How To Smoke a Whole Turkey
Smoked Turkey Butter Injection
- 1 stick real butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 TBS Hot Sauce
- 1 tea Granulated Garlic
- 1 tea Cajun Seasoning (I used Louisanna brand)
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the chicken broth, hot sauce, garlic, and Cajun seasoning. Whisk the ingredients together and remove from heat once incorporated. It doesn’t need to come to a boil.
Let the injection cool and shoot it into the turkey. Hit the breast in 3-4 locations on each side and do the same for the legs and thighs. Before placing the turkey on the smoker, use butcher twine to secure the legs and wings.
Now the turkey is finally ready for the cooker. I smoke turkeys at temps between 275-300 degrees. Higher temps make for a better bird. The outer skin turns a beautiful mahogany color and is almost crispy. For smoke, I use pecan or a fruit wood like cherry. You can over-smoke turkey, so go easy on the wood. Place the turkey on the smoker and set a timer for 1 ½ hours. As long as you maintain temps, there’s not much to do, just let it cook.
When the timer goes off, rotate the turkey on the rack to ensure it is cooking evenly on all sides. I never flip the turkey. It stays on the back, breast up, the entire cook. It takes about 3 ½ hours to smoke a 10-12lb turkey but checking the internal temps is key. It has to hit at least 165 in the breast and 175 in the thigh. When you stick the turkey, juices should run out clear. There should be no trace of blood or pink colored liquid. I start checking the internal about the 2 ½ hour mark just to see where it is. At this point if the outside is starting to get dark, I’ll lay a piece of aluminum foil over it. The foil acts as a tent and will prevent the skin from browning any further.
Once I see a temp of 165 in the thickest part of the breast and the juices are running clear out of the thigh (175 internal), the turkey is done….Almost….you want to let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. If you go at it too soon with the knife, all of the juices will run out onto your cutting board and you’ll have dry turkey. Be patient and let things cool off for a few minutes.
Once you try Smoked Turkey you won’t be able to stomach oven cooked bird.
