At our house we love using the smoker all year long and we love smoking turkey – especially with this dry rub all over it! You can use this seasoning when making a smoked turkey breast, turkey tenderloin, or a whole smoked turkey to bring all that additional flavor. Cooking a whole turkey on the electric smoker is the perfect option for freeing up oven space on Thanksgiving Day to make room for all the delicious side dishes. Give this dry rub a try! It will really bring a ton of extra flavor to your turkey.
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Table of Contents
If you love making your own dry rub as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Smoked Chicken Dry Rub!
Key Ingredients
- dried herbs – we used a variety of spices that you probably already have in your spice cabinet. Just combine them to add all the best flavor!
- spicy or sweet – feel free to play with the flavor profile a little bit. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a kick of heat or some brown sugar for some sweetness.
Should I Season My Turkey Before Smoking
Yes!! Once the raw turkey has completely thawed, pat the skin of the turkey dry, rub it down with butter and then this dry rub seasoning! Make sure to rub it in all the nooks and crannies so that it covers all of your meat. Then you will place your turkey on the smoker.
How To Make A Smoked Turkey Rub
Best Ways To Use A Smoked Turkey Dry Rub
This dry rub recipe can be used to season any cut of turkey before it goes on the smoker – a whole Smoked Turkey, Smoked Spatchcock Turkey, Smoked Turkey Breast, or Smoked Turkey Legs. A spice blend that is amazing on all of them. Best to let the turkey come to room temperature, pat the turkey dry with paper towels, and then season generously the entire turkey!
Storage
This is the perfect homemade dry rub to make 2-3 batches at a time, so that you always have some on hand. Store it in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 3 months. It will last longer than 3 months but some of the flavors might become a bit muted.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- Should you season the turkey before smoking? Yes, it should coat the turkey before it is placed on the smoker or pellet grill.
- Should I add the seasoning under the skin, on top of the skin, or both? If you are able to separate some of the skin from the meat, we would recommend to do both! Being able to add some seasoning under the skin will add even more flavor.
- Can I use this recipe after a wet brine? Absolutely! Follow your process for brining a turkey, pat it dry, and add this dry rub before smoking.
- Can it be used as a dry brine? This rub could be used to season the turkey the night before cooking. We do have an official dry brine turkey recipe, if you are looking to do that.
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!
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Smoked Turkey Rub Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 1/3 cup
- Category: Seasoning
- Method: Counter Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our delicious Smoked Turkey Rub recipe is super easy to make and brings all the best flavor to any cut of turkey!
Ingredients
- 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 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a small bowl; stir to combine.
- Coat the outside of the turkey with this dry rub and smoke – we love this Smoked Turkey Breast recipe and our Smoked Turkey recipe!
Notes
- Prep: highly recommend patting the turkey dry and then add a drizzle of olive oil or softened butter before seasoning with this dry rub.
- Marinade: we love pairing this dry rub with our Turkey Marinade or Turkey Injection – such a good combo!
- Pellet/Wood Chip: love using hickory or apple wood chips with smoked turkey recipes.
- Gravy: Don’t forget to collect the drippings and follow our tutorial on how to make smoked turkey gravy!
Rhonda says
I smoked a boneless turkey breast for our small Thanksgiving this year using this dry rub. This is the best poultry dry rub I’ve ever tried! Even better than Traeger’s! I was nervous this year after doing a whole smoked turkey last year didn’t go as expected (someone else’s method), but I should’ve known better. Wooden Skillet has never led me wrong. It was spectacular! I even sprinkled some extra rub onto the mayo in my sandwich of the leftovers. That is the second best decision with the turkey this year! Everyone must try it!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Rhonda! And thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review – I so appreciate it!
Mary says
We used this dry rub before we put our Thanksgiving Turkey on the Traeger. It was easy and DELICIOUS.
Erin says
So glad you all enjoyed it, Mary! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review – I appreciate it!