How to Smoke a Turkey (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke a turkey? ›

Set the smoker to 225° F. Place the turkey on a cooking rack and cook for 8 to 12 hours or until the inner thigh temperature reaches 180° F. Check the temperature of your turkey after 3½ hours. Your turkey must pass through a critical range of 40° F to 140° F in 4 hours or less.

Turkeys should be brined overnight, coated with fat only initially, and minimally seasoned. Brining keeps the turkey from drying out during the smoking process. Basting the turkey only results in soggy skin. Overly seasoning the skin just makes inedible skin – let the brine and aromatics add flavor.

When smoking at 225°F, it can take about 30 to 45 minutes to cook one pound of turkey. That means a 12-pound turkey should take at least six hours to cook in a smoker. To smoke your turkey faster, increase the smoker's temperature to 250°F to 275°F.

Cover turkey loosely with foil. Add wood chips to the smoker according to the manufacturer's directions. Place the roasting pan in the preheated smoker. Smoke the turkey, basting every 1 to 2 hours with juices from the bottom of the roasting pan, for 5 hours.

Thanksgiving Turkey Smoker Tips

A little bit of planning will go a long way. For one, make sure your turkey fits! Whatever type of electric smoker you use, make sure the bird you buy will fit into it. Usually, a bird between 12 to 14 pounds is ideal.

Much like roasting, smoked turkey's success starts with seasoning the bird in advance. A dry brine of kosher salt will help keep the turkey moist during cooking.

After the first hour, open the smoker and spray the skin of the turkey with your preferred cooking spray. (This helps the skin stay moist and prevents it from splitting). Close the lid of the smoker and cook for another hour.

Make sure you have a drip pan at the ready to catch the drippings as well as keep your smoker environment moist. I use an aluminum pan that I can position on the grill underneath my turkey. Fill the pan with several cups of water at the beginning of the smoke.

Depending on the size of the turkey and how well you control the temperature, you can expect a 14lb turkey to smoke for about 3.5 – 5 hours. The slow cooking and lower temperature help ensure the turkey is not drying out due to excess heat. Remove the turkey when the thermometer reads 155F/68C – 160F/71C.

One of the benefits of smoking a turkey is that it's almost impossible to overcook anything in a smoker. The temperature remains low and the cooking is slow, resulting in perfectly moist and tender meat with a rich, complex flavor.

Do you smoke a turkey breast up or down? ›

Smoking the Turkey Breast

Once the smoker is clicking along at around 225-240 degrees F, place the turkey directly on the grate breast side up.

The size of your bird will influence how long to rest a smoked turkey, but somewhere between 30-60 minutes tends to be the sweet spot for redistributing juices.

To recap, the secrets to perfectly smoked turkey are: butterflying, dry-brining, adding baking powder to the dry rub, slow-cooking over indirect heat, and careful monitoring of the turkey's internal temperature.

After thawing your turkey, take the giblets and neck out and dry or wet brine the whole turkey overnight. If you have a fresh turkey, you can skip the thawing process move right to brining it. Brining will enhance the turkey's flavor and ensure that the meat stays moist throughout the smoking process.

Yes! It doesn't so much matter when you season your bird—whether it's just before popping it in the oven or several days in advance for a brining—as long as you season it before it gets cooked. This is essential for the butter, herbs, and whatever other seasonings you use, to flavor the skin and meat of the turkey.

At 275 F/135 C, your turkey will take 20 to 25 minutes per pound.

Smoke the Turkey: Smoke at 275-300°F for 3.5 to 4 hours or until internal temperature reaches 165°F when measured in the thickest part of the breast, refilling water pan when necessary. (Optional):Baste the bird every hour with juices from the drip pan.