It is the holiday season and cooking turkey for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner is a must! After mastering how to spatchcock a chicken, we knew it was time to use this easy process on a whole turkey. Because a whole turkey takes A LOT of time to cook! We are now HUGE fans of spatchcocking a turkey – it is super easy, drastically reduces the overall cook time, and the results are SO GOOD! Flattening the large bird helps it to cook more evenly, allowing for a more juicy and delicious turkey at your next holiday table!
Looking for More Smoked Meats Recipes?
If you love using your smoker as much as we do, then you definitely need to try our Smoked Leg of Lamb!
What You Will Need
- whole turkey: we used a 12-14 pound whole turkey. Ensure it is fully thawed with giblets removed. Check out our tutorial on How to Thaw a Turkey!
- butter: this adds additional moisture to the bird and helps it brown up at the end.
- smoked turkey rub: love this seasoning so much! We also have a classic turkey seasoning that is good too!
- red onion + orange: these help add additional flavor to the drippings in the pan.
- chicken broth (or turkey broth): this adds moisture to the turkey and is used later to make gravy.
- dry white wine: totally optional and can be omitted if you want.
- fresh rosemary + fresh thyme: these add an earthy flavor to the drippings and, later, the gravy!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, & estimated nutritional information.
- fresh turkey – just pick one up at your local grocery store, follow our tutorial on how to thaw a turkey, remove the giblets, and get to work!
- butter – always a must when cooking turkey and it can easily be swapped out for a plant-based butter.
- dry rub – highly recommend our homemade smoked turkey rub, but a store-bought option would work too.
- broth – any type of chicken broth or turkey broth are perfect for adding moisture to the cooking process and then they can be used to make smoked turkey gravy!
How To Prep a Spatchcock Turkey for the Smoker
- Optional: Brining A Turkey – you do not HAVE to do this, but a turkey brine can infuse additional flavor and moisture into your bird. We have an Apple Cider Turkey Brine and a Smoked Turkey Brine, either would be great here. Just note that these take at least 24 hours, so plan accordingly.
- Pat turkey dry with clean paper towel.
- Spatchcock the turkey (see below for details) – we also have a whole tutorial on How to Spatchcock a Turkey.
- Prep the roasting pan with some chicken broth, white wine, herbs, onions and citrus.
- Place the spatchcocked turkey in the roasting pan.
- Rub the turkey skin with butter (all over the outside and under the skin, where possible).
- Season – we love this Turkey Seasoning or this Smoked Turkey Dry Rub.
How To Smoke a Spatchcock Turkey
How Long to Smoke a Spatchcock Turkey?
Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F. Place the spatchcock turkey in the prepped roasting pan on the smoker for 1 hour and then raise the temperature to 350 degrees F. (to help crisp up the skin) until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. at the thickest part using an internal meat thermometer. The total smoke time will vary a bit due to a myriad of factors such as outdoor temperature, smoker hot spots, wind, humidity, etc. That being said, during testing, this recipe consistently took approximately 2-2.5 hours to be fully cooked.
Best Ways To Serve Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
Typically we love to serve this juicy turkey on Thanksgiving day with all the best Thanksgiving side dishes! A few of our all-time favorites are Stuffed Onions, Broccoli Bacon Salad, Apple Yam Bake and Wild Rice Stuffing (don’t forget the Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie) for a complete Thanksgiving Meal!
Leftover Smoked Turkey Ideas
Here are a few easy and delicious leftover smoked turkey recipes that might come in handy for the days following your Thanksgiving celebration:
Storage & Freezer
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftover turkey, if you want. Store in a freezer-safe container (try and ensure it is airtight so the turkey doesn’t dry out) and use within 3 months.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- Do you have to brine a turkey before smoking it? No, you do not have to brine the turkey. Making a wet brine or dry brine turkey are great ways to keep your bird super juicy, but they are not necessary.
