How to Smoke a Turkey

At iBuyBarbeques we carry a variety of smokers and fryers, but there are a lot of people out there who have never smoked a turkey before. Sure, the oven-cooked, stuffed turkey is great around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the smoked turkey is delicious all year round!

In order to smoke a turkey, there are two things that you simply must have: a turkey and a smoker! This sounds obvious, but you don’t want to buy a turkey that’s bigger than your smoker. You’re going to want to thaw your turkey before cooking it, and the best way to do this is inside a refrigerator. If you thaw your turkey in a warmer environment, you’re going to lose moisture and flavor that not even the best marinades are going to bring back.

When you’re ready to cook your turkey, a lot of ‘experts’ suggest that using hickory or oak wood chips are the best. If you’re experienced with using wood chips for cooking, feel free to use whatever you like best. If you’re new to turkey smoking, you might want to avoid too much experimentation – but keep in mind that different wood chips are going to produce different flavors in the turkey.

Next you’re going to need a brine solution (essentially a marinade) to soak the turkey in overnight (the longer you soak the turkey, the more flavor it will absorb). There are numerous recipes for the brine solution, so pick one that you think you’ll enjoy. After you’ve made your solution, put the turkey in a pan and pour the brine over the turkey. Throughout the course of the night, you’re going to want to check the turkey and reapply the brine to it to ensure that you’re turkey is as tasty as possible.

Once your turkey is ready to cook, you want to set the smoker to around 240 degrees Fahrenheit. A good rule of thumb is that you’ll need to cook the turkey for 30 minutes per pound – so a five-pound turkey would need two and a half hours to fully cook. Give the turkey a nice coating of butter then let it smoke! Take it out in a few hours and enjoy a wonderful turkey dinner!