This Smoked Turkey is packed with incredible flavor, from a bourbon citrus brine, to an herbed butter packed under skin, to a flavorful turkey seasoning. Your Thanksgiving turkey is going to be the main star. If you are looking for the best smoked turkey recipe on the internet with over 1,000,000 views that will have your guests going back for seconds… and maybe even thirds, this is it.
Looking for another creative way to smoke your turkey? Check out our recipe for Cajun Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey.
Vindulge Recipe Highlights
- If this is your first time smoking a turkey check out our tips on smoked turkey from the pros.
- Smoked turkey needs a brine in order to maintain moisture and tenderness during the smoking process.
- Season the turkey both inside the cavity and on the skin using a compound butter and turkey seasoning.
- Smoke at the right temperature for good skin texture.
- Carve and serve and enjoy an amazing Thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends.
- Vindulge Recipe Highlights
- Selecting Turkeys
- Thawing Turkey
- How Much Turkey Per Person
- Smoked Turkey Brine
- Preparation For Smoked Turkey
- Turkey Seasoning
- How to Smoke a Turkey
- Best Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner
- Common Smoked Turkey Q&A
- Other Grilled and Smoked Turkey Recipes
- Side Dish Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner
- Smoked Turkey Recipe with Bourbon Brine
We’ve cooked turkey pretty much every way you can. From brining, to not brining, whole to spatchcock, to smoked turkey breast. Cooking on everything from pellet smokers, offsets, gas grills, and our Weber kettle, to even a tiny portable grill. We’ve experimented and catered with it all and this is our favorite smoked turkey recipe. Follow these steps for the perfect smoked turkey.
Selecting Turkeys
It is important to purchase store-bought turkeys that have not been previously brined in a saltwater solution. Over brined turkey will lead to a very salty flavor in the smoked turkey. Look for a whole bird without a label that says “previously brined”, or “brined in a 4% saltwater solution” (or another percentage).
Another thing to consider when smoking turkey is to avoid buying a larger turkey. A larger bird can overcook easier because the turkey cooks from the outer edge to the inner parts of the bird. Instead of one large turkey, we prefer two 12 – 14 pound turkeys. This will also allow you to smoke them faster. It also provides more of the legs and thighs that people tend to love. So avoid a turkey over 22 pounds.
You can also buy turkey and have it mailed directly to you. One of our favorite purveyors of mail order turkey is D’Artagnan Foods, with access to small farms across the country featuring a range of organic, heritage, and wild turkeys.
Thawing Turkey
For frozen turkey, remove from freezer 3 days prior to brining the turkey in order to let it defrost safely and with enough time to brine. The general rule is that it takes 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey to thaw in a refrigerator.
Rapid thawing is possible using water and ice. The important safety measures are to keep the turkey and water cold to prevent bacterial growth. Plan 30 minutes per pound to thaw using the water and ice technique. Thermoworks, one of our favorite brands for instant read thermometers, has a great step by step guide on using water to rapidly thaw a turkey. We’ve used this method in a pinch.
Fresh turkey can last up to 3 days in the fridge prior to cooking.
How Much Turkey Per Person
When catering the general rule of thumb we use is to plan on 1.25 pounds of turkey per person. When planning on portions, it’s important to consider the bones adding weight to the turkey as well as leftovers (because, let’s be honest, we all love the leftovers).
This is the estimate we use and trust.
- A 10 pound turkey will serve 8 hungry people on average.
- A 12 pound turkey will serve 10 people
- A 14 pound turkey will serve 12 people
Holiday season means a bountiful table of other foods too, and there is always planning for leftovers. As you approach needing more than 14 pounds of turkey, consider two birds as mentioned.
Smoked Turkey Brine
What is a brine? Simply put a turkey brine is a salt and water mixture used to add moisture and flavor to meat. Smoking slowly take a toll on moisture and this offsets that.
How? The salt follows its way into the meat through the process of osmosis, which is why adding more flavor in addition to your salt mixture allows for the flavor to get into the meat.
You can go with a dry brine (salt based rub) or wet brine. We prefer the wet brine with bourbon for that added flavor. You can check out our article for more information on a basic turkey brine recipe.
- In a large stockpot add cold water and your brine ingredients (see recipe card). Place the turkey into the brine and cover. (If you have more than one turkey, consider food-safe brining bags or a cooler that will hold the liquid and the turkey.)
