Should I try smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: Yesterday 6:17:18 PM EST
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I have a Pellet grill and I love it, but I'm not super confident in my skills yet. I've cooked really good ribs, tri-tip, chicken wings, and sausage on it. Though one time I smoked an entire chicken once, and it didn't really come out that good. It was a big broiler chicken, and I felt those big broiler chickens are too "thick", and the meat texture just came out a bit off. Like the meat had a sort of undercooked texture, despite it having reached the target temperature and then some. I feel like a leaner bird would have smoked much much better. Makes me nervous to smoke an entire turkey on the smoker. Would suck to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, and have it come out bad. This year, its just going to be my wife and I and the kids, so not like I'm hosting a Thanksgiving party or anything. But still, its Thanksgiving, and it would suck to make a Turkey that just sucks. The large size of the Turkey makes me worry I'll have the same results as that broiler chicken. Should I risk it? OR should I just try smoking a turkey some other time and just roast my Turkey in the oven like I usually do? How hard is it to "get it right?" |
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Pretty easy if you spatchcock it. It's basically a big chicken. What I did one year was do my large, main turkey the way I always do . . . convection roast in the oven. Then I did a smaller turkey on the Traeger. So I wasn't tied to it working or not. Turned out great and so we just ended up having extra turkey. |
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The first time I smoked a turkey 20 years or so ago, the ex complained that no-one would like it. We had 20 people for dinners we cooked 2 birds. Guess which turkey was demolished and which one had lots of leftovers. I upped my smoked turkey game about 10 years ago by brining it using the Alton Brown turkey brine recipe. Be careful not to over smoke it, poultry absorbs more smoke than beef or pork. ETA I do not spatchcock turkey. |
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OP , Chud’s Bbq YouTube did a twice smoked turkey legs vid last week . I don’t care too much for poultry breast . Dark meat only for me . I think he did em on a pellet grill also . Check his channel out . Transformed yankee to Texas but his vids are top-notch , IMO 
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Yes, I’ve done it for years and it has always been amazing. Use Aaron Franklins method, it’s easy and damn near idiot proof. BBQ with Franklin: Thanksgiving part 1 |
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Spatchcock the first one. Because like others said, it cooks more evenly and will be a better option guaranteeing a good bird for your first time. Temperature probes will be a good idea, if you have one or two. Then next time, try a more traditional bird. |
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Everyone I have done turned out excellent. Make a butter herb mix and spread it under the skin and breast. It comes out super juicy |
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| Exactly what I do for about 12 people. Smoke a breast on a BGEgg and may roast a 12lb bird in a Broaster or 2 breast smoked. Family likes the smoked ones. Watch you temps however you do them pellet or smoker. Let it rest before slicing, easier for you and taste better. |
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As others have said, spatchcock and brine. Biggest other thing is to make sure you have a good probe thermometer, get it to 160 in the breast and pull and let rest for at least 15 minutes. ETA: Like Franklin I like a pan of water to keep humidity up and a smoking tube is a good idea for a deeper smokey flavor on a pellet grill. |
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After buying a pellet smoker the family comes to our house for Thanksgiving every year. I was in a crazy accident at work in 2021 that left me with a stroke and partially disabled. I basically cheat on the smoked foods by doing two pre smoked hams and a 3 lb boneless turkey that I inject Tony Chachere Cajun butter. I also use two smoke tubes along with the smoke from the smoker, everything is easy to do and comes out great every time. |
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Clark; WORSE? How could things get any worse? Take a look around here, Ellen. We're at the threshold of hell.
