Once you own a pellet grill you look forward to smoking meat year-round and showing off all that juicy and delicious meat candy to all your family and friends–but during the holiday season, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
With everyone counting on you to create a perfectly seasoned and smoked turkey, anxiety can set in (especially for first-timers) and so we created this guide to walk you through it step by step, and answer any lingering questions about the turkey smoking process.
Here is a handy Table Of Contents we created so you can jump around to the different steps in the process…
Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill results in deliciously moist tender and flavorful meat infused with a wonderful smoky aroma. It takes some time and patience but the payoff is well worth the effort. If you have a pellet grill, smoking your holiday turkey or anytime turkey is an absolute must-try.
Getting Started
To smoke a turkey on a pellet grill, you first need to make sure you have the right equipment and supplies:
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Pellet grill capable of maintaining temperatures as low as 180-225°F Many pellet grills can go this low, but double check your model’s specs
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Bags of 100% flavor wood pellets like apple, cherry, pecan, hickory, maple or a blend. Stay away from heavier smoke producing woods like mesquite.
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10-15 lb frozen young turkey, thawed in the refrigerator 1-2 days before smoking. Don’t exceed 15 lbs for food safety.
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Poultry shears for trimming and spatchcocking the bird if desired.
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Instant read thermometer for monitoring temps.
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Disposable aluminum pan for drip pan
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Turbinado sugar, kosher salt, brown sugar, herbs/spices and oil or butter for a rub.
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Stock or wine for basting.
Prep Tips
Proper prep is key for the best results when smoking a turkey on a pellet grill:
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Trim excess skin and fat. Use poultry shears to trim off excess neck skin and any large deposits of fat from the bird. This helps it cook evenly.
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Dry brine the turkey. Salt and air dry the turkey overnight in the fridge to season it deeply. Pat the skin dry before smoking.
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Apply a flavorful rub. Coat the turkey with olive oil or butter then sprinkle on a basic rub of turbinado sugar, kosher salt, brown sugar, fresh herbs and spices. Massage it all over and under the skin.
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Spatchcock for faster cooking. Remove the backbone and flatten the bird for quicker, more even cooking if you’re pressed for time.
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** Stuff aromatics in the cavities.** Stuff the neck and body cavities with lemons, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and compound butter for extra flavor.
The Smoking Process
Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill is simple but does require monitoring and patience. Here are some tips:
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Cook between 180-250°F using lighter smoke woods like apple or pecan.
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Place a drip pan filled with stock, wine or water under the turkey to add moisture.
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Spritz or mop the turkey with broth/wine every 45-60 minutes as it smokes.
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Monitor the breast and thigh meat temps. Breast should reach 165°F, thighs 175°F.
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Estimate 30-45 minutes per pound cooking time depending on temp. A 12 lb bird takes 6+ hours at 225°F.
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Wrap in foil and rest 20-30 minutes before carving. Save the juices for gravy.
Handling the Skin
Crispy, crackling turkey skin is the best part for many smoked turkey lovers. To get the skin just right:
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Air dry the skin overnight after dry brining. Pat dry again before smoking.
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Smoke at 180-225°F until the breast hits 140-145°F for fat rendering.
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Finish at 300-325°F to crisp the skin. Watch closely to avoid burning.
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Another option is to smoke low and slow the entire time for tender meat, then broil the skin just before serving.
Pellet Grill Smoked Turkey Tips
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If smoking 2 turkeys, start the smaller bird first so both finish around the same time.
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Use a remote thermometer with multiple probes to monitor breast, thigh and grill temps simultaneously.
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Place the turkey on a wire rack set inside a sheet pan to make it easier to remove from the grill.
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Resist opening the grill too frequently to prevent heat and smoke loss.
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Carve the turkey tableside for a dramatic presentation your guests will love.
Make It a Showstopper
While a simple salt and pepper rub creates delicious smoked turkey, you can take it over the top with a few extra touches:
-Inject the breast and thighs with a flavorful liquid like chicken broth, herb oil or melted butter before rubbing.
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Coat with a slather like mustard, mayo or yogurt before applying the spice rub.
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Stuff the cavities with citrus, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and compound butter.
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Use unique rub flavors like coffee, cocoa, chilies, citrus zest or warm spices.
