When you own a pellet grill, you can smoke meat all year long and show off your juicy, mouthwatering meat candy to your loved ones. However, there are much higher stakes during the holiday season.
Anxiety can creep in when everyone is depending on you to prepare a perfectly seasoned and smoked turkey, especially if it’s your first time. That’s why we’ve created this guide to help you step-by-step through the process and address any questions you may have about the smoking of turkey.
Here is a helpful Table Of Contents that we made so you can navigate to the various stages of the procedure.
Pellet grills have revolutionized the way we cook outdoors, offering precise temperature control and unparalleled flavor When it comes to smoking a turkey, a pellet grill is the perfect tool to achieve a juicy, flavorful, and beautifully browned bird. This guide will delve into the intricacies of smoking a turkey on a pellet grill, covering everything from preparation to the optimal cooking time
Preparing Your Turkey:
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Choosing the Right Turkey: Opt for a fresh or frozen whole turkey. While smoking a turkey breast is possible, a whole bird offers a more forgiving experience, allowing for crispy skin, a variety of meat options, and greater tolerance for potential cooking errors.
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Thawing and Brining: For a frozen turkey (15 pounds and above), allow 3-5 days for complete thawing in the refrigerator If using a fresh turkey, begin the brining process immediately Brining enhances flavor and juiciness, and we recommend using our Sweet Smoked Turkey Brine or Zesty Cajun Turkey Brine recipes. Soak the turkey in the brine for 24-36 hours, with a minimum of 24 hours for optimal results.
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Drying and Seasoning: After brining, remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Apply our Turkey Paint recipe, a compound butter that creates a stunning and flavorful exterior. Alternatively, use your favorite smoked turkey rub, ensuring even coverage on all sides.
Pellet Grill Preparation:
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Cleaning and Maintenance: Ensure your pellet grill’s grates are sparkling clean. Preheat the grill to high and brush the grates thoroughly, or remove them for cleaning in the sink. Line the bottom of the grill with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
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Fueling Up: Fill the hopper with fresh pellets. We recommend a 20-pound bag to ensure you have enough fuel for the entire cook. Choose a mild wood like apple, cherry, or peach, or a competition blend. Avoid robust woods like mesquite or post oak.
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Adding Moisture: Place a small pan of water (an old bread pan or aluminum pan works well) inside the grill chamber to add moisture and enhance smoke penetration.
Smoking the Turkey:
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Temperature and Time: Set your pellet grill to 250°F and insert the probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. Place the turkey inside, ensuring it doesn’t touch the water pan or any direct heat.
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Monitoring Temperature: The cooking time will vary depending on the turkey’s weight. As a general guideline, expect 30-40 minutes per pound. For a 15-pound turkey, this translates to approximately 5-6 hours. However, external factors like temperature and pellet grill type can influence the cook time. Allow a buffer of 2 hours to account for these variables.
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Spritzing: To encourage a golden brown color and enhance flavor, spritz the turkey with pineapple juice every 30-45 minutes during the smoking process. Alternatively, use apple cider vinegar or apple juice. Avoid disturbing the compound butter during spritzing.
Resting and Carving:
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Resting: Once the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, remove it from the smoker and place it on a sheet pan or roasting pan. Allow it to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on its size. Larger turkeys require longer resting times.
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Carving: Use an electric knife or a sharp carving knife to carve the turkey. Start by slicing down the middle of the breast bone, separating the two breasts. Slice each breast into thin pieces, ensuring some skin remains on each serving for visual appeal.
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Removing Legs and Thighs: Cut along the ball joint where the leg meat meets the bird to remove the legs and thighs. The bone connecting them doesn’t need to be cut through. Simply wiggle the leg and thigh free. Repeat for the other side.
Additional Tips:
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Temperature Control: If your turkey is taking longer than expected and you need to expedite the process, increase the smoking temperature to 275-300°F. This might slightly compromise the smokiness, but it will still yield a flavorful and juicy bird.
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Spritzing: Over-spritzing can prolong the cook time and wash away the flavorful butter. Stick to a few spritzes during the cooking process.
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Safety: Always cook poultry to an internal temperature of 165°F, as recommended by Servesafe and the FDA. Overcooking to 180°F is unnecessary and can result in dry meat.
Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill is a rewarding experience that yields a juicy, flavorful, and visually appealing bird. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to achieve the perfect smoked turkey, impressing your family and friends with your culinary prowess. Remember to use a food thermometer to ensure accurate temperature readings and always prioritize food safety by cooking poultry to the recommended internal temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Can I smoke a turkey breast on a pellet grill?
Yes, you can smoke a turkey breast on a pellet grill. However, we recommend using a whole turkey for a more forgiving and flavorful experience.
- What kind of wood should I use for smoking a turkey?
Choose mild woods like apple, cherry, or peach, or a competition blend. Avoid robust woods like mesquite or post oak.
