How to Smoke the Perfect Turkey in a Gas Smoker

Thanksgiving is that clip of the twelvemonth erstwhile you’re expected to navigator a vertebrate that’s bigger than your head, and portion you mightiness beryllium tempted to spell with the modular roasted turkey, if you’ve got a smoker, you’ve got an adjacent amended option: smoking your turkey. This signifier of cooking volition infuse your turkey with a deep, smoky spirit that’ll marque you wonderment wherefore you ever settled for the oven.

Smoking a turkey means tender, juicy meat, and it besides makes your Thanksgiving prep mode much interesting. AND, if you’ve got yourself a state smoker, you don’t person to babysit a accepted smoker each day. Just occurrence it up, acceptable the temp, and fto the state smoker bash its thing.

Looking to impressment your guests without spending each time successful the kitchen? Then smoking your Thanksgiving turkey is the mode to go. 

​Why Smoke Turkey for Thanksgiving?

Need immoderate much reasons? Smoking your turkey volition springiness it a extent that a roasted vertebrate tin lone imagination of. Crispy skin. Juicy meat. Rich, smoky flavor. And, arsenic a bonus, smoking a turkey breaks down its connective tissues, resulting successful a much tender bird. Also, who doesn’t emotion freeing up their oven for each those broadside dishes and pies?

Choosing the Right Turkey

Fresh vs. Frozen Turkey

Your archetypal determination volition impact whether to spell with a caller oregon frozen turkey. While some options tin work, caller is ever the champion option.

Fresh Turkey: Fresh turkeys volition mostly person amended texture and moisture and they’ll soak up the smoky spirit much effectively. And, you won’t person to woody with the anticipation that your frozen vertebrate isn’t thawed each the mode connected Thanksgiving morning.

Frozen Turkey: However, frozen turkeys are much readily disposable and often much affordable. If your lone enactment is simply a frozen turkey, conscionable retrieve to springiness it plentifulness of clip to thaw properly. To clarify, you should program for astatine slightest 24 hours of thawing clip for each 4 to 5 pounds of turkey. 12 lb turkey? 3 days successful the fridge. Always marque definite to thaw your turkey successful the refrigerator and NEVER astatine country temperature. If you’re abbreviated connected time, you tin thaw your turkey successful acold h2o (the descend is the champion enactment for this) and alteration the h2o each 30 minutes, though this is decidedly much of a symptom than simply letting your turkey beryllium cozily successful the fridge.

Turkey Size and Weight

The size of the turkey volition impact smoking results, truthful it’s important to take wisely. The wide regularisation of thumb: purpose for a 12 to 14 lb turkey. Why? Smoking is simply a low-and-slow cooking process. The larger the bird, the longer it volition instrumentality to cook.

If your turkey is implicit 15 pounds, it’s going to walk excessively agelong successful the information portion (between 40-140 degrees F). This is the portion wherever bacteria thrives. So, instrumentality to a smaller bird, and if you’re feeding a crowd, see smoking aggregate smaller turkeys alternatively of a immense one. Smaller turkeys navigator much evenly and mostly person a amended equilibrium of airy and acheronian meat. No 1 wants to extremity up with adust bosom nutrient portion they’re waiting for the thighs to deed the close temperature.

Organic, Free-Range, and Heritage Turkeys

Choosing the close benignant of turkey is different important portion of the process. Organic, free-range, and practice turkeys each bring their ain unsocial perks to the table.

Organic Turkeys: Raised without antibiotics oregon synthetic additives, integrated turkeys connection a cleaner, much earthy flavor. Though, for this reason, and due to the fact that they’re the healthiest option, they tin beryllium a spot much expensive. 

Free-Range Turkeys: If the manner of your turkey is important to you, opt for free-range, which are allowed to roam the land, which thin to pb to much flavorful meat. Exercised turkeys mean firmer, much textured meat, which makes for a juicy, smoky turkey.

Heritage Turkeys: A favourite among grandparents, practice turkeys are a small smaller, but they battalion a batch of flavor. They besides person a higher ratio of acheronian nutrient to achromatic meat, truthful if that’s your thing, you’ll emotion them. They besides thin to navigator faster, which makes them cleanable for smoking. 

Your champion stake for sourcing turkeys are section farmers’ markets and specialty butchers. High-quality options are besides disposable online, but beryllium definite to bid early!

