Description
An absolutely delicious, flavorful Smoked Spatchcock Turkey recipe – perfect for Thanksgiving or any other holiday!
Ingredients
Scale
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