- How long do I need to rest the turkey after smoking?
Rest the turkey for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on its size. Larger turkeys require longer resting times.
- What is the best way to carve a smoked turkey?
Use an electric knife or a sharp carving knife. Start by slicing down the middle of the breast bone, separating the two breasts. Slice each breast into thin pieces, ensuring some skin remains on each serving for visual appeal.
Additional Resources:
- Urban Cowgirl: How To Smoke A Turkey On A Pellet Grill
- Traeger Grills: Pellet Grill Turkey
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How To Brine The Turkey
Step One
You should begin your wet brine before taking your turkey out of the fridge. We use 2 brines here at Urban Cowgirl….
For both brines, bring the salt, sugar, spices, and water to a boil for five minutes, then let the ingredients steep in the liquid until they cool. We call this the brew!.
To finish the brew, add 1 gallon of cold liquid (apple cider or water, depending on the recipe) to the brew.
Before proceeding to Step 2, I suggest preparing and chilling your brew, moving it into the large brine bucket, and then adding the remaining 1 gallon of liquid.
Thus, before continuing, make sure you have a sizable 5-gallon bucket filled with your turkey brine (for detailed instructions, refer to either turkey brine post).
Step Two
After the turkey has completely defrosted, take it out of its packaging and place it in a spotless kitchen sink. All the juices will run down the sink. There might be a small bag of giblets or a turkey neck inside the turkey cavity.
Remove the giblets and neck, then dispose of or save for your gravy.
Bring the bucket of brine close to the sink and run clean, cold water over the turkey. Place the whole bird into the brine and place a lid on it.
The turkey can stay in this brine for up to 36 hours. We find that 24 hours is plenty of time, and even overnight gives the turkey a great deal more flavor and juiciness.
Once you start brining your turkeys, you’ll never go back. the flavor and juiciness are simply unmatched.
Step Three
Once the brining process is complete, take the bird out of the brine and put it in a sanitized kitchen sink. Brine can now flow off the bird and out of the center cavity as a result.
After moving the bird to a sheet pan, use paper towels to pat it dry.
To avoid contaminating any of your kitchen surfaces with raw turkey juices, dispose of the brine down the sink and wash your bucket and sink in hot, soapy water.
(Especially on a holiday when you’re serving a variety of pies and side dishes!)
We’re going to season the outside of the turkey now, and I suggest using our recipe for Turkey Paint—a compound butter that will make the bird look like it belongs on a magazine cover!
Here’s my go-to recipe for a basic smoked turkey rub, if that’s all you want to use.
Either way, cover the entire turkey with a thick layer of smoked turkey dry rub or turkey compound butter. Before you start, make sure the turkey is completely dry of brine and positioned breast side up on the sheet pan.
To help the smoked turkey rub adhere to the skin, you can first brush olive oil over the turkey’s exterior. Don’t forget the little crevices!.
The turkey paint should be applied evenly because it will adhere to the surface where it is painted during cooking.
We’re going to leave the turkey on the countertop to come to room temperature while we prepare the pellet smoker and set up outside.
What woods are best with smoked turkey?
I recommend any fruitwoods such as apple, cherry, and peach. Moreover, you may use mild competition mixtures, which are typically made of pecan, hickory, and oak.
Though many would disagree, especially in South Texas, I personally wouldn’t smoke turkey over very robust woods like mesquite or post oak because smoke flavor is subjective.
A mild wood that smells of smoke and is enjoyed by the whole family works best for smoking turkey.
Now we’re ready to smoke. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a small pan with water (I use an aluminum pan or an old bread pan) and set it inside the chamber.
The water pan helps the smoke stick to the turkey and penetrates the chamber by adding moisture. While stick smokers require assistance in maintaining a constant temperature, pellet grills don’t usually require it, but the water pan nevertheless adds moisture to the air.
Take the large turkey outside and put it inside the pellet grill so that it stays away from the water pan. As all pellet grills are designed to use indirect heat, make sure the turkey is not exposed to any direct heat at all. However, some readers may smoke their turkeys using wood chips over indirect heat on a charcoal grill. ).
Next, place one end of the instant read thermometer probe into the pellet grill temperature probe inserts and insert the other end into the thickest part of the breast.
After placing the turkey in the barbecue smoker, I like to add the probe.
If your pellet grill doesn’t have a temperature probe for instant readings, you will want to use a basic meat thermometer probe connected to a digital read out, or I recommend the Meater wireless probe which goes into the thickest part of the turkey breast and communicates directly with an app on your phone…the app is pretty cool and will talk to you about your progress as the turkey smoke.
I’m obsessed with the
In any case, we will only smoke the turkey until it reaches the desired temperature—not until it reaches the desired time—so we need a temperature probe that can alert us when its internal temperature approaches 160 degrees.
Once the probe is in place, shut the chamber and start cooking!