- Place the turkey in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. If using brine bags carefully seal them and store in a cooler with ice (this saves room in the fridge with all the other food you will likely be preparing for the holiday meal).
- If your turkey tends to float to the top then flip the turkey over half way through the brine.
Important: Avoid brining more than 24 – 36 hours as the texture of the turkey may start to get gummy as it cures versus brines.
Preparation For Smoked Turkey
Once you’ve brined the turkey you need to prepare for smoking.
- Rinse off the brine and pat the exterior of the turkey dry with paper towels. Both the turkey cavity and exterior need to be DRY.
- At this point add turkey seasoning liberally and include the cavity of the turkey. Leave the dried and salted/seasoned bird uncovered in the refrigerator for four hours. This will flavor the turkey and help minimize rubbery skin when smoking.
- After four hours, remove from the fridge and stuff the cavity with some fresh citrus (a combination of lemons and oranges), onions, garlic, and lots of fresh herbs. This is going to help the cavity of the bird stay juicy and tender. As the stuffing heats up, the aromatics and liquid are forced out and into the bird from the inside out.
- Slightly lift the skin and add an herbed compound butter. The herbed butter is room temperature butter with seasonings added for a compound butter. See recipe card for the butter ingredients.
- Tie the legs and wings close to the body of the turkey with kitchen twine so it cooks evenly. If they are flapping around, they will overcook. You can also tuck the wings under the breast.
Turkey Seasoning
When smoking turkey it’s nice to have both sugar, salt, and savory flavors. The sugar helps with some caramelization, the salt and savory herbs add flavor.
We use our Ultimate Dry Rub for smoked turkey. It’s very versatile with sugar and spices. But feel free to use your favorite poultry seasoning.
How to Smoke a Turkey
- Preheat Smoker: Prepare smoker to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. After experimenting with different cooking temps we’ve landed at 275 as our sweet spot for a whole turkey to minimize rubbery skin. We like fruit wood for most of our cooking, and especially poultry. Cherry or apple wood is our choice when smoking turkey.
- Smoke Turkey: Place the turkey on the smoker and insert a digital blue tooth probe thermometer like the Thermoworks Signals. Signals, like the Smoke unit, will monitor the ambient cooking chamber temperature, as well as up to three zones. So in this case, we put a probe in the breast meat, and in the dark meat. The blue tooth capabilities makes it easy to monitor temperatures on your phone, so you don’t have to keep lifting the lid on your smoker letting any heat out.
- Monitor Temperature: Remove the turkey when the internal temperature throughout the turkey is 165 degrees (F). The thigh and legs may be higher, that is fine as they can take a higher heat and still stay tender.
- Rest: Remove from heat and wrap in foil, and then let it rest 20 minutes. If you are done early, wrap it and leave in a cooler (with no ice) to keep warm for up to four hours. Resting allows the cells to cool down and retain that moisture. Cut too early, while it may be juicy, you’ll find it will dry out quickly.
- Slice and Serve: Carve with a sharp high quality carving knife and enjoy.
If you have a gas grill you can follow our guide on how to smoke on a gas grill using wood chips and a smoker box.
Best Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner
We’ve got you covered in our Thanksgiving Wine guide. We discuss everything you need for selecting the best wines in all budgets for your holiday dinner. Want to buy the wines we will be using for Thanksgiving? Explore the Vindulge Wine Shop where you’ll find rare and amazing wines at all price points.
Common Smoked Turkey Q&A
How long will it take to smoke turkey?
Plan on 15 minutes per pound when cooking at 275 degrees F. Our 12 pound turkeys tend to be done in 3 hours when loosely stuffed with the citrus and herbs.
What temperature do I cook turkey to?
160 degrees Fahrenheit (F) when measured at the breast, the turkey is done and safe. Carry over cooking will continue to take the internal temperature of the turkey to 165 degrees F (USDA minimum temperature recommendation). While the legs and thigh can handle 180 degrees F, that will overcook the breast and it will be dry. So target 160 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast. The leg and thigh should be temping at 175 to 180 degrees at the same time.
How to get crispy skin on smoked turkey?
When smoking, even at 275, the challenge for any turkey will be crispy skin. If you want a crispy skin, a modification to the recipe is to wait until the bird gets to 145 degrees and then crank up the heat to 375 to finish cooking. You run the risk of still drying out the bird, so we don’t push for a crispy skin when smoking. With our technique the skin should still be moderately crispy from drying in the fridge.
Should I use a water pan?
