This is a great recipe for smoked turkey. A barbecue grill is nearly impossible to cook a large bird. A smoker is best for this. I prefer hickory chips or hickory wood. Hickory generates a more even smokiness than other woods, and it does not matter whether the wood is green or seasoned. Mesquite, if not well seasoned, will generate a creosote type coating because of the sap that oozes out of the wood while cooking.
Turkey In A Smoker Ingredients
1 (10 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons seasoned salt
cup butter
2 (12 fluid ounce) cans cola-flavored carbonated beverage
1 apple, quartered
1 onion, quartered
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
How to Make Turkey In A Smoker
Preheat smoker to 225 to 250 degrees F (110 to 120 degrees C).
Rinse turkey under cold water, and pat dry. Rub the crushed garlic over the outside of the bird, and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Place in a disposable roasting pan. Fill turkey cavity with butter, cola, apple, onion, garlic powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Cover loosely with foil.
Smoke at 225 to 250 degrees F (110 to 120 degrees C) for 10 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C) when measured in the thickest part of the thigh. Baste the bird every 1 to 2 hours with the juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.
Turkey In A Smoker Nutritions
Calories: 625.2 calories
Carbohydrate: 9.8 g
Cholesterol: 225.1 mg
Fat: 31.7 g
Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 71.2 g
SaturatedFat: 11.6 g
ServingSize:
Sodium: 1184.8 mg
Sugar: 7.6 g
TransFat:
UnsaturatedFat:
Turkey In A Smoker Reviews
I sing praises here. I used applewood instead of hickory. And I used an LP water smoker instead of charcoal. Much easier and quicker (5 hours instead of 10 for a 12 lb free-range turkey). I knew I had a winner on my hands with the YELPS of joy from people who tasted the first slices of the bird. INTENSE smoky flavor (the applewood was a good choice). And the Pepsi-Cola and butter and apple and onion and garlic inside hit the spot giving it incredible sweetness. I brined this turkey first using a brine recipe I got on this site (with salt and brown sugar and rosemary (which I added)). This was one of the best turkeys Ive ever prepared. The skin was very dark with smoke, with when you pricked it, it snapped. Inside the turkey was surprisingly moist. A definite hit. Almost sinister and alien it was so intensely flavored.
Excellent recipe. This really does blow your guests away. I have made this several times and I have a few tips. Fyi- I use a electric brinkmann smoker.Dont use a brine if your turkey is injected with a soulution (butterball). 10 to 14 lbs is best. It will definitely take a mininum 10 hours (at 220-230 degrees). 1 can of cola or a 16oz bottle is plenty. I like a hickory/pecan wood mix (pecan is smoother). Dont smoke after the bird reaches 140degrees. degrees.I only baste every 3-4 hours when I check the wood.I also like to rub the bird with rosemary.Enjoy..Its the best turkey you will ever have
This is the best smoked turkey I have ever fixed. I used an electric smoker and it took about 10 hours for a 14 lb. turker. I also used the brine with the kosher salt and brown sugar. Thank you for bringing this recipe to everyone
This was my first attempt at smoking a turkey. We had relatives over for Christmas dinner so I smoked this turkey recipe (13 pound bird) and baby back ribs at the same time. Wow What a great combination. I have had my share of smoked turkey prior to this one but have decided there is no need to go looking for a better recipe. This was the best smoked turkey I have ever had and it had rave reviews from out dinner guests. My daughter-in-law said the turkey defines the word "succulent". She said, "you just want to sit there and suck all the juices out".
We smoked a 28lb turkey for the company Thanksgiving party using this recipe last year. There were 5 other traditional turkeys at this party but ours was the only one completely gobbled up. One minor adjustment we made to the recipe was to add 1C apple cider to the brine recipe (out of this world brine) we found on this site. To complete the brining process we stuffed the turkey into a roasting bag (it was a tight squeeze)poured the brine into the bag and set the turkey in a roasting pan rotating the turkey every hour or so overnight. We chose to use applewood and cherry chips in our grill (we didnt have a smoker). Dont forget to smoke the turkey in a roasting pan and keep injecting the drippings back into the turkey.Yum.Thanksgiving 2019 If you want an out of this world simple and easy greens recipe cook the greens in 2 cups of chicken broth. The last 2 hours or so add "all" the drippings plus the apple/onion/garlic stuffing from your smoked turkey. Throw in a smoked wing or leg for extra flavor. The mixture has a great smoked not sweet flavor.
