Pastured Turkey How To smoke a Whole Bird
Description
If you’re looking for a new way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey this year, give this Traeger Smoked Turkey Recipe a try! It’s tender, smokey, and easy to prepare!
Smoking a turkey on the Traeger is perfect for any time of the year, but it can save much-needed space in your oven during the holidays. This recipe turns out perfectly every time. No brine, just a buttery herbed rub that yields a juicy flavorful turkey in about 3-4 hours.
How long does it take to smoke a turkey?
As always, the size of the turkey determines how long you need to smoke it. The smoking process is cooking the meat, even at that lower temperature. You still will need an internal temperature of at least 165-175 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are smoking the turkey at the lowest setting, you can plan on about 30 minutes per pound.
For my recipe, today, a 15-pound turkey is smoked at 225 degrees for 2 hours, then the bird is covered and the grill is turned up to 325 for the 90 minutes remaining. We were eating it in about 4 hours!
Is the smoked turkey cooked if the meat is still pink?
If you have the temp at between 225-250 degrees F for cooking, then eventually your turkey will cook completely. The smoke will give the meat a slight pinkish color and that is completely normal. That is called a “smoke ring.” The pink color does not mean it is undercooked. Think of smoked brisket and how it gets that ring of pink underneath the “bark”. Same thing.
As mentioned, there is no wait time when it comes to my recipe, because there is no brining. The ingredients you need are a turkey, mine was 15 pounds, 2 sticks of butter, and these spices: basil, oregano, rosemary, celery seed, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and Traeger chicken rub.
Yield: 12-15 pound turkey.
Smoked Turkey RecipeSmoking a turkey on the Traeger is perfect for any time of the year, but it can save much-needed space in your oven during the holidays. This recipe turns out perfectly every time. No brine, and yields a juicy flavorful turkey in about 3-4 hours.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat Traeger grill to 250 degrees.
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Rinse turkey inside and out in cool water, pat dry
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Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan.
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Melt 1 stick of butter in a bowl, then add in all of the spices/seasonings, whisk together.
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Rub the turkey all over with the butter mix, inside and out, and get it under the skin, too.
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Place the turkey in the roaster, UNCOVERED on the grill and close the lid. Set a timer for 2 hours. Do NOT open the lid during this time.
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When the timer goes off, add the second stick of butter to the bottom of the roaster, and cover the turkey.
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Turn the temperature up to 325 degrees, and roast for another 90 minutes. Check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast, it will reach 165 degrees when it’s done. If it hasn’t reached that after 90 minutes, cover and continue roasting, checking every 20-30 minutes until it does.