A properly cooked turkey with all the trimmings is a true sight to behold. The star of any Thanksgiving feast.
Unfortunately, cooking a 15lb thunder chicken takes up a lot of kitchen real estate, leaving precious little room in the oven for anything else.
Smoking your turkey frees up your oven for the rest of your dishes and turns your humble bird into a smokey bbq masterpiece.
So, if you are low on kitchen space but big on serving up delicious new twists on festive favorites, read for the full turkey recipe to find out how to smoke a turkey in an electric smoker.
Smoking a turkey in an electric smoker is a fantastic way to prepare a juicy and flavorful holiday bird. But knowing exactly how long to smoke a whole turkey can be tricky. With the right technique, you’ll end up with perfect results every time. In this complete guide, I’ll walk through everything you need to know about smoking times, temperatures, and tips for smoking a turkey to perfection in your electric smoker.
Choosing the Right Size Turkey
When smoking a whole turkey in an electric smoker, you’ll want to choose a smaller sized bird, around 12 to 15 pounds. Larger turkeys over 18 lbs likely won’t fit properly in most electric smokers. Plus a smaller turkey will cook more evenly all the way through without the outer areas drying out.
I recommend a high-quality fresh or frozen turkey like a Butterball. Be sure to allow enough time to properly thaw and brine a frozen turkey, at least 1-2 days ahead
Brining is Essential
To end up with a super juicy smoked turkey that also has deliciously crispy skin brining the night before is a must. Dry brining with just kosher salt is effective, but a wet brine is even better. The salt in the brine seasons the meat from the inside out and helps it retain moisture.
Make a simple brine with 1 cup salt and 1/2 cup sugar per gallon of water. Submerge the turkey and brine 12-24 hours. Rinse well, pat dry and let the skin air dry before smoking for maximum crispness.
How to Prepare and Season
After brining, prepare the turkey for the smoker:
- Pat the turkey completely dry
- Rub inside cavity with olive oil or butter
- Stuff cavity with aromatics like onions, apples, fresh herbs
- Tie legs together to cook evenly
- Coat outside with olive oil or butter
- Apply your favorite rub or seasoning
Smoker Prep and Temperature
You’ll want to smoke the turkey at around 275°F for best results. Preparing your electric smoker:
- Preheat to 275°F
- Use apple, cherry, pecan wood for mild flavor
- Add water to the smoker water pan
- Place turkey on middle rack, breast up
- Insert meat probes in breast and thigh
Maintain temperature at 275°F, avoid peeking, and add more wood chips or chunks as needed for smoke.
Estimated Smoking Times
Figure about 15 minutes per pound at 275°F smoker temp.
So a 12 pound turkey will take about 3 hours, and a 15 pounder will be around 4 hours for the total smoking time. These are general estimates, so always rely on a meat thermometer for doneness, not just time.
Internal Temps and Doneness
The best way to test doneness is by temperature:
- Breast – 160°F
- Thigh – 175°F
Once the turkey reaches these temps after about 3-4 hours smoking, remove from the smoker and tent loosely with foil. Let rest 30 minutes before carving. The temperature will rise about 5 degrees during resting. If the skin isn’t quite crispy enough, put over high heat just to crisp at the end.
Additional Smoking Tips
- Use a good digital thermometer with dual probes
- Don’t open the smoker often
- Add rub and baste during last hour if desired
- Let turkey rest at least 30 minutes before slicing
Frequently Asked Questions
What size turkey should I buy for smoking?
12 to 15 pounds is ideal for even smoking in an electric smoker. Over 18 lbs may be difficult.
How long per pound to smoke a turkey?
Figure around 15 minutes per pound at 275°F. A 15 lb turkey will take about 4 hours total.
Should you brine a smoked turkey?
Yes, brining is highly recommended for the most flavorful, juicy meat and crispy skin when hot smoking turkey.
What is the best wood for smoking turkey?
Fruit woods like apple, cherry and pecan give great mild smoke flavor. Oak is also excellent.
What temp to smoke a turkey at?
275°F is perfect, though you may finish at 325°F. Don’t exceed 350°F in your electric smoker.
Can you smoke a frozen turkey?
It’s not recommended. Always thaw turkey fully in the fridge before smoking for food safety.
How long to rest a smoked turkey?
Let the smoked turkey rest at least 30 mins tented in foil before slicing for juicy meat.
Master the Perfect Smoked Turkey
Smoking a whole turkey in an electric smoker results in incredibly juicy, flavorful meat with crispy skin when done right. Now that you know the proper technique, times and temps, you’ll be able to smoke a show-stopping turkey for your next holiday feast!
What would chips are best for smoking turkey?
Wood chips with a slightly sweet flavor work well with poultry, so you might want to try apple, cherry, peach, maple, or any of the other options in our list of turkey smoke woods.
I’ll often use a mix of apple and hickory wood chips throughout the smoke. I find the combination of the sweetness of applewood and the robust smoke flavor of hickory wood compliments turkey meat well.
Turkey meat isn’t as delicate as fish, but using pure hickory or mesquite can be slightly overpowering.
Making sure your turkey is appropriately thawed out is vital to it smoking at a consistent rate and not growing unpleasant colonies of day-ruining bacteria.
If you plan on brining your turkey for a few days, you’ll need to allow enough time for the turkey to thaw and then brine, so you may need to start the process up to a week before Thanksgiving.
To make this as easy as possible, we have put together a detailed guide to thawing your turkey, but here are some salient facts to remember:
- Allow for around 24 hours of defrosting time for every 4-5lbs (1.8-2.2kg) of turkey to make sure it is properly thawed.
- Defrosting your turkey at room temperature is a terrible idea. At this temperature, colonies of bacteria like Salmonella or Campylobacter will multiply every 20 minutes.
- Washing your turkey in the sink does nothing but cover everything, including you, in bacteria.
Brining is a method of making meat more tender by soaking it in a mixture of water, salt, and flavorings. This method is called ‘wet brining.’
While your turkey sits in its brine, the salt permeates the bird’s flesh, breaking down proteins and seasoning the meat. A good brine enhances the taste of smoked turkey and helps to keep it moist.
Some people argue that wet brining is a waste of ingredients, and that you only need to salt the meat. I’ve tried both and I generally wet brine for a special occasion.
Use our turkey wet brine recipe, but feel free to experiment with different combinations of aromatics.
Simply add all ingredients to a pot and mix with water, bring to a gentle boil and stir to combine all ingredients.
Let the mixture cool and add some more cold water or ice.
You can use a large container with a sealed lid or a brine bag. If you don’t have enough room in the refrigerator, use an insulated cooler and keep topping it up with ice as it melts.
When the time is up, take the turkey out of the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
Smoking your turkey
Once your turkey is seasoned, it’s time to get it in the smoker.
I smoked my turkey on my Cusinart COS-330 at 250°F for about four hours using apple wood chips.
If your smoker can get hotter, then 300-350°F is a perfect temperature for nice crispy skin, and you can probably cut some time off the total cook time.
Be sure also to fill your water pan.
Once it starts producing smoke consistently, place the turkey inside, insert a meat probe into at least one breast. Set a timer for 30 to 40 minutes per pound of turkey you are smoking.
This timeframe is only a guideline. Keep your instant-read thermometer handy (or leave a probe in the thigh and breast) and check the bird toward the end of the cooking time.
Close the smoker and make sure the vent is partially open.
I also like to set a timer for every hour to add more wood chips and baste the turkey with butter.
Take it out of the smoker when the thermometer reads 160°F in the thickest part of the breast meat.