This was awesome I used a brining recipe from here. Let the turkey set in the brine over night. Followed this recipe as well as injecting the bird with a marinade and then covering the top with Tonys Cajun seasoning. I slow cooked a 10lb bird for 10 hours. I kept the heat at around 220 most of the time. Hickory used to smoke. It was most excellent. Best turkey I ever ate. My family demolished it. Thanks
AWESOME FLAVOR BUT WATCH THE TIME JUST BECAUSE THE BIRD WEIGHS MORE DONT LEAVE IT IN LONGER
WORTH THE TIME Plan on a day relaxing in your favorite lawn chair getting up once every hour only to throw on some more woodchips and getting another beer. Although this recipe takes 10+ hours its a sinch and worth every moment. The only alteration I made is soaking the turkey in salt water a couple of hours before smoking (1 1/2 to 2 cups Kosher salt desolved in enough water to cover the turkey).
Excellent recipe. Turkey was a big hit with guests on Thanksgiving. The turkey did take about 11 hours on our electric smoker - we had a 14 pounder. Thanks
Do it I was a bit skeptical when I read the ingredients - like the cola, but thought to give it a try. I had a 17 lb turkey and followed the brine and rub recipe from the Neeleys on foodtv. I soaked mine for 14 hours, then followed the recipe here. Make sure you have a big enough roasting pan - defiantly use it since it kept all the moisture in. I say big enough because the juices started to overflow and I had to suck some out w/the baster. I use to smoke chicken and turkey w/o a pan - but never again after this. I used hickory and apple wood for my smoke and kept the smoker temp around 225 - 250. I basted about every hour and it took about 10 hours to reach an internal temp of 165 on the deep part of the thighs. This was sort of a high maintenance prep and cook but well worth the effort. The bird turned out fantastic, my in-laws loved it and the left overs were even better. DO IT
Followed recipe except that I brined bird overnight in 1 quart apple juice, 1 cup salt, 4 cloves crushed garlic and 1.5 gallons water. I use a 5 gallon bucket and put the bird in a food grade garbage bag with the brine mixture and pack the top with ice. The 14 lb turkey was done in 6 3/4 hours. Brining seems to speed up the cook time. Cooking temp was between 225-250F. Flavor was very nice. Got rave reviews from the family. Served it on toasted french rolls with melted swiss cheese and bbq sauce. Not too smokey. I used apple wood which is my favorite for smoking poultry. Bird was super moist. I ran the smoke for about 4 hrs of the total cook time in my vertical gas smoker. Not a ton of meat on a 14 lb bird. Not sure if I will do this again. I am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to turkey. I think I prefer to smoke chicken pieces, thighs in particular. This was probably more work than I like for the amount of meat that it produced. I still would rate this a 5 star recipe.
Great recipe I bought the smallest Traeger smoker 2 months ago so I experimented tonite with this recipe. I had a horrible experience 3 yrs ago w/ a USD30 fresh turkey, brine and roast recipe, so I wanted to give my Traeger a try w/ a USD5 Safeway turkey (13 lbs). HOMERUN, awesome turkey...for USD5. The USD2.50 foil pan I bought fit perfectly.I followed 95% of recipe; thawed the tukey in the fridge, rinsed, & patted dry...rubbed w/ olive oil, minced garlic & poultry seasoning on the outside. I placed the turkey in the pan & added 2 T of butter, the onion, apple, minced garlic, and about 4 c of diet coke in the cavity. I loosely sealed the edges of pan w/ heavy foil. I turned on smoke for 5 minutes with the lid open to get it started, & then closed the lid & heated on high for 10 minutes. The temp at that time was about 300 degrees.I placed the pan on the grill & closed the lid...and kept the smoker on high for 15 minutes. I then turned to medium and continued to go outside to admire the great aroma.. The temp remained around 225 when on medium. Short on time, I alternated between high and medium heat (the temp alternated between 225-300 degrees). At 2 hrs, I basted the turkey w/ butter...it was browning beautifully. I recovered & continued cooking for a total of 4 hrs; unbelieveably moist, fall off the bone, turkey. Cant wait to try again...I will cook on low next time for duration, and skip the basting... Truly the most moist(est) turkey I have every prepared
I just got a new smoker so this was my first try at smoking meat. Im thrilled I used this recipe because everyone said it was the best turkey they had ever eaten. I did make a few small changes and they were to use a 16 oz. cola instead of the two 12 oz. For the seasoning salt I used a basic barbecue rub that I use on beer can chicken. I used the four crushed garlic cloves on the outside and then put them in the cavity instead of the garlic powder. I smoked two 14 pound turkeys and a 10 pound turkey plus I used the same recipe cut in half on two chickens that I added to the smoker with about 6 hours left in the smoking time. Everything turned out super except I would have to say the turkeys were better than the chickens.Im adding to this review now a year later. I smoked the turkeys to an internal temperature of 165 degrees which turn out better than 180 degrees and a temperature recommended by a lot of different sites.
