Smoking a Turkey for Thanksgiving

My second smoked turkey, which was deliciously smoky flavored.

From 2017: This is the first year I’ve tried smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving.

While working as a food editor for nearly 20 years, I tried a lot of different turkey cooking methods:

  • Deep-frying (hot and messy, but delicious results).
  • Herbs rubbed under the skin (kind of creepy and cold).
  • High heat (by the time the inside got cooked, the outer meat dried out. This was a recipe from Ruth Reichl of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. Not impressed.)
  • Brining and marinades.
  • Cooking a frozen turkey without thawing it (surprisingly good, but a long time in the oven.)
  • Cooking it breast-side down so the juices run into the breast, and then flipping it over during the last hour (again, messy and hot, and requires some muscle and protective hot pads).
  • Turkey in a Dutch oven (you need a specialized Dutch oven, but it turned out pretty good.)
  • And probably more than I’ve forgotten!

I know that die-hard barbecue experts thumb their nose at electric smokers. But I’m not in a BBQ competition, and not trying to be “authentic.” I’m just trying to get a nice smoky flavor into my meat. I can set the temperature and let the electric heat element keep steady heat. Wood chips are fed on the side, and a few batches of chips impart enough smokiness for my purposes. Call me a slacker.

One of the perks of smoking a turkey is that my oven is free for baking rolls and pies, instead of commandeered for several hours on Thanksgiving morning.

Since this was my first time smoking a turkey, I did a dry run last Saturday.  When turkey is 79 cents per pound, it’s a good time to experiment. So we’ve been enjoying a lot of turkey soup, salads and sandwiches the last few days with the leftovers.

I used a frozen turkey, one that is “self-basted” with a salt solution. Yes, free-range and fresh turkeys are supposed to be better, but you usually need to order them in advance and they cost more.

Before smoking, I covered the turkey in a spice rub and let it sit overnight. I loosely stuffed the inside cavity with chunks of onion and apple, and fresh herbs. overnight.

After thawing the turkey for a few days in the fridge, and pulled out out the neck and giblets for gravy-making. I liberally sprinkled on my BBQ rub (here’s my recipe) both inside and out so the flavors permeate the meat.

I didn’t wash my turkey or brine it. I think trying to rinse a big bird probably splashes more salmonella bacteria around your kitchen than any good it does.  My turkey already had a saline solution in it, so I skipped wet-brining.

Instead of dressing, I loosely stuffed the inside cavity with half of a cut-up onion, a cut-up apple for moisture and sweetness, and fresh sage and parsley. I put my turkey in a small roasting pan to catch the drippings during the cooking process.

The turkey went inside my electric smoker for 8-10 hours.

After letting the spice-rubbed turkey sit overnight in the refrigerator, I started the electric smoker early the next morning. I filled the steam pan with water to add moisture during cooking and set the temp at 275 degrees for 8 hours, which for a 13.5-pound turkey was about 30 minutes per half-hour. (275 is the highest temp my electric smoker will go.) I fed in wood chips every hour, but didn’t open the door for about 6 hours.

Then I got impatient and kept checking the temperature, and every time I opened the door, some of the heat escaped. So it probably took an hour longer than necessary to reach 170-175 degrees in the thigh and 165 in the breast, which is what America’s Test Kitchen recommends. I loosely wrapped it with foil and let it sit for a half hour to “rest” and let the juices get back into the meat.

My first attempt wasn’t pretty on the outside but this smoked turkey was tender and juicy on the inside.

My resulting turkey was super-dark on the outside, probably due to the excess smoke and the rub. But, beneath the surface was tender, juicy meat. And the drippings made flavorful gravy with a hint of hickory. The next day, after getting most of the meat from the bones, I simmered the carcass overnight in a slow-cooker, and the full-bodied broth made a great Turkey & Wild Rice Soup.

SO that was my first “dry run” turkey. I usually love the browned “bark” on smoked meats, but I wanted my actual Thanksgiving turkey to be golden brown, not black.

So I did the same spice rub nad refrigerated it overnight. But before I put it in the smoker, I wiped off some of the rub, and  lightly brushed the turkey’s skin with oil. (My theory was that the sugar in the spice rub might be causing the turkey to brown). I limited the amount of wood chips, so there wasn’t as much smoke swirling around the turkey.

This time, the turkey was more of a golden brown and less browned. But the meat was tender and juicy, and the flavorful leftovers made phenomenal sandwiches, soup and turkey-topped salads. Where there’s smoke, there’s great turkey!

If you have any tips for barbecuing turkey, please add them in the comments section! There’s so much more to know.

VAL’S BBQ SEASONING

This is my basic rub for grilling or barbecuing just about any meat, poultry or seafood. I especially like to use it on my Thanksgiving turkey (and the inside cavity) before smoking it. Don’t be scared by a cup each of salt and sugar; there’s a lot of garlic, onion, paprika and other herbs and spices to balance it out.

1 cup salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup garlic powder

1 cup paprika

1 cup onion powder

1/4 cup cumin

1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup oregano or marjoram

1/4 cup parsley flakes

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon thyme

Makes about 6 cups, or 12 half-cup containers of rub.

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