How to Smoke a Turkey in a Wood Smoker

A wood smoker can take your cooking skills to another level. You can make all kinds of delicious foods using it, but most people associate it with turkey. Many people have never even considered cooking their turkey in a smoker until I showed them how, and they love it.

A lot of people say that cooking turkey in the oven is the best way to go, but I beg to differ. I think that smoked turkey is the best kind you can make. It’s true that you do need to learn how to cook your bird properly, though. I’m going to show you how easy it is to cook it in a smoker, so let’s get started!

Things you need to make a turkey

If you’re planning on smoking a turkey this year, here’s a quick rundown of the tools and supplies you’ll need. You can buy them all at your local hardware store, or most of them can be found online.

A Wood Smoker

This can be a charcoal grill with an attached wood chip box, or it can be a dedicated smoker that uses wood chips to give your food that delicious smoky flavor (and it doesn’t have to be a specific brand). You’ll also need enough wood chips to fill the chip box when it’s time to smoke the turkey.

Turkey

You’ll obviously need one for this recipe! Make sure it’s completely thawed before smoking it so the dry rub will stick properly.

Rub

The main ingredients in your dry rub will be salt and pepper, but you might want to add other spices such as cumin, paprika, and chili powder for some extra flavor–just make sure there are no preservatives in the spices you use!

Preparing Turkey for Smoking

Smoking a turkey on Thanksgiving is a great way to get that delicious holiday flavor without the hassle of having to cook it in the oven. Not only does smoking a turkey require less work, but it also gives you plenty of time to spend with your friends and family.

Choosing your bird wisely is the most important step in making a smoked turkey for Thanksgiving. The best turkeys for smoking are those that were raised on farms and allowed to roam freely outside. However, if you’re buying your turkey from a grocery store, make sure to choose one that was raised organically and allowed to roam outside. Remember that it’s worth spending the extra money for the quality of meat and care that the farmers put into raising their birds.

Once you’ve chosen your bird, it’s time to prepare it for smoking. Make sure you remove any giblets inside the bird before preparing it. Then, rinse the bird thoroughly before patting it dry with paper towels. This will ensure that your turkey has little to no moisture remaining on its surface when you smoke it—moisture can cause your smoker’s temperature gauge to be inaccurate and can even ruin your smoker if left unchecked. Next, rub seasonings onto the outside of your turkey.

Brining Turkey for Smoking

Brining is a great way to add moisture and flavor to your turkey. Brining helps keep the meat moist, even if you overcook it.

Brine ingredients:

1-gallon water
5 pounds of kosher salt
8 lemons, sliced
8 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
2 medium onions, sliced
6 tablespoons sugar

When a whole turkey is smoked can take between 8-12 hours, depending on the smoker and the size of the turkey. In addition to adding flavor, bringing will help smoke adhere to the meat and prevent it from drying out during smoking.

Brining also adds a ton of flavor and makes the meat so juicy. There are two stages of brining: cold brine stage and hot brine stage.

Cold brine stage:

Place your Turkey in a large container (I used a roaster) with enough room to cover it with water. Add 1 cup (8oz) of salt, ½ cup (4oz) brown sugar, ½ cup (4oz) honey, and 10 bay leaves. Mix until salt and sugar are dissolved.
Cover and place in refrigerator for 24 hours.
Remove from fridge and bring to room temperature for 3-4 hours before smoking.

Hot Brine Stage: (You can skip this step if you don’t have enough time before smoking.)

Bring a pot of water with 1 cup of salt, and ¾ cup of brown sugar in 1 gallon of water); it just stays there until it’s done. The turkey will take on more flavor from the brining liquid than from any other cooking method, so be sure to do it right!
Brining takes place between 24-48 hours, depending on the size of your bird. You can tell how much time has passed by how much weight the turkey has lost through evaporation. If it hasn’t lost enough, leave it in longer.

Applying BBQ rubs to Turkey

Rubs are a great way to infuse flavor into your meat, but applying them can be tricky. Using a meat thermometer is the best way to ensure that the turkey is ready, but it’s not quite as fun as letting people do their own thing.

Ingredients

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Here’s how to apply BBQ rubs to your turkey:

Start by brushing on an oil-based barbecue sauce or marinade. This will help your spices stick to the surface of the bird.
Sprinkle on your dry spice rub. Don’t go overboard—you’ll need to give it a light application in order to avoid overdoing it with too much spice.
Let the bird sit for a few minutes and let the spices find their way into any nooks and crannies of the flesh.
Repeat until you’ve used all of your rubs, patting it on lightly with each coat so that you don’t overdo it.

Time Duration to smoke Turkey

In general, we recommend leaving a 10- to 12-pound (5-6kg) turkey in your smoker for about 12 hours at 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 degrees Celsius). To smoke the bird, place it on a rack inside the smoker. This ensures that the skin and fat have plenty of space to crisp up, which is crucial for adding flavor to the meat. You’ll probably want to baste the turkey with a mop sauce once or twice during the cooking process. If you’re not sure what kind of mop sauce you should use, pineapple juice and olive oil are a traditional pairing with turkey.

Make sure you remove as much loose fat from the bird’s outside as possible before putting it in your smoker; otherwise, it will drip into your fire, creating sooty smoke.

You can test if your turkey is done by inserting an instant-read thermometer into its breast or thigh: The internal temperature should be 165 F (74 C).

The best wood to smoke Turkey

The best smoking woods are the ones that are rich in sap and resins, like hickory, oak, mesquite, and pecan. They also have a high amount of volatile oils—which are released as steam from burning wood—and very little water content.

Smoking Turkey in an offset Smoker

Prepare your smoker by making sure it’s heated to 225 degrees.
Make up a brine and put the turkey in it.
Smoke the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Remove the turkey from the smoker and let it rest before carving.

Using Drip Pan

Drip pans are one of the easiest and most important things to use in the kitchen. These pans are placed under your stove or range to catch the grease that drips while cooking. They are very useful (you’ll be amazed at how much fat you catch with a drip pan) and, if you’re like me, they can be pretty fun to watch. But even with all their benefits, they are often not used correctly.

Don’t disrupt smoker

One of the most common mistakes when smoking a turkey is to disturb the smoker once it has been lit and begins to get going. Your turkey will be cooking for hours, with a lot of time spent in the first few hours at temperatures that are too high to begin basting or opening the door to check on it. This will lead to very tough meat and an overall disappointing experience. The best thing you can do is keep your smoking operation as consistent as possible.

Conclusion

Smoking a turkey is a really cool way to make a turkey for the holidays. It adds an extra flavor and a new experience to this favorite meal. From what we’ve found, it also makes it even more delicious than your normal roasted turkey.

There are many different kinds of smokers you can use to smoke your turkey, or you could just go out and buy one ready-made. If you want to build your own smoker, plenty of online tutorials will show you how it’s done. This will take time and effort, but the end result is worth it.