Some guests totally enjoyed this, but definately preferred the fried turkey we make. The fried turkey was favored for both flavor and moistness. Its always fun to try new things in our smoker though.
Excellent, I cooked a 20lb bird on smoke on my traeger bbq with hickory pellets WOW I wouldnt change a thing
This recipe makes a delicious, very moist turkeyI always smoked my turkeys right on the rack of the smoker......but not any more Placing it in a roasting pan or pot really keeps the moisture in.Thanks Doug
I did not baste the turkey as once I close the lid on the smoker I dont take it off until the calculated time of 45 minutes per pound has elapsed. I was skeptical about loosely covering the turkey with aluminum foil but did it anyway. My turkey came out perfect. I had rave reviews and will be using this exact recipe for every turkey I smoke. This mixture of ingredients creates a slightly sweet and incredibly moist turkey. In fact, its down right addicting.
I had just smoked my first ever turkey before I tried this recipe. My first was a whole bird with an oil, wine and spice marinade. It was disappointing. I nearly gave in to the brining craze before I found this page. All I can say it why the heck would I go to the trouble and mess of brining? In the first place, just try to find an unenhanced bird in a rural area. Secondly, this recipe rocks I used a Butterball bone-in breast, 6 pounds and change, and reduced the butter, coke and salt to allow for the smaller size. I smoked this Tom breast down in a Weber kettle on indirect heat with a water pan and some apple and hickory chunks. Rather than low and slow, I opted for 300-325*. Internal was only 145* at 3 hours, so I pulled the water pan and let er rip to almost 400*. In about an hour I hit my target temp and pulled it. It could not have been more moist and flavorful if I had smoked at 225*. One of the top three turkeys Ive ever had. The meat was so tender, I had to be careful not to tear it apart while slicing...and I used a very sharp knife. I dont know what the magic in this recipe is, but you should try it. Forget the brine and smoke it however you want, low and slow, or high and fast. I dont think you could hurt it. Just use the thermometer, especially with the cavity crammed with goodies. Bring it to 165*, rest it, and enjoy. Thanks for the recipe
I made this recipe for 2013 thanksgiving. I used a Traeger electric smoker. It was a delicious turkey like the other reviews say. The best Ive had. Here are some data points after making this recipe: 230 degrees the 15 lb bird took only 5.5 hours to reach an eternal temp of 165 (That surprised me after reading how many people left their bird on for 10 hrs) ; you only need 1 can of soda (more wont fit) ; brine the turkey before smoking it. Its the only way to get the moistest and seasoned flavor throughout the thick bird. To conclude I will only ever smoke my turkeys in the future.
This is a terrific turkey recipe. Im not crazy for turkey, but I will cook it more often now. When my Dad says "this is the best dame turkey Ive had", you know it has to be good because he doesnt compliment much.Thanks
We made this last week to start off the grilling season. This was great, I never realized turkey can be this juicy and flavorful I didnt change a thing other than using garlic cloves for the cavity instead of the garlic powder. Really great and so easy
Delicious My turkey did fit our BBQ grill, and I cooked it for our Canadian Thanksgiving. The platter circulated at least twice. I plan to roast a chicken using the same recipe.Thank you for sharing your recipe
I was skeptical at first and preparing Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws made me very cautious. Not to worry this is a GREAT recipe. The flavor, the ease, the aroma in my neighborhood. I made 2 birds. This one and a classic roasted one. Needless to say there was a lot of the roasted one left over.
