Perfectly Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving

Smoked Turkey takes the star of Thanksgiving to an entirely new level of stardom! I’ve never been a huge fan of Turkey. I love all the Thanksgiving side dishes, but I’ve always thought Turkey was blah and dry. This recipe for smoked turkey totally changed my opinion about this holiday bird. It’s incredibly flavorful! 

I can’t take credit for this at all – my husband did all the work on this one. He woke up at 3 am to toss it on the Big Green Egg and let it smoke for 7 hours. Pure Perfection.  If you don’t have a smoker you can still use a regular grill – just place the turkey on indirect heat and use a smoker box to add chips and generate smoke. 

We used a 13 pound turkey for this recipe. It took about 7 hours to cook at 225 degrees and reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees. James continually basted the turkey with butter and fresh herbs throughout the smoking process.

Brine is key to a good turkey. We kept the turkey in a brine mixture for about 24-36 hours before we put it on the smoker. Our brine consisted of

We stuffed the cavity of the turkey with a sliced lemon, orange, two onions, garlic cloves, and lots of fresh herbs. The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients:

  • 12-14 lb turkey
  • 2-3 sticks of melted butter
  • Several sprigs of Fresh Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped

For the Brine:

  • 6-8 cups water
  • 4 cups apple juice
  • 1 1/2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 sprigs each rosemary, sage, and thyme

Directions:

Place the turkey in the brine mixture 24-48 hours before you begin smoking it. Remove from the brine and rinse the outside and inside of the turkey well. Place a roasting pan under the turkey grate on the smoker to catch any drippings. Right before you start the smoking process, generously brush the turkey with melted butter and chopped fresh herbs (sage, thyme, and rosemary). Baste the turkey with this butter and herb mixture several times during the smoking process. It will help get a golden exterior. Smoke the turkey at 225 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.