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I smoked (pellet grill) a pre-cooked Butterball last year for the first time and it turned out amazing. I've already been told I am doing it again this year.... Since it was pre-cooked it was basically just reheating and getting some flavor added. I had a 10.5# turkey and planned 3 hours at 250 degrees, turning up to 325 degrees for the last 20-30 minutes to crisp the skin. Turkey was in an aluminum tray, placed a full stick of butter inside the cavity, and let it smoke for one hour. At the 60 minute mark I basted using the juices from the tray, and repeated every 30 minutes. I watched the internal temp closely, Butterball said 140 is safe but I let it go to 150 and then pulled it off and covered for 30 minutes before cutting. YMMV but it turned out excellent, not dry at all and great flavor. |
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Never do something that you have no real xp with that you can potentially fuck up royally for a holiday or when you're having guests over or so on. If you were to insist on doing it, as others have said, spatchcock it or cut it up, and maybe make it a couple days ahead so you can fix a spare turkey normally if you fuck it up. |
| Poultry cooks way differently than pork on a smoker. When I did mine I only let smoke hit it for an hour as it tends to soak up smoke faster. I also used apricot wood which has a very mild smoke. I had also read that too much smoke would make it taste like a campfire. As soon as it hit an internal temperature of 165 I pulled it and wrapped it in parchment paper and then foil to let it rest. The result was a juicy, perfectly cooked bird with just a hint of smoke. I realize that there are those on GD who prefer their poultry to be cooked rare, but as I don’t want to give myself or guests food borne illnesses, 165 is the target temp. That temp will go up as the bird rests and insure that any nasty bacteria from the processing plant doesn’t ruin Thanksgiving in addition to your liberal family members. |
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Originally Posted By ATLDiver: It a lotta work. Brine it first which means get prepared now. I order mine already smoked from a local meat market. I don't think it's much work at all other than being large, last year I deboned and stuffed one, now that was a lot of work. Sure was neat just to make big slices with no carving to worry about. I did have a small butter fire that got the ass end a little dark, lesson learned.   
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I do mine on a Traeger every year. I use a combination of the processes that Alton Brown recommended when he did Good Eats, what the Traeger website suggests and a few tweaks of my own that have helped over the years. Here's my whole process, it's pretty hard to screw up. 14-16lb turkey. Start thawing 2-3 days before cooking. 24-36 hours before cooking, remove the giblets and neck, then put the turkey in a brine. Brine recipe: 1 gallon vegetable broth, packaged, not low-sodium or sodium-free 1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger 1 gallon heavily iced water I brine mine in a six gallon bucket and just leave it in the garage, as the temps are usually in the 30's and 40's this time of year. Make sure the brine covers the turkey. When it's time to cook, pull the turkey out of the brine and pat it dry. Rub it all over with canola oil. Then lightly sprinkle with your favorite BBQ rub. In a microwave safe dish, combine 1 red apple, quartered 1/2 yellow onion, quartered 1 cup water Microwave for five minutes. Then put the solids, but not the liquid inside the turkey cavity. Also add: 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 6 leaves fresh sage Preheat the smoker to 225 . I really like pecan or cherry pellets for this, but have also had good luck with the Traeger Signature blend. I'd stay away from hickory. Put it on the rack, breast side up and let it go for a couple hours. Once it's the color you want, put it in a roasting pan to protect the thighs from overcooking. At this point I make a compound butter with rosemary and a little garlic, just melt the butter in a small pot with the herbs inside and then let it cool a little bit. Paint the turkey with the butter every half hour until the internal temperature is 165. If it starts to get too dark, cover it with foil and keep going. It's going to take 6ish hours. I've had one done at 4 hours and I've had one take 8, but most are close to 6. Let it rest for a half hour before carving. |
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My dad always smoked a big turkey for T-Day and Christmas. The skin wasn't edible, but man oh man was the meat good. He was usually up all night keeping an eye on it. Whatever he was doing made an excellent turkey. I haven't had one since 2000. He died in April of 2001.  Miss ya dad.
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Dry brine and spatchcocked is what I’m doing this year. I did it on a chicken to test and it was excellent. I cook on a Weber kettle with charcoal and wood chunks but a pellet smoker is obviously easier. Highly recommend following this video:  Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey | Chuds BBQ Also highly recommend other videos on chuds YouTube channel. He really makes excellent content that is great for beginners |
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No. You should smoke a turkey before thanksgiving to see if you have any idea what you’re doing so you don’t ruin the traditional main course on family day. You’ve got time. Get your ass to the store today after work and get a smaller tester bird for this weekend. If the above works out. FO TIME |
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Do it. Follow the method on the Traeger recipes website. I have done several of them, smoker only. I am going to friends house for turkey day this year, so I bought a couple 12-15 pound birds to smoke later. They are in the fridge thawing right now. This year I will probably smoke them a couple hours and then finish them in a large electric roaster. |
Preferred pronoun: MARINE
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Originally Posted By sbude57: Marinate then spatchcock it? That's how a friend of mine does his. I've done whole chicken that way, but turkey, I would still rather fry it. |
Preferred pronoun: MARINE