly fine if the turkey is done before everything else.
Simply remove the it from your smoker and place a few damp kitchen towels on top of the turkey to help retain the moisture. This will keep your turkey hot for about an hour while you are finishing everything else up.
Ingredients
For the Brine
Note: Do not brine a turkey that is pre brined.
- Water
- Kosher Salt
- Garlic Cloves
- Black Pepper
- Worcestershire
- Brown Sugar
Butter Compound
- Butter
- Kosher Salt
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
- Fresh Sage
Full ingredients in the recipe card.
How to Smoke a Turkey
CAUTION: Please take extra care and caution when preparing a turkey. Raw turkey can carry salmonella and other bacteria.
Make sure your workspace is free of other foods or items that can be contaminated and clean really well after handling a raw turkey.
Visit the USDA website for more safety information and how to temp a turkey.
Thawing
A frozen turkey can take days to thaw depending on how big the bird is. Reference the thawing guides on the packaging.
The best way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator. This allows it to thaw naturally and you don't run the risk of it warming too quickly.
It took almost 5 days for an 18 pound turkey.
How to Brine a Turkey
Before this step, make sure your turkey isn't pre brined or injected with a salt solution. Doing this process twice could result in a really salty turkey.
Add all the brine ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil until the sugar and salt dissolves. Let cool.
While your brine is cooling, take your turkey out of the package, drain the juice and remove the neck and other packets that are inside the turkey.
Take photos of the package information before tossing.
In a food safe bucket add about 1 gallon of cold water and dump in the brine. This will help finish cooling if your brine is still warm.
Carefully lower turkey into the mix, legs up, and if needed continue to fill the bucket with cold water just until it covers the turkey.
Secure the lid and put in the fridge for the night. This requires a little planning and organizing your fridge to make sure you have space.
Prepping the Turkey
After about 24 hours, carefully dump the brine out, drain the liquid from the cavity, and place the turkey in a roasting pan or aluminum disposable pan. Pat dry with paper towels.
Start the butter compound by making a pile of the garlic, herbs and salt and chopping everything up really fine.
In a mixing bowl take the softened butter and cream it together with the herb mix.
Next, take the skin of the turkey that is over the breast, and carefully peel it away from the meat. It will create a little pouch. Take a scoop of the butter and pack it in each side.
Now take the rest of the butter and spread it all over the entire bird. Make sure to get the legs and wings as well.
Smoking
Place turkey in a roasting pan or directly on the grill grate. If you are using a roasting pan, it helps to place a metal rack or some vegetables inside the pan so it is not sitting in the juices. That can cause the bottom of your turkey to get soggy.
I like to place mine on a bed of carrots, celery, and onions and pour in about a cup of chicken broth That way the turkey is out of the liquid and I can use the drippings to make gravy.
If you do not want drippings, placing the bird directly on the grates works just as well.
Place in the smoker, insert a temperature probe in the thickest part of the breast, close the lid, and let it smoke for 2 hours at 180 degrees.
Bring the temp of the smoker to 350 degrees and cook until it reaches the desired internal temp. A large turkey is going to take anywhere form 3-5 hours at 350 depending on size.
For an 16 pound turkey, we smoked it for 2 hours at 180 and then 3 hours at 350. A smaller turkey is going to take less time, so be sure to monitor the internal temperature to prevent over cooking it .
Temp the turkey according to the package directions or visit the USDA for exact temps and food safety . Use an internal digital thermometer to get an accurate reading. Place it in the thickest part of the turkey breast as that part of the bird will take the longest to cook.
The legs and breast of the turkey will cook at a different rates. Make sure both are fully cooked before serving.
Remove turkey from the smoker and cover with a wet tea towel, kitchen towel or aluminum foil and allow to rest before carving. Covering it will help trap all the moisture in and keep it hot while other dishes are finishing up.
After the turkey is carved, and all the meat taken off turn the leftover bones into turkey broth.
