Delicious, easy whole smoked turkey breast with just a few simple steps! This is a smoked turkey with NO BRINE for no mess or extra planning. A turkey dry rub for smoking and a few hours in the smoker produce the most delicious, juicy turkey breast ever! I particularly love this with a squash casserole with Ritz cracker topping, aka heaven. Leftovers are really nice in creamy turkey salad, too!
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One thing about turkey: people either love it or "meh" it and really love sides. I fall on the "sides are preferable" side (lol) of things generally, unless the turkey is really freaking good.
And let me say this: smoked turkey is really freaking good.
(although, if you don't have a smoker, I have a roasted turkey breast and foolproof whole roast turkey that are also really, really good!)
I LOVE smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The benefits are endless: the oven is free for side dishes to bake, and the low + slow way the smoker works means that the turkey stays super flavorful and juicy.
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Recipe Notes
- This is a smoked turkey breast without brine. I've brined turkeys over the years, and honestly I don't think it's worth it. The amount of liquid + time + fear of mess (yes I have spilled turkey brine, yes it was awful) just doesn't add up to THAT much extra flavor, for me.
- Smoking a turkey, on the other hand, adds TONS of extra flavor.
- Instead of brining, I do a dry rub overnight, uncovered, for the turkey. This allows the skin of the turkey to really dry out, so you'll still want to let the turkey be totally thawed by the night before you'd like to cook it.
- I have smoked whole turkeys and turkey breasts, and I like both methods. One reason I chose a turkey breast is that the meat cooks all at the same time, and in a little bit less time - around 20 minutes/pound depending on the settings of your turkey. If you want some dark meat, it may be easier to buy turkey parts (split breast, legs, thighs, wings) and smoke them separately rather than doing a whole turkey. This further decreases the cooking time AND ensures even cooking on all parts of the turkey.
- Choose a turkey or turkey breast (this is if you're doing a whole breast like in these pictures or a whole turkey) that is 10-14 pounds. Larger than 14 pounds can be unsafe for smoking because the internal temperature hovers for too long around 140F, which is the PERFECT temperature for unsafe bacteria to grow. GROSS. That said, if you need to smoke more than 14 pounds of turkey at once, just use the "cut into pieces" method like I described above and things will be fine.
- Smoking Boneless Turkey Breast: This method works for bone-in OR boneless turkey. In general, smoking with bones in yields more flavor and zero dryness. However, boneless turkey breasts are lovely in the smoker, they'll just take lots less time - usually under an hour for split turkey breasts. Just keep an eye on the internal temperature to be sure they don't dry out.
Turkey Dry Rub for Smoking Ingredients
For this smoked turkey breast rub I use onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, and chili powder. This is a dry rub combo that I use on EVERYTHING; fish, chicken, anything broiled, grilled, or smoked - it's basically a really good homemade blackening seasoning to keep around at all times, if I do say so myself.
Tools For Smoking a Turkey
I have had a fairly inexpensive smoker for YEARS and we love it. It's also possible to turn a gas grill into a smoker - there are Youtube videos for everything. Before smoking a turkey, we always check to be sure we have an extra full propane tank, wood chips, etc.
- Smoker
- Candy Thermometer
- Wood Chips
Step By Step Instructions
Start by measuring and mixing the ingredients for the dry rub. Place a wire cooling rack inside of a baking sheet, then put the turkey breast on the rack.
Drizzle the turkey breast with some oil (anything you cook with is fine), and rub the spice blend all over the turkey breast.
Then, place the turkey breast in the fridge UNCOVERED and let it rest overnight. This will allow the skin to dry out a bit and get really crispy in the smoker.
Now, it's time to cook the turkey!
To smoke, follow the instructions on whatever smoking device you're choosing to use. Mine is gas, so I light it, fill a pan with smoking wood chops and a pan with water, stick the turkey in, and wander off.
Set your smoker to cook on low, 175F-200F is the ideal range here. The higher the temp, the faster the turkey will cook, so keep an eye on it and adjust the temperature on the smoker as needed to maintain a low cooking temperature.
A note on wood: sometimes with these long smoking endeavors, the wood will stop smoking after 3 hours or so if you've only used a bit of wood. That is FINE. As long as the gas or charcoal are still going the bird will still be cooking. Frankly, things taste pretty darn smokey after 4 hours of being covered in wood smoke.
I like to test the internal temperature of the bird after about 3 hours, then again every hour or so until the turkey breast is done. Digital or standard thermometers work fine, don't obsess over it. I use a digital candy thermometer.
The ideal internal temperature for a healthy cooked turkey is 165F. The turkey will continue to cook AFTER it is out of the smoker, so remove it from the smoker sometime between 155F and 160F - it'll be fully cooked, I promise.
Take the bird out, let it rest, prepare your other side dishes.
Smoked Turkey Breast FAQ
The general rule of thumb for smoking a whole turkey is 30 minutes per pound plus one hour when smoking on low heat (175F-200F). I find this to be a bit generous, but it's good for planning purposes. The turkey is ready to be removed from the smoker when the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160F (it will continue to cook after it is removed from the smoker to reach 165F, the correct internal temperature for turkey).
