When it comes to the best wood for smoking turkey, you want something mild in flavor. Anything too strong (like mesquite or hickory) will take over the flavor of the bird. Poultry pairs nice with sweet woods, so find a fruit wood or another sweet wood that fits your taste profile.
What wood is best to smoke a turkey?
Hickory is a classic hard wood choice for smoking turkey for several reasons. It has a distinct flavor that is robust and very forward and is familiar to those who enjoy smoky flavors. Maple wood gives off a sweeter smoke and can add a lovely golden hue to anything you smoke with it.
What is the best smoke flavor for turkey?
What flavor wood chips for smoking turkey? We like to use wood chips with a slightly sweet flavor such as apple, apricot, cherry, peach or maple. Hickory is stronger but is always a classic and gives an even smoky flavor! Mesquite also goes well with turkey.
What pellets are best for smoking a turkey?
Use sweet smoke to add a layer of flavor to turkey. Try mixing cherry, pecan, or apple hardwood pellets.
Do I have to brine turkey before smoking?
But guess what? With a smoked turkey, you don’t have to brine the turkey first, which is awesome. That is because, with a smoked turkey, the long slow and low heat actually doesn’t dry the bird out too quickly. The low heat draws the moisture into the bird, not evaporate it out.
What temperature do you smoke a turkey to?
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.
How do you smoke a turkey and keep it moist?
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.
How long does it take to smoke a 12lb turkey?
about 3 ½ hours
It takes about 3 ½ hours to smoke a 10-12lb turkey but checking the internal temps is key. It has to hit at least 165 in the breast and 175 in the thigh. Once again – this is when a Thermapen comes in real handy.
How long does it take to smoke a 20lb turkey?
10-12 hours
Generally, though, you should allow for about 30-40 minutes of smoking per pound. So, if you have a 20-pound turkey, it’ll probably take 10-12 hours to completely smoke it. You should always determine doneness by internal temperature and not by time.
How long do you smoke a turkey at 225?
Low & Slow Smoked Turkey – Smoke your turkey at the low temperature of 225 degrees F for approximately 6-8 hours for a 22 pound turkey. Remove turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels (this is an important step, don’t skip it).
What is the best wood to smoke a turkey breast?
What are the best types of wood for smoking turkey?
- Pecan. One of the most common woods used in meat smoking, pecan provides an excellent combination of sweetness, smokiness, and sharpness to your turkey meat.
- Maple.
- Cherry.
- Alder.
- Hickory.
- Oak.
- Mesquite.
How long do I smoke a 15 pound turkey?
Smoke the turkey.
At 225 degrees F, you can plan on approximately 30 minutes per pound for your turkey to smoke. For example, this 15 pound turkey will take 7 and 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F. I always plan an extra 30 minutes, just in case.
Should I cover turkey with foil while smoking?
About 3 hours into the smoke, check the turkey and if the wings or other extremities are getting too brown you can wrap them with small pieces of foil to stop the browning process.
What do you put in a turkey cavity when smoking?
Fill the turkey cavity with butter, cola, apple, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Add wood chips to the smoker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place the roasting pan in the preheated smoker.
How do you get crispy skin on smoked turkey?
Turn the heat up to at least 350°F at the end of smoking. If you cook a turkey low and slow until finished, it will have rubbery skin. Do you baste a turkey while smoking? You can baste or spritz with chicken broth while smoking the turkey to help keep it moist as well as help crisp up that skin.
Is it better to smoke a turkey at 225 or 250?
Turkey can be smoked at a smoker temperature as low as 225 degrees, but it’s much quicker if smoked at 275-300 degrees, or even higher. When smoking at a lower temperature you’re looking at more time in the smoker, but that means the turkey could potentially have a richer smoke flavor.
Does a turkey stall when smoking?
Smoking is almost impossible to mess up. When I’ve done it, I’ve found there’s a natural stall point where the meat temperature kind of drags for 60-90 minutes between about 145-155 F.
How long do you let a smoked turkey rest?
A: Ideally, your turkey should rest 30 to 40 minutes to let the juices redistribute. (This gives you enough time to make gravy, too.) We usually recommend that the turkey get back into the refrigerator within 2 hours, so by the time you carve and serve, that timeframe works pretty well.
Should I baste my turkey while smoking?
I prefer to baste my smoked turkey because no one wants a dry turkey! I occasionally baste the turkey with a little chicken broth as it cooks to ensure a moist end result. If you’ve brined your turkey before hand, you can skip the basting step.
Do you use a water pan when smoking a turkey?
Tips For Using a Water Pan When Smoking a Turkey
In cold weather, a water pan filled with boiling hot water can help maintain the smoker temperature, plus it gets the temperature up quickly for a fast start. This is especially helpful if your smoker can’t quite do the job when it’s cold outside.
Are Butterball turkeys brined?
“Most turkeys are already brined. Butterball turkeys have a solution in them that really helps to keep them moist and juicy and tender. If you’re going to brine it, we do suggest that you cut down on the salt.”