Smoked Turkey Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long to smoke 12 lb turkey per pound? ›

To smoke your turkey faster, increase the smoker's temperature to 250°F to 275°F. At 250°F, it can take about 25 minutes to cook one pound of turkey, meaning you will need about five hours to smoke a 12-pound turkey.

Smoker Temperature

There is no real benefit to cooking at a lower temperature than that. You can cook at a higher temperature, but anything above 275 F/135 C isn't going to give the smoky flavor and tenderness you would want from a smoked turkey.

My solution is to smoke the turkey directly on the grill grates, with a roasting pan filled with 1″ water underneath the grates, about 3-4 inches from the meat. This will keep the cooking environment moist but let the turkey get evenly crisp on the outside.

Seasoning for Smoked Turkey

The cavity is stuffed with a variety of ingredients (cola, apple, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper) to infuse the bird with irresistible flavor from the inside out.

Set the smoker to 225° F. Place the turkey on a cooking rack and cook for 8 to 12 hours or until the inner thigh temperature reaches 180° F. Check the temperature of your turkey after 3½ hours. Your turkey must pass through a critical range of 40° F to 140° F in 4 hours or less.

At 225 degrees F, you can plan on it taking approximately 30 minutes per pound to smoke your turkey. Alternatively, if you are running your smoker at 250 degrees F, it will typically take 25 minutes per pound. For example, my 15-pound turkey took around 7 and 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F to fully cook.

Completely thaw meat or poultry before smoking. Because smoking uses low temperatures to cook food, the meat will take too long to thaw in the smoker, allowing it to linger in the "Danger Zone" (temperatures between 40 and 140 °F) where harmful bacteria can multiply.

Don't forget to spray and sprinkle inside the turkey cavity with rub to get that great seasoned flavor on as much meat as possible. Also, the oil is not just to get the rub to stick to the skin, but it aids in crisping the skin and keep the skin from getting too dark during the smoking process.

One of the benefits of smoking a turkey is that it's almost impossible to overcook anything in a smoker. The temperature remains low and the cooking is slow, resulting in perfectly moist and tender meat with a rich, complex flavor.

If your turkey's wings are baking too quickly, you can cover them with foil, but otherwise, there's no need. While you're letting it rest, you can tent your turkey in foil for about 15 minutes, but smoking it the whole time in foil is unnecessary and could lead to soggy skin.

Why is my smoked turkey tough? ›

The high-convection environment of a smoker is enough to draw out the moisture faster than the skin can crisp. The result is tough, leathery skin. We do a couple things to combat that effect. First off, the dry brine you apply will actually help the turkey skin retain moisture longer as it smokes.

Let's address the slimy turkey situation. When lunchmeat starts to feel slimy or sticky, it's usually a sign that it's going bad. Sliminess can be caused by bacteria or mold, which can make you sick if you eat them.

It's an enzyme that will break down the meat, tenderizing it and absorbing the flavor at the same time. Injecting solves the problems of a marinade or brine not getting deep into the meat in a timely fashion.

For smoking turkey all year long, try hickory, pecan, and apple smoking wood. Our favorite wood chips and wood chunks are by Western Wood because they are kiln-dried and burn clean. Our favorite pellets for smoking turkey are B&B Pecan pellets or Jack Daniel's Pellets.

Though smoked chicken and turkey can still create HCAs and PAHs, they are, overall, heathier choices than red meat. Go lean. Next in line after poultry are lean cuts of pork (like pork loin, tenderloin and center cut chops).

When smoking a 12 lb turkey on a pellet grill at 225 degrees F… It should take 6 hours to smoke your turkey to an internal temperature of 165°F.

At 325 degrees, your turkey will get to the necessary temperature without drying out. Regardless of size, you're normally looking at 3 to 4 hours total cook time. From there, all you've got to do is remove from the grill and rest for 15 minutes before carving. It's really that simple.

We recommend using a rack in your roasting pan. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan and cover the smoked turkey with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 10 minutes per pound, or until your meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

One 12 lb bird will feed about 6 with a few leftovers so if you need more than that, just cook multiple birds of that size rather than opting for a larger one. If you purchase a frozen turkey, allow about 1 day of thawing in the fridge for every 5 lbs.