I am not real big on smoked meat, and turkey is not my favorite, but, I have to say, the recipe for this smoked turkey was absolutely DELICIOUS We have a huge grill/smoker combo and cooking time was only about 5 hours. The turkey was tender, moist and flavorful. We really enjoyed the results of this recipe and cant wait to use it again for friends and family
The BEST turkey ever We converted people who never eat turkey at all into smoked turkey lovers We smoked it on a traditional wood smoker cabinet, and brined it the night before in Alton Browns brine recipe. The Best
I put the turkey in a big roasting pan and put it on the grill with charcoal and apple chips. I put the top ont he grill and left it for a few hours. IT WAS THE BEST TURKEY I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. I made three of these THREE in less than two months. Then I tried it with cornish hens I came back on here just to leave the review ( and to look up the recipe again). I was a little leary about the coke but it worked.
Incredible I also brined the turkey before smoking it, and it took about 8 hours for a 14 pound turkey. It was moist and delicious. Everyone raved. Used apple wood. Ill do this again for sure. Even better than deep fried.
Exceptional. I smoked a 21 pound turkey for 16.5 hours at 185 degrees. Used hickory chuncks. Soaked them for 48 hours before use. Brined the turkey as well. The taste was incredible. I will use this next year too.M
Smoked a 141/2 pound turkey in an electric smoker for 6 hours yesterday. Perfection, Oh so tasty. The family is still talking about the delicious flavor. Didnt change a thing. Thank you Doug.
I cooked this for a Thanksgiving family get together and this was my first attempt at smoking a turkey and it turned out Fantastic My husband even said that it was the best he had ever eaten including his Moms What a compliment I brined my 14.5 pound turkey for 18 hours in salt water and brown sugar, and then follwed the rest of the directions exactly. Because I brined mine though, apparently, it cooked really fast on 225 degrees. My turkey was ready in 7 hours. It had one of the pop up thermometers in it and it had popped but b/c this was my first attemp I was a little hesitant on taking it out of the smoker that soon since I had estimated 11 hours for it to cook per this recipe. But Im glad I did take it out b/c it was Perfect and moist. Thanks for the great recipe Im making this again for Christmas
This is without a doubt the best smoked turkey Ive ever had. The things I did different was to cook the turkey in indirect heat at 325-350 degrees using hickory chunks. My turkey was 18 lbs. and took just over 6 hrs. The different flavors you tast are unbelievable.Thank You
If you do this once you will do it again. Its Turkey at its very best. Havent fed this to anyone who didnt rave. So juicy cranbery sause is not missed Only con I found is if you frezz any left overs (and ill bet there wont be much) the smoked flavor excesivly dominates. Funny only frezzing does this.
Well im not going to say any thing different from all the other reviews , every one loved it , juiciest bird ever had , and wow so tender , A+ . planning to take my smoker camping next month cant wait :) , what we did , sat in brine from here then this recipe with a 12-14 lb bird smoked for 8-9 hours , all i can say is thanks
We usually fry our turkey, because we were expecting health-conscious guests, I decided to smoke it. We used our propane grill and used the indirect heat method with hickory chunks. The night before, I brined the 14 lb. turkey. It was on the grill at 11:00 a.m. and reached 160 degrees by 2:15 p.m. It turned out so moist, there wasnt much left It seems intimidating, but you gotta try it You might want to smoke a turkey breast first.
All the reviews on this is true. I cooked this for my family and friends. Everyone loved it. I used Jack Daniels smoker chips. I used a 17lb turkey which was pushing it since the liquid almost over flowed.
My husband and I used this recipe to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. At first, I was leary about all the different flavors but it was the best turkey I/we have ever eaten. When Christmas came along we had several requests to smoke a turkey for my grandmothers dinner. Of, course we did and our turkey was all gone. The poor oven baked turkey was almost still all in the pan.
First time Ive ever smoked a turkey and it came out beautifully I smoked it one day, put it in the fridge after cooling it down and warmed it up in the oven the next day for our meal. It was the JUCIEST turkey Ive ever eaten. Some guests were so impressed they went out and bought their own smoker the next day
This was good recipe. The last time I used it I rubbed it down good with a Big Bubbas Rubba Jerk Rub-- over and under the skin. Leave off the salt if use the rub.