Equipment
Traeger Pellet Grill: Since this is a smoked turkey recipe you will need a pellet smoker. I highly recommend a Traeger grill.
Instant Read Thermometer: Even if the turkey has a pop-up indicator, always take your own reading. These have never been accurate but a instant read thermometer like a Thermapen is always accurate.
Brine Bag: Use a brine bag or food safe 5 gallon bucket.
Roasting Pan: A pan with a rack or a disposable pan can be used. Just make sure the turkey isn't sitting in the juice.
Variations
Spatchcock Turkey. This method is really popular. I personally have never tried it but here is a step-by-step tutorial if you are interested.
Dry Brine: I prefer to use the wet brine method. If you are going to use a dry brine, here is recipe to check out.
Food Safety
According to the Department of Agriculture, turkey is safe to eat when it reaches a temp of 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serving undercooked turkey can lead to illness.
Other Thanksgiving Recipes
📋Recipe
Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
For the Brine
- 8 Cups Water
- 1.5 Cups Kosher Salt
- 4 Garlic Cloves Roughly Chopped
- 1 tablespoon Black Pepper
- ¼ Cup Worcestershire
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
Butter Compound
- ½ Cup Butter - Softened
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3-4 Fresh Garlic Cloves
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Rosemary
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Thyme
- ¼ Cup Loosely Packed Sage Leaves
Instructions
- Follow good food handling when preparing a turkey.
Brine
- Before this step, make sure your turkey isn't pre brined or injected with a salt solution. Doing this process twice could result in a really salty turkey.
- First, completely thaw the turkey according to package directions.
- The day before you want to cook brine the turkey.
- Add all the brine ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil until the sugar and salt dissolves. Let cool.
- While your brine is cooling, take your turkey out of the package, drain the juice and remove the neck and other packets that are inside the turkey.
- In a food safe bucket add about 1 gallon of cold water and dump in the brine. This will help finish cooling if your brine is still warm.
- Once brine is cooled down, add to a food safe bucket or bag along with 1 gallon of cold water. The water will help finish cooling the brine.
- Carefully lower turkey into the mix, legs up, and if needed continue to fill the bucket with cold water just until it covers the turkey.
- Secure the lid and put in the fridge for the night.
Prepping the Turkey
- After about 24 hours, carefully dump the brine out, drain the liquid from the cavity, and place the turkey in a roasting pan or aluminum disposable pan. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Start the butter compound by making a pile of the garlic, herbs and salt and chopping everything up really fine.
- In a mixing bowl take the softened butter and cream it together with the herb mix.
- Next, take the skin of the turkey that is over the breast, and carefully peel it away from the meat. It will create a little pouch. Take a scoop of the butter and pack it in each side.
- Now take the rest of the butter and spread it all over the entire bird. Make sure to get the legs and wings as well.
Smoking
- Place turkey in a roasting pan or directly on the grill grate. If you are using a roasting pan, it helps to place a metal rack or some vegetables inside the pan so it is not sitting in the juices. That can cause the bottom of your turkey to get soggy.
- Place in the smoker, insert a temperature probe in the thickest part of the breast, close the lid, and let it smoke for 2 hours at 180 degrees.
- Bring the temp of the smoker to 350 degrees and cook until it reaches the desired internal temp. A large turkey is going to take anywhere form 3-5 hours at 350 depending on size.
- For an 16 pound turkey, we smoked it for 2 hours at 180 and then 3 hours at 350. A smaller turkey is going to take less time, so be sure to monitor the internal temperature to prevent over cooking it. See Notes for temperature guide.
- Remove turkey from the smoker and cover with a wet tea towel, kitchen towel or aluminum foil and allow to rest before carving. Covering it will help trap all the moisture in and keep it hot while other dishes are finishing up.
- Carve, serve and enjoy!
Notes
According to the Department of Agriculture a turkey is finished cooking when the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit. This reading needs to be taken in the thickest part of the bird in multiple locations. Use an instant read thermometer to get the most accurate reading.
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