Learn How To Smoke A Turkey On A Pellet Grill with this easy recipe! Just rub a whole turkey with my delicious homemade dry rub, put it on the pellet smoker, and let the smoker do its magic. You'll get a super juicy turkey with amazing smoke flavor and skin that's just the right kind of crispy.
Be sure to save the bones and meat to make a batch of homemade smoked turkey stock and smoked turkey and white bean soup!
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This pellet smoker turkey makes the perfect Thanksgiving turkey or holiday turkey. This is one of the best smoked turkeys I have ever made!
A slow-smoked turkey gives you meat that is moist and juicy inside but cooked long enough to get crispy skin. Use the delicious leftovers to make Leftover Turkey Enchiladas.
I have made this recipe on both my Pit Boss pellet grill and Traeger pellet grill with excellent results.
⭐ Why You'll Love This Pellet Grill Turkey
- Keeps your oven free for side dishes.
- Make this smoked turkey in a vertical electric smoker, pellet smoker, or pellet grill.
- This is an easy recipe for the perfect turkey, even if you are new to using a smoker.
- Perfect for holidays or any special meal.
🦃 Recipe Ingredients
- Turkey. I used a frozen turkey which I thawed. You can also use a Butterball turkey or a fresh turkey.
- Melted butter or olive oil. This gives the spice rub something to stick to, keeps the meat moist, and prevents it from drying out.
- Homemade spice rub. I have made Pit Boss smoked turkey with my Dry Rub For Smoked Chicken and my Smoked Turkey Rub, which contains fresh herbs such as thyme and rosemary. Feel free to use your favorite poultry rub.
See the printable recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
📋 How To Smoke A Turkey On Pellet Grill
How To Prepare a Turkey For Smoking
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 225ºF.
- Remove the thawed turkey from the package. Remove the neck and giblets and rinse inside and out with cold water. Pat dry turkey with paper towels.
- Place the whole turkey on a large platter or roasting pan. Brush olive oil all over the turkey and underneath the skin of the turkey breast.
- Combine the ingredients for the homemade dry rub in a small bowl or jar, and coat all parts of the turkey with the rub. Lift the turkey skin and rub spices directly on the turkey breast.
How To Cook Smoked Turkey
- Place the whole bird directly on the grill grates of your pellet grill, breast side up. Place a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and the dark meat of the thigh. (To make gravy, see the detailed instructions in the section below).
- Close the lid and smoke the turkey until the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 165ºF, and the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 175ºF.
- Remove the smoked turkey from the smoker, cover with aluminum foil, and rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve in a baking dish or on a turkey platter with your favorite sides. Enjoy!
Pro Tip
Check the turkey one hour before you think it should be done. The size of your turkey, how hot your smoker cooks, as well as the weather, can affect how long it will take to cook.
If the turkey is done earlier, shut the grill off and cover it with aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out. You can also use the 'Warm' setting if your pellet grill has it, or keep it warm in your oven.
🥣 How To Make Smoked Turkey Gravy
Some people ask if they can get gravy from pellet-grilled smoked turkey. And the answer is yes! It makes the best turkey gravy!
Catch the turkey drippings by placing an aluminum pan or baking sheet on the grill grates and a wire rack inside the pan. Place the turkey on the wire rack. Add a few cups of water to the pan so the drippings do not evaporate while the turkey is smoking.
Keep liquid in the pan throughout the whole smoking process. Refill as needed.
Use a turkey baster or soup spoon to remove the drippings from the pan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat.
In a small cup or jar, make a cornstarch slurry by combining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk the slurry into the gravy. Bring it to a boil, whisking constantly.
To make a thicker gravy, add more cornstarch slurry, a teaspoon at a time. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm until you're ready to serve.
Expert Tips
- Smaller turkeys will cook quicker than larger birds.
- Check the turkey occasionally, but don't open the grill too often as heat will escape and increase the smoking time.
- Cook with the thermometer, not the clock.
- Ensure the temperature probe tip does not touch the bone when checking the internal temperature.
🥗 What To Serve With Pellet Grill Smoked Turkey
Casseroles: Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes, Ruths Chris Sweet Potato Casserole, 5-ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows, and Campbell's Green Bean Casserole.
Bread. Old Fashioned Fluffy Air Buns or Homemade Biscuits With No Milk.
Must Serve Sides: Homemade Stuffing With Bacon, Whole30 Cranberry Sauce
Dessert: Smoked Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie With Graham Cracker Crust, Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie
🌡️ Storage Tips
- To Store. Cool the turkey and remove the meat from the carcass. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To Reheat. Reheat in the air fryer, oven, microwave, or stovetop until hot.
Leftover Ideas
Use the leftover smoked turkey carcass instead of chicken in my Smoked Chicken Soup to make smoked turkey soup. Leftovers are also delicious in sandwiches or turkey shepherd's pie.
📖 Variations
- Wet brine - To brine the turkey, use my easy Fresh Herb Citrus Turkey Brine Recipe.
- Dry brine - Dry brine the turkey first with this recipe for how to dry brine a turkey for Thanksgiving.
- Spicy - add cayenne pepper, chili pepper flakes, or Cajun seasoning to the spice rub.