This was a hit for our Thanksgiving. People that usally dont even like turkey made comments out how delicious it was and took seconds. We will be using this recipe again REAL soon.
My husband and I tried this before we served it on Thanksgiving just to give the smoker a trial run. It turned out very good. We left it on the smoker a little longer than we should have so it was a little dry but not too bad. It is very flavorful and very easy to prep.
This turkey is great
13.5 pound turkey 8 hours on gas smoker. it was fabulous......made it for the 4th. took a long unsliced loaf of bread., cut it lengthwise......toasted it...( with garlic butter painted on)in oven., added turkey slices taken off the bones....plus some really nice swiss cheese.....back to oven. sliced it into sandwiches..........and made a horseradish sauce, plus a balsamic vinegar bbq sauce to dress...........it was a huge hit since it was the 4th,. needed something "picnic" style. not thanksgiving style.
I made this recipe as presented using the brine recipe here as well. You cannot miss with this combo. Easily the best turkey Ive had. Watch your temps carefully, dont overcook. 160 165 should yield nice moist breast. It truly is wonderful....*****
We started using this recipe over three years ago. The first time we did it the whole neighborhood smelled like a BBQ restaurant This recipe not only smells great it tastes great too. We have tried different variations, but the original is the best
Moist and delicious
I tried this before I saved it and I cant believe how easy it was. Not to mention how good it was . I smoked it for about 11hr. 40min. but it was 22 degrees outside and I was using only the thermometer on the smoker. Awesome fixed this way...
Wow This was excellent, so nice and smokey, but incredibly flavorful and moist Here goes with my only change, though. We like turkey smokey, but not tooooo smokey, so we smoked it for 4 hours and put it in the oven at 300 to finish the cooking process until the thermometer reached 160.
I just made it this year. First time I made turkey. It turned out very good We had two turkeys. I got lots of compliments from the other turkey maker. He couldnt keep his hands off of it and kept picking at it before it was served. The ingredient make a very good "sauce" which I drizzled over the top of it after I had cut it up, just keep it moist. One thing to be sure of is to definitely baste every 1 hour or so. Also, I used a brown sugar, kosher salt, vegetable stock brine, and brined it overnight. And doing this seemed to actually help the turkey cook much more easily and very quickly. Which turned out perfect as my smoker was having a problem getting higher than 200 as it was very cold outside. Started smoking it at around 6:15 a.m., it was done around 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.
This is very close to the recipe I use except I dont use cola and I DO use Penzeys spices (Bicentennial rub, toasted onion powder and Pork chop seasoning.) I do put cut up apples, onions and lots of garlic in the cavity.Ive smoked turkeys every year for the holidays and always get nice juicy birds and rave reviews. I do not baste it as opening the door lets all the heat out. Several hours into it, I put a ham on the rack above so the ham juices drip down over the turkey; really good Just make sure the water pan does not run out; that will dry out the turkey.When its done, I take the pan drippings and reduce them, add that to my gravy stock and then a roux and get a nice smoky gravy. Im drooling just thinking of it. And the clean-up is SO nice and easy.
Outstanding This was my very first year to ever cook a turkey at Thanksgiving. I used the "out of this world turkey brine" recipe on this same website then followed this recipe exactly. That turkey was so good my entire family insists I cook it in all future years exactly the same way Perfect smokiness...not too much.......which is great.
This was delicious, better than a deep fried. The skin is perfect, the meat is moist and the flavor is consistent throughout.
I made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a hit. I used the brine recipe for smoked turkey. This was the best turkey Ive ever had. The leftovers are great as well. I had a pretty big bird so it took longer then 10 hours.
I have been using this recipe for six years. I have substituted Guiness Stout for cola-flavored carbonated beverage -- one bottle for the turkey, one bottle for me.
This will be my third time making this bird this wayMy children said the first time i made it..."Oh, is this what turkey should taste like?" its the bomb I used 1 can of soda and 1 cup of apple cider....I also put apple cider in the smoker water...Crazy good people.
I used the worlds best turkey brine for about 24 hours. Followed recipe exactly only difference was I didnt cook to 180 pulled mine at 165. Was a 14 pound bird and it only took me six and half hours on my traeger at the 250 temp setting very good did two birds not much left.