Turkey breast smokes for about 20 minutes per pound when smoking on low heat (175F-200F). It's ready to be pulled from the smoker when the thickest part of the best reaches 160F with a meat or candy thermometer.
For a whole turkey breast, be sure you smoke the turkey breast side up to maximize crispy skin all over. Although, I've smoked a turkey breast upside down before and it's completely fine. This is not something I'd worry about, sorry to the purists.
Serving and Leftover Storage
To slice your turkey breast, use a sharp knife to cut the entire breast off the bone on each side (so you'll do this twice). Then, cut thin slices across the turkey breast.
Leftovers keep nicely in the fridge for 4 days or so - a little bit longer than roasted turkey because the meat doesn't dry out as quickly. I also sometimes freeze smoked turkey to get out later and use in chili or on sandwiches.
SERIOUSLY this the most delicious, flavorful, juicy turkey breast you'll ever eat. You will love it.
Note that sometimes with smoked turkey (and other meats), it'll look a little pink on the inside. It's not raw. It's just...what happens when you smoke things. It has to do with the conversion in the meat of nitrites to nitrates. I looked it up!
Enjoy this smoked turkey breast! It is totally foolproof, delicious, and leftovers keep really well in the fridge - this turkey won't dry out nearly as quickly as roasted turkey will, and it's excellent frozen for sandwiches later on.
Happy smoking!
Recipe
Smoked Turkey Breast Without Brine
Ingredients
- 1 turkey breast 10-12 pounds, thawed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons oil any kind you cook with
Instructions
- The night before cooking the turkey, place the turkey skin-side up on a large platter or roasting pan – anything fairly secure that will fit in the fridge.
- Mix all of the seasonings together (this is a great all-purpose grilling blend, FYI!).
- Drizzle the turkey with the oil, and rub the spice blend all over the turkey, using it all up. Place the turkey on the platter (or vessel) UNCOVERED in the fridge overnight.
- About 6 hours before you’d like to eat, prepare your smoking setup. Smoke the turkey at a low temperature, 175F-200F for about 4 hours, checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer after 2.5 hours and then every 45 minutes after that.
- At this low temperature, plan for about 20 minutes per pound of smoking time. However, be mindful that the size of your turkey, your smoking setup, and how cold your turkey is at the starting point will affect overall cooking time.
- The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 165F at the thickest part. Remove the turkey from the smoker and let it rest on a platter for 30 minutes (at least) before slicing and serving.
I'm trying this recipe (seasoning tonight and smoking tomorrow) and would like to know what brand of kosher salt you use. I know this might sound picky but the 2 major brands of kosher salt measure out completely different so I always weigh my salt. Thank you.
Not a picky question at all! I use Diamond Kosher salt in the red box.
Smoked turkey looks delicious perfect treat. .
I've never smoked a turkey before, but this recipe makes it look foolproof!
Wonderful smokey flavours.Fabulous recipe.
looks so simple and delicious to whip up! can't wait to try!
This turkey looks so flavorful and delicious!
This smoked turkey is incredible! I love to make sandwiches with it.
Simple recipe! And perfect for lunches! Love it!
This was so incredibly smoky and delicious! Thank you for another great recipe.
Such a great recipe! My turkey turned out delish! The whole family enjoyed it
This is the turkey recipe of all recipes! There is no other way to eat turkey after this!
I used to think Turkey was every. Meh as well until I tasted smoked Turkey. It's sooo much better, I can't believe I found a recipe I can make my own with now
Right? It's the best way to eat turkey!
It's getting warmer where we are and the BBQ and smoker are back in action! I was looking for a lean protein for the smoker and this was perfect! I added a bit of extra chilli powder as we love a good kick. Easy recipe and really delicious.
I've been brining my turkey for years so I've got it down to a science but sometimes I like to switch things up a little bit. I've never smoked a whole turkey so I think this would be a great place to start. Thanks for all the great tips and flavourful rub recipe.
haha! You are funny, I quite enjoyed reading your blog. So it's almost Easter and we want to do something similar but only smoke the turkey for a couple hours and then cook it in the oven...do you think it would be worth it even to do it in the smoker for a few hours?
Absolutely! The smoke flavor will impart after the first 90 minutes or so, but it's really so easy to do the entire thing in the smoker because you don't have to dirty extra pans or your oven. Although, if you wanted to you could smoke the whole thing a day or two in advance then just heat it up in the oven beforehand. The brining and smoking ensures that the turkey doesn't dry out, so you can reheat it with no issues. If I can ask - why the desire to half-smoke half-bake? Just curious. 🙂
Weeeeeeell...I have never done a whole turkey just like that, we usually just smoke our fish...lol. We have a 'big chief' smoker and not even sure it gets hot enough to cook it all the way thru.
It should! Turkeys smoke low and slow, as long as you can get it to the appropriate internal temperature it should be fine. I cook mine at 225F or even lower if I have time for 4-6 hours. I've done them for 8 before, though! The trick is to not buy a bird larger than 14 lbs. Larger can keep the turkey cooking too slowly, and the internal temperature gets to a point where bacteria can grow quickly. With smaller birds the dangerous temperature isn't a factor because it passes more quickly. I say go for it! You could always do two small birds and roast one, smoke one for insurance!