Smoking a turkey is pretty straightforward. I recommend that you get a small turkey and give it a try. You might learn something, and you might make something that everyone loves for Thanksgiving. Make them forget their decades of family traditions.

Turkey Smoking Notes

• Start small – 11-14lbs is a good-sized turkey
• Buy two turkeys and cook one ahead of time. This will be your ace in the hole. Or, it will be your no-pressure backup turkey.
• Brine the turkey for at least 24 hours. This will introduce some flavor and prepare it for smoke.
• Apply a rub with salt, pepper, and herbs (see my secret brisket rub for inspiration). Turkey doesn’t taste much, so feel free to kick up the flavor with some herbs.
• Cover the tips of the wings and legs with foil. This will stop them from burning.
• Smoke at a higher temperature, around 335F, for a couple of hours
• Add some cubed butter to the turkey and put it back into the smoker until the bird reaches 165F in the breast and thighs.
• Use your oven after the initial smoke if you can’t keep a steady smoker temperature on a cold day.

My Secret Texas Brisket Rub Recipe for Turkey

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 cup of kosher salt
• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Add all ingredients to a container, seal it, and shake it to mix thoroughly.

I also recommend watching some YouTube videos and absorbing some of the processes and techniques. I suggest starting with Arron Franklin’s BBQ with Franklin series on Thanksgiving. (This video series could apply to any holiday.)

Let me know how it goes for you! And, “thanks” for reading.

Smoking a turkey is pretty straightforward. I recommend that you get a small turkey and give it a try. If anything, you might learn something and you might just make something that everyone loves.

Turkey Smoking Notes

• Start small – 11-14lbs is a good-sized turkey
• Buy two turkeys and cook one ahead of time. This will be your ace in the hole. Or, it will be your no-pressure backup turkey.
• Brine the turkey for at least 24 hours–this will introduce some flavor and get the turkey ready for smoke.
• Apply a rub with salt, pepper, and herbs (see my secret brisket rub for inspiration). Turkey doesn’t taste like much itself, so feel free to kick up the flavor with some herbs.
• Cover the tips of the wings and legs with foil. This will stop them from burning.
• Smoke at a higher temperature, around 335F for a couple of hours
• Add some cubed butter to the turkey and put it back into the smoker until the bird reaches 165F in the breast and thighs.
• Use your oven after the initial smoke if you can’t keep a steady smoker temperature on a cold day.

My Secret Texas Brisket Rub Recipe

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 cup of kosher salt
• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Add all of the ingredients to a container, seal it, and shake it to mix thoroughly.

I also recommend that you watch some YouTube videos and absorb some of the processes and techniques. I suggest starting with Arron Franklin’s BBQ with Franklin series on Thanksgiving. (Really for any holiday.)

Let me know how it goes for you!

Salt and Pepper Rub

Texas keeps their rubs simple—just salt and pepper, and other things that they pretend not to use. I like to add Lawry’s Seasoned Salt as part of the salt half of the recipe. I also like to use freshly ground tellicherry black pepper for the pepper side. With turkey, you can get away with a little lemon zest, thyme, sage, or other herbs. Have fun experimenting.

Texas Brisket Rub

Recipe by Hans ScharlerCuisine: BarbecueDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

5

minutes

Easy one-to-one by volume BBQ rub for Texas-style brisket.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

• 1/2 cup of kosher salt

• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Directions

• Combine ingredients in a container
• Shake container until fully combined
• Store in a container for up to three months

Recipe Video

Notes

• Two cups of the brisket rub will cover a 15-pound brisket. You will have a little left over. You can use the extra rub to season brisket when you serve it, season a Bloody Mary cocktail, or flavor a homemade barbecue sauce.

Prepare the Turkey Breast

Take the turkey breast out of the refrigerator and put it on your cutting board. I use gloves when handling any of the meats that I am cooking. There are two sides to the turkey: the breast-skin side and the meat side. To prepare the turkey breast, carefully remove the skin and remember which side is (was) the skin side. Cut away any loose parts and clean up the breast. The little scraps tend to burn and not come out well. Take your time and trim away anything that you don’t think will make it through the whole process.

Rub the Turkey Breast

Using your freshly prepared rub, season the turkey breast. There are two sides. Start with the “not skin side” and rub the turkey breast with a generous layer of brisket rub. Let it rest for 5 minutes and add a little more rub. Flip it over and rub the skin side. Again, wait for five minutes and add some more rub. The salt in the rub will start pulling out water, and this really helps with the rub sticking to the turkey and forming a bark. Once both sides are rubbed, let it rest for another 15 minutes before you start smoking it.

Smoke Turkey Breast to 150F

Get your smoker of choice fired up to a temperature of 250–275F and place the turkey breast “not skin side” down. Let it smoke for two hours and check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Keep smoking until it gets to 150F at the thickest part.

Wrap and Smoke Turkey Breast to 165F

Take the turkey breast and place it on top of two large sheets of aluminum foil. Place some butter pads on the turkey breast, along with some fresh herbs. I like to use sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Wrap up the turkey breast with the foil and place it back on the smoker. Smoke the turkey breast until 165F. The butter will help it moist.

Slice and Serve

After letting it rest for 10 minutes in the foil pack, open it up and place it on a cutting board. Save the butter and turkey juices that were collected in the foil packet. I use it on the serving plate to keep the turkey moist while it is sitting around waiting to be served. I use a brisket knife to slide it up. I treat it just like the flat side of a brisket and make long slices. Put the turkey breast slices on a serving platter and pour the butter and juices over them. Take a picture for the Instagram and share it with your friends and family.

I mean, it’s about time that we give thanks and celebrate with others… and also smoke some meat. Smoking a turkey is pretty straightforward. I recommend that you get a small turkey and give it a try. If anything, you might learn something and you might just make something that everyone loves.

Some tips:

• Start small – 11-14lbs is a good-sized turkey
• Buy two turkeys and cook one in advance. This will be your ace in the hole. Or, it will be your no-pressure backup turkey.
• Brine the turkey for at least 24 hours – this will introduce some flavor and get the turkey ready for smoke.
• Apply a rub with salt, pepper, and herbs. Turkey doesn’t taste like much itself, so feel free to kick up the flavor with some herbs.
• Cover the tips of the wings and legs with foil. This will stop them from burning.
• Smoke at a higher temperature, around 335F for a couple of hours
• Add some cubed butter to the turkey and put it back into the smoker until the bird reaches 165F in the breast and thighs.
• Use your oven after the initial smoke if you can’t keep a steady smoker temperature on a cold day.

I also recommend that you watch some YouTube videos and absorb some of the processes and techniques. I suggest starting with Arron Franklin’s BBQ with Franklin series on Thanksgiving.

Let me know how it goes for you!