Ive smoked many turkeys, but never used so many spices or garlic rub. This was a great tasting turkey. Ive already told many others to give it a try. Easy and tasty
I have to agree that this is the best turkey that I have ever fixed. I went with the applewood. Worth the time and effort. This will be our Thanksgiving Day turkey for next year.
I did this recipe for thanksgiving and it was the probably the best smoked turkey I have ever eaten. thank you to the people that came up with it.
The best turkey Ive ever had too. I used a Bradley electric smoker with mostly hickory wood and no brine. I dont know why or how, theres nothing really complicated about the recipe but all I can say is that the taste magically goes all the way into the turkey meat. Its not at all bland inside. I think that is the main difference that sets this recipe apart from others. I cant wait for Christmas again. Im doing one for the Fouth of July....Yee Haw.
My first ever turkey, and it turned out great Juicy, smokey, flavorful. For a 10 lb bird, I left the LP smoker on 225-250F for 4.5 hours. When it seemed to level off at 147F for about an hour, I bumped it up to 350 for the last 45-60 mins. I followed the recipe except that I started by brining the bird and did not worry about basting except once. Also, I used applewood chips with just a few small chunks of hickory. Highly recommended The only thing I would change is not tossing in the second batch of wood chips since the smokey flavor may have been just a bit strong for some people (though not me). Well see how the smoked turkey sandwiches turn out from leftovers...
This was our Thanksgiving dinner and it rates a 10 Moist, juicy and flavorful. Our 11 lb. bird did not take 10 hours to smoke, more like 8 hours. We will be using this recipe throughout the year - thanks for sharing
This is the most amazing smoked turkey we have ever had I followed the recipe exactly. Took another reviewers idea and reduced the sauce. OMG If possible, this made it even better. This will now be a staple on our Thanksgiving table
11/29/19 update. Smoked 20# bird for 2 hours at 180, then turned up heat to 250 and put in pan. Breast was 84. Reached 160 in 5 more hours (total of 7). Put brakes on the heat, let it coast for 3.5 hours more. Breast was very dry. Not sure why it cooked so fast...OAT was 40Used Out of the World Turkey Brine for a day and a half. Smoked a 14# fresh bird in a Trager Pellet grill at 250 for 10 hours. Started basting after 2 hours and continued basting every hour until done.Great smokey taste, juicy and flavorful. Used Applewood for smoking.
My sister made a bag turkey and I made this one. After all was said and done my turkey was a smash hit no leftovers here Everybody requested to know where i got the recipe and I told them about allrecipes.com . All I can say is two thumbs up and a 6 star rating from me and the family.
This was trial run for Thanksgiving. We alway fry a turkey but this Thanksgiving we need 2 turks. The turkey was great. The execution was flawed. My turkey was still slightly frozen so I had toooooo much liquid. The top half smoked and the bottom half soaked. It was still very good. Next time I will make sure my turkey is completely thawed. My turkey was 12 lbs and it needed to cook longer than 10 hours. The soaked was fully cooked the smoked part was not. HINT: I soak my Hickory in water and wrapped in foil with holes. I never had to add chips. thanks so much for the recipe.
Wow I wish I had this recipe years ago. It is delicious. I dont generally dont care for white meat but this white meat was flaverful. The onion and apple seeped through the cavity and gave them added pizazz. I have an LP smoker and 10 hours was way too long for my 13 pounder. Between 5 and 6 hours was fine.
Awesome doesnt quite cover this recipe my 87 year old grandfather said this was the best turkey that he ever ate.... now i am required to repeat this feat every year lol not a problem with this recipe
This is a great recipe. Weve made it twice now (1 practice run & 1 on Thanksgiving for our family) both turned out wonderful We used apple wood chips for the smoke. Skin gets blackened, but it is from the smoke & gets tossed anyways. Delicious & a keeper :)
This is the best turkey Ive ever had by far We made this and other turkeys for Thanksgiving and this recipe was the clear winner. Plus it was very easy...no brining or anything else. I would highly recommend
Got up early to get this started in my new homebrew smoker. Due to an instrumentation error the 14lb bird was done in 4 hrs (10 am). Popped it in the fridge then reheated in the readjusted smoker. Result, amazingly a wonderful tasting moist turkey Pretty hard to screw up this recipe
This was an excellent recipe for smoked turkey. The flavors blended together nicely. We smoked it with a apple juice/water mixture. We used a granny smith apple in the cavity with the other ingredients. Very little leftovers.
