Pellet Grill Smoked Whole Turkey
Find out my secrets how to prepare and smoke a turkey using a pellet grill. I think it it is one of the best ways to smoke a turkey at home. I've tried with a my Traeger, dads Pit Boss, and a neighbours Camp Chef. They all worked great,
Servings: 10 serves
Calories: 482kcal
Cost: 32
Equipment
- pellet grill
Ingredients
Smoked Turkey
- 1 whole turkey
- 3 tbsp butter
Brine for Turkey
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1.5 cups salt
- 1 whole orange
- 1 whole onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 whole bay leaves
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1.5 gallons cold water
- .5 cup sugar
Instructions
Brining The Turkey
- First, you need to start with 4 cups of boiling water. Then add 1.5 cups of salt and .5 cups of sugar. Stir to ensure everything is combined.
- Then add in the rest of the brine ingredients. Stir to combine
- Once the brine has completely cooled, add the turkey and ensur eit totally submerged and put it in the firdge for 12-16 hours
Smoking The Turkey
- Give the turkey a goo rinse and dry the turkey off with a paper towel.
- Then give the whole bird a good rub with butter and place it on the rack. I always let my turkey come up to room temperature.
- Then I prep our pellet smoker for indirect cooking. I get it up to 450°F. I add my flavored wood (usually cherrywood) then add my drip pan filled with water to ensure the turkey stays moist.
- First you smoke the turkey at 450°F for an hour. Then bring it down to 225 °F, then smoke your turkey for around 13minutes per pound. That means when I cook a 15-pound turkey at Thanksgiving it usually takes for a 13 pound turkey;13 x 12 = 156 minutes= 2 hours 36 minutes or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey which is usually the thighs hits 175°F
- Remove from the pellet grill when the thickest part of the turkey which is usually the thighs hits 175°F
- Then I take it out and let it rest for at least30 minutes before carving it. This allows the juices to redistribute themselves.