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smoked turkey on a cutting board with a breast cut out
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Traeger-Smoked Whole Turkey (Spatchcocked)

Learn how to smoke a whole spatchcocked turkey your Traeger Grill! This comprehensive recipe provides you with both turkey prep and grilling instructions. This turkey recipe uses a dry brine and is smothered in an herb butter mixture that leaves it juicy, tender and delicious. Perfect for your pellet grill or other smoker, this how-to recipe is easy to follow with lots of step by step photos to show you how it’s done.
Cuisine American
Diet Gluten Free
Keyword #thanksgiving, #turkey
Prep Time 1 day 50 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 day 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 596kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 whole fresh turkey 14-15 lbs, spatchcocked and thawed
  • 6 tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 1 large stem of fresh rosemary
  • 10-12 leaves of fresh sage
  • 3 to 4 large stems of fresh thyme
  • ½ cup ghee softened

Instructions

  • First you'll need to dry brine the turkey. I have a post that gives detailed instructions on how to dry brine a turkey (with photos and a video), but will type simple instructions out here so you have them.
  • Get a baking sheet pan and cover it with foil. Place a baking rack inside of it and set it aside. Measure out the salt with a measuring spoon and place it in a small bowl. Place the turkey on a large cutting board and dry it off with paper towels.
  • Lift the skin on the breast section of the turkey (at the tail end) and gently push your finger between the skin and the meat to separate it. Continue doing this until the skin is separate from both breasts as well as the thighs and legs. Take a teaspoon or two of salt between your fingers and rub it on one of the breasts, on the meat underneath the skin. Repeat until you've rubbed salt on both breasts and both thighs and legs.
  • There should be a couple teaspoons of kosher salt left in the bowl. Sprinkle half of it on the skin of the turkey and rub it in, then flip the turkey and do the same on the inside of the bird. Place the bird on a wire rack and put it in the fridge to brine for at least 24 hours, but up to 72 hours. You may cover it loosely with plastic wrap if you're worried about rubbing against it, but don't cover it too tightly as you want the skin to dry out a bit.
  • The day you're ready to smoke the turkey, remove your bird from the fridge at least 30 minutes before putting it on the smoker. After the 30 minutes, turn your wood pellet grill or smoker on to preheat to 250 degrees F.
  • Place the ghee in a small bowl and set aside. Take out the herbs and chop them into small bits on a cutting board with a large sharp knife. Put them in the bowl with the ghee and stir them together with a spoon or fork until the herbs are well incorporated.
  • Take a small amount of the herbed ghee (a tablespoon or so) into your fingers on one hand. Lift the skin near the breast of the turkey up with the other hand and start rubbing the butter onto the meat of the turkey breast. Repeat with both breasts as well as the thighs and legs until the meat is thoroughly covered. Spread any remaining ghee on the skin of the turkey.
  • You can smoke your turkey on the wire rack and sheet pan if you want the drippings for gravy. If that doesn't matter, you can smoke it directly on the grill grates. Either way, place your turkey in the wood pellet grill or smoker and insert a temperature probe (if you have one) into the middle of one of the breasts, making sure it's not touching bone.
  • Let the turkey smoke for 4 to 4.5 hours, until the temperature of the breast reaches around 150 degrees F and the internal temperature of the thighs and legs reach 165 degrees F. If you have a bigger or smaller turkey, the time will be slightly different, but you just need to cook to the correct internal temperature.
  • Once the turkey has come to temperature, remove it from the grill and let it rest for 30 minutes before cutting into it. Cover it loosely with foil as it rests to retain some of the heat, then carve it up and serve!

Video

Notes

  • As previously stated, this recipe uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt (Amazon affiliate link)If you have a different kind of salt, such as Morton’s kosher salt or table salt, read this article on the different types of salt and measurements by Cook’s Illustrated to help you figure out how much of each salt to use.
  • Clear a spot in your fridge for the turkey before you start to dry brine it! If you were thawing your turkey in the fridge you likely already have a good spot, but it’s best to double check before you begin so your turkey isn’t sitting out on the counter while you rearrange your fridge.
  • Check the temperature of the turkey in multiple spots before you take it off the grill or smoker to make sure all parts are cooked. We use our Thermapen meat thermometer to do this at it gives a fast and highly accurate reading so we're not losing as much heat with the lid of our Traeger open. If you need help doing this, check out this post I wrote about how to use a meat thermometer.
  • Don't throw out the turkey carcass when the meal is over! You can make it into broth - just follow this recipe on how to make turkey stock.
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Nutrition

Calories: 596kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 81g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 290mg | Sodium: 3328mg | Potassium: 842mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 222IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 3mg