Episode 047 is the third in a series all about turkey! In the series, Taryn goes over how to smoke a turkey from start to finish, including what to do with the leftovers. This third episode in the series is about how to smoke a turkey on a Traeger grill. Listen in to hear why you should smoke your Thanksgiving turkey, plus lots of helpful tips!
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RECIPES MENTIONED
These are some of the recipes mentioned in the episode, all of which are on Hot Pan Kitchen.
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TRANSCRIPT
Taryn Solie: Hello grillers, and thank you for tuning in today! I am your host, Taryn Solie, and I am here to give you some grilling inspiration. Typically I go over one recipe in detail per episode, but today is a little different – it’s the third in a series I’m doing on smoking a turkey. I will still be going over directions and helpful tips, but it’s more of a how-to than previous episodes.
In episode number 45, the first in this series, I went over how to spatchcock a turkey, which just means you remove the backbone and lay it flat for cooking. This helps it cook faster and more evenly. Then in episode 46 I described how and why to dry brine a turkey – basically it helps lock in the moisture so your turkey turns out nice and juicy. In today’s episode I’m going to go over the next step in the process, which is actually smoking the turkey.
Before we get into that though, I want to tell you why we love smoking our turkey, particularly for holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas. For one thing, we like the flavor you get from a smoked turkey – it just adds a little something extra to the main dish. The other reason, and this really may be the clincher, is that it doesn’t use the oven. It’s so nice to fire up our Traeger and let the turkey cook outside then use the oven for other foods, like sweet potato casserole or stuffing. So if you have a wood pellet grill or smoker available, I highly recommend smoking your turkey this year.
Okay, now that we’ve covered why you should smoke your turkey, let’s get into the how.
As a quick reminder, this recipe is a continuation of the previous two episodes, so it assumes you’ve already spatchcocked and dry brined your turkey. Here’s what you’ll need to smoke it:
- the turkey itself – I typically do around a 14 pound turkey;
- ½ cup of butter – you can also use ghee or another solid fat;
- 1 large stem of fresh rosemary;
- 10-12 leaves of fresh sage; and
- 3 to 4 large stems of fresh thyme.
You can also wear a pair of disposable gloves if you don’t want to touch raw meat, but it’s not necessary.
Before we get into the specific directions, there are a couple of tips I want to give you. The first is that you want to take your turkey out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before it goes on the smoker. This way it has a chance to warm up a bit before going from the cold fridge to the hot grill, which helps ensure it cooks more evenly.
The next tip is about the type of wood to use when smoking. I like to use a fruity or mild wood when smoking a turkey – something like an apple or pecan. If you like a stronger smoke flavor you could use hickory though I would probably stay away from anything too strong like a mesquite. You don’t want the smoke to totally overpower the flavor of the turkey.
And now the last tip is about temperature. In order to cook a flawless turkey, you have to know what internal temperature to cook it to, and have a way to measure the internal temperature. For a whole turkey, you want to cook the white meat (so the breast meat) to at least 150 degrees F and the dark meat (the legs and thighs) to around 165 degrees F.
To measure the internal temperature, you’ll need a meat thermometer. Traegers typically come with a temperature probe, where you stick the probe into the meat and plug it in to the Traeger to monitor the temperature as it cooks. You can also buy external temperature probes that do this same thing. Or you can use a single thermometer and measure the temp of the meat by hand. Whatever you do, you want to make sure and measure the temperature of the meat in several different places to ensure it’s done cooking.
What we tend to do is use the Traeger temperature probe along with a meat thermometer to check in multiple places. If you don’t have a thermometer, there are a lot of different options out there, but we have used and loved our Thermapen for years. It was a gift from my dad and we have raved about it ever since. It’s an instant-read thermometer and is very accurate, which is great when you’re trying to get temperature off a hot grill and you don’t want to let the heat out.
I’m going to provide a link to that thermometer on the show notes page for you to check out, as well as a link to an article I wrote about how to use a meat thermometer with some handy tips in it.
Okay, now let’s get into the specifics of smoking a turkey. I already mentioned that you want to remove your turkey from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking it. Once those 30 minutes are up, go ahead and set your wood pellet grill or smoker to 250 degrees F. Don’t forget to make sure you have enough wood in the hopper or smoker before you get going!
Next place the butter in a small bowl. Make sure it’s softened and if not, microwave it for just a couple seconds until it’s just softening. Take out the herbs and pluck the leaves from the stems, then chop up the leaves into small bits with a knife and cutting board. Place the chopped herbs in the bowl with the butter and use a fork to smash them together, until the herbs are well incorporated.
Take a small amount of the herbed butter in your fingers, about a tablespoon. With your other hand, lift the skin near the breast of the turkey up and start rubbing the butter directly onto the meat of the bird, spreading it as best you can. Keep repeating this on both breasts as well as the legs and thighs until the meat is covered with the herb butter. You can spread any of the remaining butter mixture onto the skin of the turkey.
If you want some drippings, you can smoke the turkey on a wire rack in a foil-lined sheet pan – if you dry brined your turkey using the method I mentioned in episode 46, then you already have this. If you’re not worried about the drippings, you can smoke the turkey directly on the grill grates.
Either way, place the turkey on the grill or smoker and insert the temperature probe if you have one. Close the lid and let the turkey smoke. Check it after 2 hours to see how it’s coming, then keep monitoring it as it cooks. Typically a spatchcocked bird will take around 3.5 to 4 hours to cook, but really it’s all about the internal temperature. You want to smoke the bird until the white meat is at least 150 degrees F and the dark meat is around 165 degrees F. Depending on how the weather is when you’re smoking your bird – if it’s raining, if there’s ice or sun – your turkey may take more or less time to cook. You want to account for that if you’re planning on serving a holiday dinner at a particular time.
Once the turkey reaches temperature, remove it from the grill. If you’re not smoking it on a wire rack in a sheet pan, I would use a large pair of tongs and set it directly on the cutting board you’ll use to carve it. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving into it. If you’re not ready to carve into it yet, cover it loosely with foil to keep it from loosing too much heat. Then when you’re ready, carve it up and serve!
And that’s it! You have just smoked your turkey! I have a post on my website, Hot Pan Kitchen, with pictures and the directions I just gave for how to smoke a turkey if you’re more of a visual person. I’ll put a link to that post in the show notes page for this episode. I’ll also include a link for an article I wrote about what to serve with smoked turkey, as I have a bunch of great recipe ideas including both some classics and some foods that might be new to you. It also has some wine recommendations if that’s something you’re wanting.
To get the show notes page, you can either go to my main website at Hot Pan Kitchen dot com and click on podcast in the main menu, or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening on.
If you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t miss out on the next episode in this turkey series, where I’m going to tell you what to do with the turkey carcass – that’s right, don’t throw away those bones! We’re going to turn them into something great, so be sure and listen in for that.
That’s it for today, thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep grilling like a mother.
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