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Serve with creative sauces like cherry BBQ sauce, mole or chimichurri.
Troubleshooting Issues
Smoking turkey has a learning curve. Here are some common issues and solutions:
Not enough smoke flavor – Use 100% flavor wood pellets, add a smoke tube, or cold smoke for 1-2 hours prior to cooking.
Skin not crispy – Crank up the heat at the end to crisp the skin or finish under the broiler.
Meat is dry – Brine properly, spritz and baste during smoking, and don’t overcook.
Uneven doneness – Spatchcocking helps cook evenly. Monitor temps in multiple areas.
Takes too long – Cook at 250°F+ after the first few hours to speed up cooking if pressed for time.
Burned externals – Avoid very high heat. Tent with foil if areas brown too quickly.
Make Pellet Smoked Turkey for Your Next Special Occasion
Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill results in the most flavorful, juicy and tender turkey you’ve ever tasted with bonus smoky goodness. While it requires a time commitment, the hands-off process lets your pellet grill do most of the work with minimal effort on your part. The deliciously moist smoked turkey is perfect for serving a crowd at Thanksgiving or any special occasion. Once you master the technique, this will likely become your new favorite way to prepare holiday turkey.
How To Prep The Pellet Grill For Smoking Turkey
Every pellet grill is a little bit different but this portion of the guide will remind you of the details we all need to remember when prepping a pellet smoker, electric smoker, or even a gas grill.
First, you will want to make sure the grill grate is sparkling clean. You can do this by heating the grill on high and brushing the grates well of any debris, or taking the grill rates into the house and cleaning them in the sink.
If your wood pellet grill has a flat bed under the grates, I like to line this with aluminum foil for easy clean up, so this is a good time to pull off the old foil and replace it with a sheet of new foil.
If your pellet grill has a grease run off with a little bucket, dispose of the grease, clean the bucket, and put it back for this cook.
How Long To Smoke A Turkey On a Pellet Grill
We will be smoking the turkey at 250 degrees until it reaches 165 degrees. This takes about 25 min per pound.
The cooking time will change from bird to bird depending on how many pounds of turkey you are smoking.
My 15 pound turkey trials consistently came to temp in 5-6 hours on my Rec Teq Bullseye, but depending on your type of smoker I would give yourself a buffer of 2 hours to account for inconsistencies in pellet smokers and outside temperature.
The best way to get juicy turkey is to always smoke to temperature, not to time, which often inadvertently overcooks the turkey meat.
Despite what other blogs say, as a chef and culinary expert with 15 years of experience you do not need to cook poultry beyond 165 degrees internal temperature. This is a Servesafe and FDA endorsed temperature taught in all culinary schools. Please do not overcook your turkey to 180 degrees, it is completely unnecessary and any cooking blog stating this is misinformed.
Pro Tip: Many people remove the turkey at 160 degrees because carry over cooking on a larger bird (like a turkey) will be at least 5 degrees as it rests.
For your first time, the important thing to know is you can speed up the cook time, at any time, by bumping the internal temperature of the pellet grill to 275 degrees to 300 degrees.
A turkey contains no connective tissue that needs to break down over low and slow temperatures, so at any time you can bump the temperature to help it hit 160-165 degrees if you need to get dinner on the table.
We love sprtizing the turkey with pineapple juice briefly during the smoking process to encourage a golden brown color and pops of flavor.
Let the turkey smoke for 1 1/2-2 hours so that the turkey paint can set. Then begin spritzing the turkey with a squeeze bottle of pineapple juice.
If you don’t like pineapple juice, apple cider vinegar or apple juice is also nice. For my Thanksgiving turkey, it’s got to be pineapple juice because the whole family thinks it makes the best smoked turkey.
Spritz the turkey every 30-45 minutes, unless it’s disturbing the compound butter. The compound butter should be fairly well set by now, but every cook is different and I wouldn’t prioritize spritzing the turkey over keeping that gorgeous herb butter intact.
As the turkey cooks, just give it a light spritzing to encourage a golden brown sheen on the skin of the turkey.
Easy Smoked Turkey Recipe for Thanksgiving (on a Pellet Grill!)
FAQ
Is it better to smoke a turkey at 225 or 250?
How do you keep turkey moist in a pellet smoker?
How long to smoke a turkey at 225 on a pit boss?