I followed this exactly as written on my Taeger Smoker using Mesquie and used a 10 lb free range chicken. Very Very good, I have smoked many birds and this was one of the best. The spices were just right and the gravy from the drippings was awsome. Usually the garvy is quite smokey, but this was very nice due to the loose foil the dripping piced up less smoke. I will do this again with a turkey at xmas.
Best Turkey ever Followed directions except I used apple wood chips. Very moist. I have done this twice in the past month the second time i did it i used a turkey with a pop up timer and it was done in 5 hours just under 250 temp, it was a 15 pound turkey cooked on a lp smoker. You will be amazed
Itd be a sin to use this recipe and not provide feedback; it was fabulous I reviewed a dozen recipes online and choose this one - and family/frineds are glad I did - it was full of flavor, tender, moist, & succulent. I did modify a couple things (gotta experiment), as I used a Brinkmann smoker with a water pan (1 coke to the cavity, 1 coke to the water pan, used apple wood chunks on charcoal, apple cider vinegar in water pan, various seasonings, and basted every 2 hours over 10 hours (15lb bird)). Good luck with yours ...
I made this last night for Christmas Eve. The only changes I made were to use apple wood chips and minced garlic instead of powder for the cavity. My husband never gives 5 stars, but he and the son-in-laws gave it 5 stars. This is definitely a keeper.
Excellent We made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was incredible. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the 2 cans of coke. I used approximately 1/2 can. The drippings helped to make the best gravy I have ever made. Cant wait to make it again
Phenominal Best tasting moistest turkey ever
I have been using this recipe for over 10 years, it is still one of the favorites at our cookouts
I had never smoked a turkey before but my wife asked me to give it a go for Thanksgiving this year to free up oven space. We did a test run in October and invited friends who also had new things that they wanted to try out for Thanksgiving. The bird was delicious and I now know why it has received such a favorable rating. Leftovers lasted for four days and I had a smoked turkey sandwich on each of those days...thought I died and went to heaven. And, as an extra blessing, I realized that although our little electric smoker did a good job in October, it was going at full power and could not get over 230 degrees. Since I was concerned about colder weather in November...and because the wife wanted the free oven space...bingo A new propane smoker for Thanksgiving Heh. Thanks for the recipe
Great recipe, Pay close attention at the end of the ten hours since turkey breast can get dry.
The best Thanksgiving turkey We brined the turkey for 24 hrs (Alton Brown brine). We bought a 12 lb free range turkey and it took only 5 hrs to smoke and fall off the bone
This recipe is awesome. I was a little nervous about the soda. But I took the plunge and did it anyway. The turkey was so flavorful and juicy. Im sold. We will never have dry plain turkey again. I smoked mine in my weber grill with hickory wood chunks soaked over night. I also used charcoal chunks/lumps which burned so much better and longer. It cooked in about 3 hours. 13lbs bird.
This was a wonderful tasting smoked turkey.. I used a 12# turkey, soaked it in a brine solution of 1 1/2 cups salted water using kosher salt, added some herbs also to the solution soaking it for 6 hrs completely covered with iced water... I did everything the recipe called for but the next time I make this turkey I will only put one can of cola inside this size turkey... there was to much liquid in my pan and I had to remove some of it while the turkey smoked... also it took my 12 pounder 11 hrs in my electric smoker to cook.. it was very moist and flavorful... everyone said it was the best smoked turkey they ever ate
I loved it and got great reviews by those who ate it this turkey day. Sadly not all the family love smoked meats as much as I do. Most turkeys dont have much in the way of flavor, but this bird did have plenty. It was moist, and lovely.
I find that when smoking a turkey the meat is stringy, so I roast it first so the bones are not bloody, and still do the brining before but cooking time is less, and do not have the stringyness.
This was very good.
We used a brined turley so we omitted the seasoned salt. Also hubby said that 10 hours is wayy too long to smoke a turkey...he did ours for about 7. Very tasty but I think we preferred the turkey he deep-fryed.... sorry
GREAT We plan on serving this several times a year.