- How many minutes per pound to smoke a spatchcock turkey? At a temperature of 225 degrees F, it would take about 12-15 minutes per pound to smoke a turkey. Exact times will vary, so make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- How to get crispy skin on a smoked spatchcock turkey? Follow our instructions in the recipe card about raising the temperature of the smoker to 350 degrees F towards the end of the turkey cooking. This higher temp will help you achieve a more crispy skin.
- Can I use a regular grill to smoke a spatchcock turkey? Yes, you can use a gas or charcoal grill to make a spatchcock smoked turkey. If you use a wood chip smoker box and then simply continue to add smoking chips throughout the cooking process.
Made this recipe and loved it?!
We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Follow Us on Social
Smoked Spatchcock Turkey Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 servings 1x
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Smoker
- Cuisine: American
Description
An absolutely delicious, flavorful Smoked Spatchcock Turkey recipe – perfect for Thanksgiving or any other holiday!
Ingredients
Smoked Turkey Rub:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon smoked garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Turkey:
- 12–14 lb whole turkey (fully thawed, giblets removed)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened + divided (sub softened ghee)
- 1–2 red onions, quartered
- 1 navel orange, quartered
- 2 cups chicken broth (or turkey broth)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
- 2–3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2–3 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Make Dry Rub: Combine the Smoked Turkey Rub ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.
- Spatchcock the Turkey: Place turkey on a large cutting board or rimmed baking sheet. Place the breast-side down. Use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone (which will be running down the middle of the turkey) and remove. Flip the whole turkey over. Firmly press down towards the top of the breastbone with the palm of your hand, until you hear a crack. Check out our tutorial on How To Spatchcock a Turkey for even more details!
- Prep Roasting Pan: Place the onion, orange, 2 cups chicken broth, white wine (if using), rosemary and thyme in the bottom of a heavy duty aluminum roasting pan. Place a wire rack on top of the roasting pan.* And put the turkey on top of the wire rack, ensuring the breast side is up.
- Butter + Season: Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Take 1/4 cup softened butter and rub into every nook and cranny (including under the skin where possible). Season the outside of the turkey with the dry rub.
- Smoke: Place the entire roasting pan on the smoker and close the lid. Let smoke 60-70 minutes at 225 degrees F. Then turn the smoker temperature up to 350 degrees F. Let the turkey smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F at it’s thickest part. Melt the last 1/4 cup of butter and use to baste the turkey every 20 minutes.
- Rest: Remove the turkey from the smoker, baste one more time and then let rest 10-15 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a serving platter or large plate and cover with foil again to continue its resting for another 10-15 minutes.
- Optional Gravy: Use juices at the bottom of the pan and follow our tutorial on how to make smoked turkey gravy, if desired.
- Serve: Carve the turkey and serve immediately!
Notes
- Smoke Time: the final cook time will vary a bit depending upon factors such as outdoor temperature, wind, humidity, smoker hot spots, etc. That being said, we tested this multiple times on a Traeger pellet grill and it generally took 2-2.5 hours total smoke time for a 12-14 pound turkey to come to temp (165 degrees F).
- *Turkey Set Up: since I took these photos, I have discovered that it works best if you elevate the turkey over the roasting pan by placing a wire rack across it. The smoke can surround the turkey much better this way and you still catch all those juicy drippings for gravy.
- Brine: here is an optional smoked turkey brine if you want to do that first – just be aware you would need to prep that the night before.
- Pellets: hickory and mesquite pellets or wood chips are my two favorites to use in this recipe.
- Dairy Free: if you can’t do butter, use some olive oil – but you don’t need a ton, just enough to coat the bird.
- Injection: if you really want to take things to the next level – try our Turkey Injection recipe for extra juiciness!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 557
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 431 mg
- Fat: 31.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.5 g
- Protein: 67.1 g
- Cholesterol: 250 mg
Emily says
Juicy and delicious! Thank you!