Related Recipe: Roasted Turkey in Electric Roaster.
🦃 What Is The Best Size Turkey For Smoking?
The best size turkey for smoking is under 15 pounds. I do not suggest smoking a turkey larger than 15 pounds for food safety reasons because it will take too long to cook.
To smoke a larger turkey, make my Traeger Smoked Spatchcock Turkey (a flattened turkey cooked at a higher heat).
To smoke more than a 15-pound turkey, I suggest you smoke more than one turkey. For example, if you need 25 pounds of turkey to feed everyone, smoke a 12-pound turkey and a 13-pound turkey.
Smoked Turkey Time And Temp
Smoke a turkey on a pellet grill at 225ºF at 30 minutes per pound, or 250ºF at 25 minutes per pound. For example:
- An 8.5-pound turkey smoking at 225ºF will take 4.5 to 5 hours, a 12-pound turkey will take 6-7 hours, and a 15-pound turkey will take about 7.5 hours.
- A 14-pound turkey will take approximately 7 hours to smoke at 225ºF, or 5.5 to 6 hours at 250ºF.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
No, you don't have to do a turkey brine before smoking, not for this recipe. This bird turns out moist and juicy without brining. But, of course, if you buy a pre-brined turkey, that is fine too; we are just not going to add this step to this simple recipe.
No, you do not need to baste the turkey. Keep the lid closed as much as possible to keep the moisture in. Add a water pan if your smoker requires it.
Some of the best pellets for smoking turkey are hickory, mesquite, applewood, and cherry wood. You can also use the Signature blend by Traeger and the Competition blend by Pit Boss. Traeger has a Turkey blend, which is fantastic if you can find it. It has a combination of oak, hickory, maple, and rosemary.
Absolutely! A reader double-smoked two turkeys with great success on his pellet grill. He smoked them at 205 degrees F for about 5 hours and monitored the internal temperature. He added chicken broth to a small pan and sprayed the turkeys with the broth a few times to keep them moist and juicy while smoking, and was thrilled with the result.
I like to plan for 1.5 pounds of turkey per person. This amount will ensure everyone will have enough to eat, and you will also have some delicious leftovers.
🦃 More Turkey Recipes You'll Love
If You Love This Recipe
... check out these smoked meats next:
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Recipe
How To Smoke a Whole Turkey on a Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 8-10 pound turkey neck and giblets removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
- 3 tablespoons dry spice rub ingredients below
Dry Spice Rub
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic and Peppers seasoning a Club House seasoning
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 225°F. Make sure it is topped up with wood pellets.
- Rinse the turkey inside and outside with cold water and dry the turkey with paper towels. Place the turkey on a large platter or roasting pan.
- Add butter or olive oil underneath the skin on the turkey breast and all over the outside of the entire turkey.
- If using homemade dry spice rub, mix together the brown sugar, garlic powder, Roasted Garlic and Peppers seasoning, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, seasoning salt, and black pepper. Generously apply spice rub over the whole turkey. Don't forget underneath!
- Place the whole turkey directly on the grill grates of the preheated pellet grill, or in an aluminum pan on a wire rack if making gravy.
- Place a temperature probe into the thickest part of the breast meat and the thigh. Close the lid and smoke the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F in the breast and 175 degrees F in the thigh. The cook time for the turkey is 30 minutes per pound at 225 degrees F, or 25 minutes per pound at 250 degrees F. This recipe took 4.5 to 5 hours at 225 degrees F for an 8.5-pound turkey.
- Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
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Recipe Notes:
- Smaller turkeys will cook quicker than larger birds.
- Start checking the turkey an hour before you think it should be done.
- Check the turkey occasionally, but don't open the grill too often as heat will escape and increase the smoking time.
- Cook with the thermometer, not the clock.
- Ensure the temperature probe tip does not touch the bone when checking the internal temperature.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
About Jeri Walker
Jeri Walker is the founder and CEO of Winding Creek Ranch. She is a self-taught home cook who specializes in easy family-friendly recipes. Jeri is also a food writer who regularly writes articles for MSN. Read about Jeri's journey and connect with her on your favorite social media channels!
Derek G says
Just wondering should I baste the turkey at some point during the smoking ?
Jeri Walker says
Nope! No need to baste it. 🙂
Tom says
smoking a 15 pound turkey on my Pit Boss pellet smoker. planned for 7 1/2 hours at 225 like you said. But it was done in 5 hours. That's 3 hours early before dinner. I turned down the smoker to 185 hoping to keep it warm, but worried it will be to dry.
Jeri Walker says
Wow! It reached 165 degrees already? That's fast! What you can do so the turkey doesn't dry out is to take a large cooler, fill it with boiling water, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, carefully drain the water and dry the inside of the cooler with paper towels. Then, place your turkey in a large baking dish and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Place a temperature probe in the turkey to monitor its internal temperature. You don't want it to drop below 140 degrees F. Place a thick towel on the bottom of the cooler, place the turkey on top, and wrap the turkey tightly with another thick blanket. Close the lid on the cooler and let it rest in there. Unfortunately, you won't get crispy skin, but the meat should be moist and juicy. I hope this helps! Just make sure it doesn't drop below 140 degrees.