Smoked Turkey Recipe - brined and basted with butter and herbs for the best Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey.
Butter & Herb Smoked Turkey
Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey - brined for 48 hours, stuffed with aromatics and basted every hour with butter and herbs. This pellet grill smoked turkey recipe is perfect for the holidays.
Author:Malcom Reed
Ingredients
-
1 bottle Malcom’s Bird Brine
-
2 gallons water
-
1 whole turkey
-
2 stick unsalted butter
-
1/2 cup kosher salt
-
1/2 cup granulated garlic
-
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
-
1 stalk celery cut into 2-3” pieces
-
1 onion quartered
-
1 lemon halved
-
8-10 garlic cloves
-
Herb bundle (fresh rosemary, thyme, sage)
-
2 sticks melted butter
-
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
-
1 tablespoon dried parsley
-
1 tablespoon dried thyme
-
Meat Bags
Butter Herb Baste
Directions
Place turkey in a large meat bag inside a brine bucket or large container (stockpot will work). Pour the bird brine into one gallon of water and whisk. Pour the mixture over the turkey and add the additional water to cover the bird. Close the bag to keep the bird submerged and refrigerate for 48 hours.
Remove the turkey from the brine and allow it to drain. Use paper towel to absorb moisture from the cavity and skin. Place the turkey on a wire rack over a sheet pan and air dry in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Prepare Traeger pellet grill for smoking at 300 degrees using the Turkey Blend Pellets for flavor
Stuff the cavity with celery, onion, lemon, garlic, fresh herbs, and 1 stick of butter. Tie the legs together using butcher twine.
Melt one stick of butter and brush over the skin. Combining the kosher salt, granulated garlic, and poultry seasoning in a shaker. Season the outside of the bird generously with the seasoning mix.
Place the bird on the bird smoker *tip: keep it on the wire cooling rack to make rotating and moving the bird on/off the grill.
Smoke the turkey for one hour and then start basting it with the butter herb mixture every hour.
Insert a probe thermometer at the 2 hour mark to monitor internal temp. Shield with aluminum foil once the skin gets a golden brown color.
When the turkey reaches 165 degrees in the breast remove it from the pit and rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