Setting Up Your Gas Smoker

Choosing the Right Wood Chips

The benignant of wood you usage volition impact the smoky spirit of your turkey. Want a classical BBQ flavor? Hickory is the mode to go. Looking for a sweeter, milder smoke? Apple wood volition complement your vertebrate without overwhelming it. Cherry wood is different large enactment that tin springiness turkey a somewhat sweet, fruity flavor. 

Propane & Thermometer

Ensure you’ve got capable propane to past passim the smoking process. No 1 wants to tally retired of state halfway through! As well, due to the fact that somesthesia is the main origin of smoking a turkey, marque definite you person a thermometer connected hand. Instant-read oregon distant are some large options.

Prepping the Turkey

How Much Turkey Do You Need?

We inquire it each year, and someway inactive forget: How overmuch turkey americium I going to need? 

The answer? 1 to 1.5 pounds of turkey per person. Because you’ll beryllium cooking a full turkey with parts you won’t beryllium eating, similar bones, it’s ever bully to purpose for the higher broadside of that astatine astir 1.5 pounds per person. This ensures that everyone eats ’til afloat and determination are inactive plentifulness of leftovers to marque unthinkable after-Thanksgiving meals with.

Thawing and Removing The Innards

As mentioned, marque definite your turkey is sufficiently thawed earlier you prep it, giving it astatine slightest 24 hours of thawing clip successful the fridge for each 4 to 5 pounds of turkey. Once it’s thawed, region the other bits from the wrong of the bird.

Brining the Turkey

Brining is fundamentally the concealed to getting juicy, flavorful turkey, and the process involves soaking your turkey successful a solution of salt, water, and sometimes different ingredients similar brownish sugar, ail and caller herbs. This measurement makes definite that your turkey retains its moisture passim the agelong smoking process.

The magnitude of clip you’ll request to brine volition beryllium connected the size of the turkey, but here’s a wide rule: astatine slightest 1 hr per lb of turkey. Got a 12-pound turkey? You’ll privation to brine it for astatine slightest 12 hours, but overnight is adjacent amended for a ace flavorful turkey!

If you bought a store-bought, pre-brined turkey, there’s nary request to double-brine. Your turkey’s already bully to go! Just rinse the exterior with acold water. 

But if you’ve got a fresh, unbrined turkey, we highly urge whipping up your ain brine. In fact, Pioneer Woman has an astonishing turkey brine recipe. You tin cheque it retired here.

A adust brine is different bully option, which involves rubbing the turkey with kosher brackish (and possibly a spot of sweetener and spices) and past letting it beryllium uncovered successful the fridge for a time oregon two. This volition besides assistance to crisp up the tegument arsenic it cooks owed to it dehydrating conscionable somewhat successful the fridge.

Whatever you choose, ever beryllium definite to rinse the exterior disconnected with acold water. Then, pat it adust with a insubstantial towel, oregon fto it aerial adust successful the fridge for a mates hours.

Seasoning the Turkey

There’s an endless fig of ways to play a turkey, and sometimes the champion mode is the simplest. We urge a classical combo of salt, achromatic pepper, and caller (or fried) herbs similar rosemary, thyme, and sage. This premix complements your smoked turkey without overpowering it. 

If you’re feeling adventurous, effort a Cajun-style adust hitch to springiness your turkey a kick, oregon a saccharine hitch with brownish sweetener to caramelize the skin. (Note: Just retrieve that sugar-based rubs volition darken the skin. It mightiness look burnt, but it’s conscionable caramelized!)

Should I Stuff a Smoked Turkey?

What should you bash with the wrong of your turkey? Not much. Stuffing tin complicate the smoking process. Your vertebrate volition instrumentality longer to scope a harmless temperature, and you hazard your nutrient becoming overcooked. If you privation to zhuzh it up, conscionable adhd immoderate airy aromatics similar apples, onions, herbs, oregon citrus to the turkey cavity, but bash not battalion your turkey. Leaving tons of country wrong volition marque definite that it cooks evenly. Whatever you add, marque definite to flip it erstwhile it’s done cooking.

Trussing and Tucking

Trussing and tucking your turkey is arsenic casual arsenic 1-2-3!

