Mr Handsome and I were trying to decide what to do about a turkey this year. Last year we Deep Fried her. It was glorious. In fact, it was so glorious we went ahead and gave away a fryer. (Bet you’re sad you missed out on that one!) This year we decided to have an all out Southern Thanksgiving, and we are going for a Smoked Turkey. Of course we had to have a test run, and the results were unbelievable. So, here’s how to smoke a turkey.


You guys, (well, let’s be honestly ya’ll are mostly women) this turkey is delicious. I mean it seems to me that roasting a perfectly moist, or even cooked through turkey is pretty darn difficult. I have made quite a few turkeys and no matter how careful I am there are always a few that are too dry or take double the cooking time that they should have. We’ve now made 2 fried turkeys and 1 smoked, all three have turned out like a dream. Hands down the juiciest, most wonderful turkeys ever.

 

I realize that Thanksgiving is normally the roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans type of thing, but I promise that this cilantro butter corn (we just cut ours off of the cob after steaming) smoked turkey, beans, cornbread, cheese cracker appetizers and all of the other delicious southern recipes are to die for. I hear over and over again that people don’t actually love the food for Thanksgiving, it’s the company they love. So, why not mix things up and make this the type of meal that you actually walk away satisfied from?

Oh, and don’t forget to enter to win a $500 Food Processor!!

How to Smoke a Turkey

How to Smoke a Turkey

5 from 1 vote
Servings: 1 turkey
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours
Total Time: 9 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients 

*adapted from "Dadgum That's Good Too" in case you don't have an injector

  • Apple Juice
  • Water
  • 1 Whole Turkey, Thawed (this takes a few days so think ahead and place it in the fridge)
  • Butterball Buttery Creole Injection marinade or your own
  • *Cajun Seasoning or your own, we used 2 Teaspoons of Italian Seasoning
  • 8 Tablespoons of butter, softened

Instructions

  • Pull out the turkey 30 minutes before smoking it so it can come to room temperature.
  • Preheat your smoker at 275 degrees for 15 minutes with the lid closed.
  • Mix the butter and spices together and rub it all over the under the skin and then all over the outside of the skin too.
  • Place the turkey in an oven safe baking dish or roaster pan and smoke the turkey for 3 1/2 - 4 hours. Optional: wrap the turkey in peach butcher paper after 2 hours.
  • Any juice or water leftover in the pan can be transferred to a saucepan and turned into gravy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 7971kcalCarbohydrates: 7.8gProtein: 1083.6gCholesterol: 3845.7mgFiber: 0.7gSugar: 3.6g
Author: Sweet Basil
Course: Over 300 Christmas Recipes and Ideas to Bring the Christmas Spirit

Don’t want to cook up an entire bird? Try roasting a turkey breast



I was compensated for this post by Masterbuilt, but the opinions remain my own