From the best woods to desired cooking times and temperatures, here’s everything you need to know to smoke your next turkey.
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We all know that grilling is delicious, but smoked food is on another level. Low and slow methods of bringing it up to temperature bring out only the very best qualities of the meat. From its natural flavors to using its fat content to cake it with moisture. It offers something truly unique.
As a rough guide, an 8 pound turkey will take about four hours to smoke when roasted at 250°F, while a 12 pound turkey will take about six hours. It is very important to note that this is dependent on both the size of the bird and the smoking temperatures used.
In today’s guide, I’ll show you exactly how long to smoke your turkey and the essential steps you need to take to cook the perfect bird.
You want to know more? Check out our smoked turkey guides:
- How to smoke turkey in an electric smoker
- How to smoke turkey on a pellet grill
- How to cook turkey in an offset smoker
I won’t lie: Roasting turkey is challenging. Not only is it quite large, but it is a meat that is naturally prone to drying out. That means getting the brine and cooking temperature right is absolutely critical.
Sometimes grilling is all about the challenge, and if you get it right, you’ll have a gorgeous smoky bird that’s packed with flavor and rich texture.
And if you follow my guide, you will have a won smoked turkey.
How long a roast turkey
Ultimately, this largely depends on two key variables: what temperature you smoke your turkey at and the size of your turkey.
- At 115°C/235°F, your turkey will need 30-35 minutes per pound.
- At 120°C/250°F, your turkey will need 25-30 minutes per pound.
- At 135°C, your turkey will need 20-25 minutes per pound.
While in general the bird is especially more delicious the lower the temperature, we cannot go too far. If we go too low the meat becomes susceptible to bacterial growth so it would never go below 115°C/235°F.
A turkey over 20 pounds(about 9 kg) will take a long time to cook. During this time, bacteria can take over and spoil your bird. I would suggest that if the turkey is over 15 pounds, it is cooked to 120°C/250°F.
Maximum you not to exceed 135 °C / 275 °F. If you go even higher, the bird won’t be able to cook long enough to get the full benefits of smoking.
How to smoke a turkey
Turkey is one of my favorite meat dishes, especially when it’s a whole turkey. If you can pair a good rub with a good piece of wood, then you’re a winner. If you’ve never done it before, here’s my 9-step guide to cooking the perfect bird.
Buy the right bird
The size of your turkey has a big impact on the cooking time. While THEY can get really big, I would try to stay in the 8-12 lb range. It can weigh up to 20 pounds, but then you risk official exposure to bacteria in the smokehouse.
Something you can source for the best taste, organic and farm sourced. The ethical reasons for doing this are obvious, but these turkeys invariably taste way better and give you better results.
Buy wood chips
Learning to match wood chips to meat is an important skill when it comes to smoking. Thanks, it’s easy with turkey, since any type of wood goes well with meat.
I’d say as long as you don’t go for mesquite you’re fine, but my personal preference would be something fairly sweet and fruity like applewood.
If you only have small wood chips, I recommend removing them the day before use before letting them dry. Wet chips take longer to burn off, meaning you don’t have to change them as often as dry chips. Just make sure they are moist and not soggy.
Question: What is the best wood for roasting turkey ?
It’s important to choose woods with a lighter flavor, as anything strong or intense(like mesquite) will overpower the flavor of the turkey. My child’s preferences:
- Apple
- Cherry
- A horn
Get a good meat thermometer
As far as YOU can follow the guidelines, your turkey isn’t really done until it reaches our target internal temperature of 160°F/71°C. We can only measure this accurately with a good meat thermometer.
Thanks, that’s really expected. If you’re not sure where to look, check out my guide to meat thermometers .
Prepare the grill
Also, lightly coat the cooking grates of your smoker with oil.
Don’t forget your smoker’s drip pan calls. This will help catch any juices and oils that drain from the bird as it roasts. Dropping them on a tray will keep your smoker clean, but more importantly, it will help reduce the risk of flare-ups.
If you want to make gravy, you’ll find it much easier to have a pan to catch excess juice.
The water pan also helps provide moisture in the smokehouse, which is especially important for poultry as they are prone to dehydration.
Not all smokers have a built-in drip tray, but it’s actually quite easy to make your own. You can use a simple disposable foil pan. Just make sure the width of the tray is wider than your bird’s.
Prepare your pan by pouring a quart of water into the pan before placing it in your smoker. This will prevent excess juice from drying out and burning. Due to the long smoking time, this water will inevitably eventually dry up and evaporate, so be prepared to refill it a few hours later.
Prepare the bird
As with any cooking method, we need to prepare the turkey by removing the neck and giblets.
Rinse the bird, and if the bird is pre-salted, rinse out the brine as thoroughly as possible. Cut off any loose pieces on either the outside or the inside of the bird.
Connect the wings of the turkey to the body with a toothpick. The wings can be prone to drying out or overcooking, so pinning them to the body helps wick moisture away from the bird. Do the same for the skin on your neck.
Use a good massage
One of my favorite parts of grilling, and not just smoking, is using a firm rub. This is where we can get creative and give the bird some flavor.
What you use here is up to you, but I recommend using something spiced. Spicy flavors tend to be quite strong while smoking, allowing them to last for the hours it takes to smoke. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, I’m happy to use this rub recipe courtesy of KQED:
BBQ Smoked Turkey Dry Rub
- 2 table spoons of kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons of peppers
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To calculate the massage, spread it liberally on your bird’s skin and apply. Apply is also under the bird’s skin. This ensures that it is actually working on the meat.
To do this most effectively, find the point where the leg meets the body. Use your hands to separate the skin from the body(without removing it completely) and try to work your way down to the turkey breast.
Apply the massage to these areas, trying to make it as even as possible.
Finally, apply the rub to the bird’s cavity.
This whole phase can be a bit daunting, so you like to wear rubber gloves to keep your hands relatively clean.
Place the turkey in the smoker
Place your turkey on one of the racks in your smoker. Make sure that where you place it, there is enough space both below and on both sides. This ensures good airflow and helps all sides of the bird cook evenly.
Make sure it IS aligned with your drip tray with little risk of leaking.
If your unit is an offset smoker, whenever you turn the turkey every two hours to ensure it cooks evenly.
Check the turkey temperature
While the target cook times listed above are a general rule of thumb, YOU should still measure the temperature yourself to make sure you haven’t overcooked or overcooked the bird.
You should do this on a few parts of the bird to ensure it is cooked through.
Use a good meat thermometer for this. If you don’t have any yet, then they are very much to be expected.
YOU should use your thermometer to take the temperature of the breast and thighs on each side. Be careful not to insert the thermometer into the bone as this will give a very different reading.
Among the three readings, the lowest is someone YOU use as a guide. Aim for an internal temperature of 82 °C. Once the lowest temperature has been reached, remove the turkey from the smoker and place on a large cutting board.
Let the turkey rest
Allowing the bird to rest is a grossly underestimated step in smoking the perfect turkey. In this phase, the warmth of the poultry can be distributed in the meat and the juices and flavors can be absorbed.
Cover the bird with aluminum foil and let rest for about 15 minutes. After this stage you can carve.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