This will depend on your grill. On a Big Green Egg or Kamado style smoker, we do not as it is very efficient and sealed. On offsets or our pellet grills we do use a water pan to help add moisture to the chamber.
Other Grilled and Smoked Turkey Recipes
- Cajun Grilled Turkey Breast
- Smoked Turkey Breast with Maple Glaze
- Green Chili Turkey
- Smoked Turkey Legs exclusively in our cookbook Fire + Wine.
Side Dish Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner
You can explore our Thanksgiving Recipes for the Grill and Smoker or some of our favorites below.
- Smoked Turkey and Bourbon Gravy
- Smoked Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing (Dressing)
- Turkey Collard Greens
- Grilled Beet Salad with Rosé Infused Cranberries
- Smoked Honey Butter (for your dinner rolls)
*This recipe was originally published in November of 2018 and updated in September 2022 with more recipe details.
*This post contains affiliate links. We only recommend and promote products we use and love and contribute to great barbecued and grilled foods, like a good digital thermometer!
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- ▢ 1 12-14 lb whole turkey (unbrined)
For the Brine
- ▢ 8 quarts water
- ▢ 1 ½ cups kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
- ▢ ⅓ cup brown sugar (we use dark brown but light works also)
- ▢ 1 cup bourbon
- ▢ 2 oranges, cut into quarters
- ▢ 1 lemon, cut into quarters
- ▢ ⅓ cup whole peppercorns
- ▢ 10 whole cloves
- ▢ 2 dried bay leaves
For the Herbed Butter
- ▢ 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ▢ ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- ▢ ½ tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- ▢ ½ tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
Cavity Stuffing
- ▢ 2 oranges, quartered (we use navel)
- ▢ 1 lemon, quartered
- ▢ 1 red or yellow onion, quartered
- ▢ 6 garlic cloves
- ▢ 10 sprigs thyme
- ▢ 2 large sprigs of rosemary
For Brine:
Prepare turkey for brine by fully defrosting, removing giblets and neck, and trimming off excess fat.
In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, combine water, salt, sugar, and bourbon. Bring heat up and dissolve the salt and sugar into the liquid, then turn off heat.
Let cool and then add remaining brine ingredients. Add turkey to brine and cover. Brine for 24 hours in the refrigerator, avoid going beyond 30 hours. At a minimum brine for four.
For Herb Butter:
Add herbs to room temperature butter and combine. Be sure when you are using for the turkey, it is still room temperature.
Smoking Turkey:
Prep Turkey: Remove turkey from brine and rinse. Pat dry with a towel, especially the cavity. Season liberally with dry rub and place into the refrigerator for four hours.
Preheat Smoker: After four hours, preheat Smoker to 275 degrees using fruit wood.
Stuff and Season Turkey: Stuff cavity of the bird with oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Then stuff butter between the skin and breasts, spreading it out with your hands all along the breast. Tie up legs and wings with kitchen string, or tuck them to keep tight against the turkey.
Smoke Turkey: Place turkey on the smoker, and then insert your digital meat probe into the breast and thigh or leg. Smoke until the internal temperature of both reads 165 degrees (F). Use an instant read to check temp in various part of the turkey, even if the digital probes read 165 to confirm all parts of the turkey are cooked through.
Rest and Serve: Remove from smoker (will likely take 3 – 4 hours with a 12 – 14 pound bird) and cover with foil. Let rest for about 20 minutes, then slice and serve.
Thawing: If the turkey is frozen, remove from freezer 3 days prior to brining the turkey in order to let it defrost safely and with enough time to brine. The general rule is that it takes 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey in a refrigerator to thaw.
Rapid thawing is possible using water and ice. The important safety measures are to keep the turkey and water cold to prevent bacterial growth. Plan 30 minutes per pound to thaw using the water and ice technique. Thermoworks, one of our favorite brands for instant read thermometers, has a great step by step guide on using water to rapidly thaw a turkey.
Fresh turkey can last up to 3 days in the fridge prior to cooking.
Portions: Plan 1.25 pounds of turkey per person.
If Done Early: If the turkey is done cooking early, wrap in foil and place into a clean cooler with no ice. It will stay warm for up to four hours.
Spatchcocking: You can modify the recipe by spatchcocking the turkey. This will speed up the cooking process. Plan 10 – 12 minutes per pound versus 15.
Find the perfect wine pairing at the Vindulge Wine Shop
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 21281mg | Potassium: 390mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 762IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 196mg | Iron: 3mg
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