Very proud of myself....1st time smoking anything and used this recipe. Only change I made was to use a 6lb Turkey Breast instead of a whole Turkey and I did Brine the bird....Since this was my first time I did slightly over cook it but it was still really really good. The pink part of the breast that was closest to the skin was absolutely delicious Cooked 7 hours and 1 side of the breast was at 175 degrees and when I checked the other side it was just over 180.....About an hour less would have been the sweet spot. Thank you for putting this recipe on here
Great recipe i used apple sauce instead of a apple it was great
I forgot to cover the bird with foil,but it still came out great.excelent flavor.going to make this again on Easter Day
I make this every year now for my family, this is the best I soak turkey overnight in apple juice and I use Pecan wood to smoke.
Ok im a novice. I tried my own smoked turkey this Thanksgiving for the first time and have vowed never to bake or fry a turkey ever again This is by far the best way to have turkey. My family loved it. I let the 12 lb turkey sit in brine 8-10 hrs in the refrigerator overnight. Then in the morning, I set up my charbroil grill/smoker for low indirect heat. Then I rinsed the turkey and added garlic, pepper, and cajun seasoning, also butter under the breast. I used soaked hickory chips and a can of chicken broth as my liquid under the turkey. I let it cook until the charcoal and chips burned out completely-my first time, I didnt know I could add more charcoal and wood chips as needed. I wanted to make sure it was done, so I put it in the oven for about an hour covered with foil. OMG Best turkey I ever had Best flavor I also smoked a whole turkey breast for christmas. Not a dry spot on either turkey. Very moist and juicy. The one reviewer who was concerned about the pinkish color might want to try a meat thermometer. Or simply bake covered for a hour. Some smokers and charcoals burn differently so it may take more or less time depending on size of turkey, type of charcoal and wood chips. But its well worth a try. You will not be disappointed by the flavor
My husband and I used this recipe for our first-ever attempt at a turkey, for Christmas dinner. It turned out very moist, and my husband said he thought it was better than any turkey his mom had ever made My parents raised their eyebrows when I poured in the cola, but it turned out perfect. However, we added a lot of sage, like a sausage-seasoning rub. We also cooked it over indirect heat (about 300-350 degrees), covered loosely with foil, on our gas grill, and it took about 4 hours. Wonderful
Would give this higher marks if I could. Made this last Thanksgiving for the family and all agreed it was the best turkey any of us had ever eaten. I have a lot of good cooks in the family, so it had to be good or I would have heard about it. Even the vegetarian in the family tried it and raved. I will now be in charge of Thanksgiving dinner until I die.
I cooked my turkey(about 14lbs)and a pork butt on my big grill/ smoker. It has a firebox that I can slide from one end to the other. So it was indirect heat. I ALWAYS use Blackjack oak sometimes adding a log of pecan to it. I kept the temp between 300 and 325 and basted it per the directions.. For the last 30 min I uncovered the bird and put the pork butt over it letting the turkey catch the drippings from it. It took exactly 7 hrs. My wife being skeptical of some of the new things I try...said the turkey had the juiciest breasts she ever tasted in her life. She and our grown kids said it was the best and moistest turkey that Ive ever cooked. For those that fry turkeys (which I do that too). This recipe, as moistness goes, beats out a fried turkey to us any day
Best Turkey ever. I brined the turkey overnight, and used the brine for basting up until about halfway through (didnt want the meat to be too salty). Then I switched to beer, continuing to baste every hour. I used a turkey stand, so the bird would cook upright. I smoked for about 8 hours usingn applewood, then for the last 2 hours, I put the turkey breast side down in a pan.I cooked it until it was 165 degrees in the breast, then let it rest for 15 minutes.My only regret was that I did not tie the wings to the body, and the smoke passing over the wings made that mead slightly overdone. But still better than roasting. I was surprised that the skin was brown and crispy - my 13 year old raved about the white meat and we all went back for seconds.
I have a Brinkman smoker with a fire box. My bird was absolutely perfect I did not change any thing. I have learned not to read comments that are more than a few lines. This usually indicates a whole new recipe.
This was great. Everyone was skeptical when I poured soda in the pan, but they were believers when when they tasted that very moist and tender bird. I brined the bird overnight and that cut the cooking time almost in half.
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