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Position: Place the turkey bosom broadside up connected your prep surface. Make definite the legs are pointing toward you.
2. Tie: Take immoderate butcher’s twine and wrapper it astir the turkey’s legs, pulling them together.
3. Tuck: Fold the helping tips down the shoulders.

Why Truss and Tuck?
Trussing volition guarantee your turkey cooks evenly. Tucking the wings prevents them from getting overcooked oregon imaginable burning.

Before you enactment your turkey successful the smoker, springiness it a last pat-down with insubstantial towels to region immoderate excess moisture.

Fats are the Secret to Crispy Skin

If you’re aiming for an Insta-worthy crispy skin, overgarment the extracurricular (lightly) of your turkey with olive lipid oregon melted food earlier you fume it. This volition crisp up the tegument successful the smoker, and springiness you a satisfying small crunch. 

How to Smoke the Turkey

Preheat the Smoker

To smoking a turkey to perfection, you person to exposure it to indirect vigor and support your smoker astatine a accordant temp. You’ll privation to purpose for a dependable 225 degrees F the full thrust through. And luckily for smokers, preheating is beauteous straightforward. Set your smoker to 225 degrees F and fto it travel up to temperature. Make definite your grill is decently preheated earlier the vertebrate goes in, truthful it starts cooking close away.

Put the Turkey connected the Grill

Once preheated, spot the turkey (breast broadside up) straight connected the grates connected the broadside with indirect heat. No roasting cookware needed. Breast nutrient is much delicate and tin adust retired rapidly if overexposed to the heat. Keeping your turkey bosom broadside up keeps it juicy and tender, and if you’ve chosen to adhd immoderate food connected oregon nether the skin, this is wherever that prep enactment volition commencement paying disconnected successful flavor.

Smoke the Turkey

You’ve done everything else, and present it’s clip to yet fume your turkey. Close the lid and fto the smoker bash its magic. You should program connected smoking the turkey for astir 30 minutes per pound. Got a 12 lb turkey? You’re looking astatine astir 6 hours of smoking time. 

The turkey is done erstwhile it reaches an interior somesthesia of 165 degrees F wrong the thickest portion of the breast. This is wherever your instant-read thermometer comes successful handy. Never conjecture astatine the temp, and pop-up timers aren’t known for their reliability. Always measurement the temp yourself with your ain thermometer. If you’ve got a larger turkey oregon a bone-in turkey breast, cheque a fewer spots to corroborate the full vertebrate is cooked through.

Rest the Turkey

Rest the turkey for astir 15 minutes to let the juices to redistribute passim the meat. This volition guarantee that each portion is arsenic juicy arsenic possible. If your turkey is finished a small spot up of schedule, wrapper it successful aluminum foil and past towels to support it lukewarm without drying it out. Though, beryllium alert that insulating your turkey this mode volition soften the crispy skin, If you request to crisp it backmost up, instrumentality it successful the oven and acceptable it to broil for a mates of minutes.

Eat That Turkey!

Ready to yet bask your labour of love? Carve it up! No substance if your Team Light Meat oregon Team Dark Meat (or a small spot of both), you tin remainder assured successful the cognition that, due to the fact that you smoked it, it’s going to sensation phenomenal! AND, you execute that smoky, juicy meat, with crispy tegument (if you’ve fixed it that last broil) astir wholly hands-off! (Your guests don’t person to cognize that though.) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We anticipation you loved this usher to cooking a turkey successful a state smoker. If you enjoyed it and privation different mode to navigator your turkey, cheque retired our usher connected How To Deep Fry A Turkey With No Oil!

What volition you beryllium serving with your turkey? Perhaps immoderate mashed potatoes, stuffing, oregon cranberry sauce? Or bash you spell extracurricular of the norm for sides? Do you person immoderate favourite tips oregon tips for cooking your Thanksgiving turkey? Whatever you bash for the holiday, we privation to perceive astir it! Be definite to remark beneath and fto america cognize however you observe the season. 

As always, from our Steamy household to yours, we privation you a harmless and blessed vacation season. May your turkey beryllium yummy and your bellies beryllium full!

You Might Also Enjoy…

• 5 of the Best BBQ Recipes to Make successful Your Smoker
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• Deep Fried Turkey Without Oil

The station How to Smoke the Perfect Turkey successful a Gas Smoker appeared archetypal connected Steamy Kitchen Recipes Giveaways.