Juicy Traeger Smoked Turkey

Special Equipment You’ll Need

You’ll need some specific equipment to smoke a whole turkey. Here’s what I recommend:

• Probe Thermometer — The only guaranteed way to tell when your turkey is done.
• Traeger Pellet Grill — Any wood pellet grill works, though!
• Wood Pellets — We have tried all different types of wood pellets, and our favorites are apple (mild and sweet), pecan (rich, sweet, and nutty), oak (medium flavor, not overpowering), and hickory (savory, hearty, and one of the most versatile).

Katie’s Tip: Don’t be afraid to mix different wood pellet flavors together. Using blends of different type of wood pellets can give the turkey extra flavor depth. We often use a combination of apple and hickory blended together.

The Main Ingredients

You can brine and season your Thanksgiving Traeger turkey however you like, but this is what I typically use. A full list of ingredients with their measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

• 12 – 14 lb. Whole Turkey — I always purchase a smaller turkey. If we need more than 12 pounds, then we purchase two turkeys. In my experience, larger turkeys take longer for the breast meat to finish and can end up dried out. Avoid anything labeled as kosher, pre-salted, or salt injected; brining any of these will result in an over salted turkey.
• Brine — I almost always submerge my turkey in this rosemary beer brine. I created this recipe specifically for smoked turkeys, because I wanted each and every bite to be infused with flavor and super juicy. If you’re short on fridge space or want your turkey to have extra crispy skin, then I suggest using this garlic herb dry brine instead.

How Long to Smoke a Turkey on a Traeger

For general guidelines, you can plan for approximately 30-45 minutes per pound of turkey for your total cook time. The breast meat needs to reach an internal temperature of 160ºF at the thickest part for the bird to be deemed safe to eat.

Cooking time will always vary due to individual smoker (does your smoker run hot or cold?), did you start with a cold turkey or a room temperature turkey?, and what is the weather like outside?, did you open the lid a lot?

I always let the turkey sit at room temperature for about an hour before starting the smoking process.

Katie’s Tip: You’ll avoid overcooked dry meat and undercooked unsafe meat when you use a digital probe meat thermometer. Place the probe in the thickest part of the breast before you begin cooking.

Tips for Smoking a Whole Turkey

• Smoke 2 small turkeys instead of 1 large one — Larger turkeys have a tendency to dry out on a smoker since they take so much longer to reach the appropriate temperature. If you need a lot of meat, it is better to use 2 smaller turkeys than 1 large turkey when you are smoking a turkey.
• Always brine your turkey — Brining a turkey before smoking it will yield juicier, more flavorful meat.
• Do NOT stuff your turkey — The lower cooking temperatures that occur in smoking can cause the turkey to stay in the danger zone (40-140ºF) for too long if the bird is stuffed. The stuffing will not reach a high enough temperature to kill any bacteria. Besides safety reasons, the heat and smoke need to circulate freely throughout the bird for optimal flavor.
• Don’t lift the lid! — Heat and smoke escape every time you lift the lid, and the Traeger will have to work harder to keep up with the temperature settings. This is especially impactful on cold days.
• Don’t make panic-induced adjustments — When smoking, meat can often experience a “stall.” It might seems like the thermometer is stuck at the same temperatures for hours at a time. Don’t make the mistake of impatiently increasing the heat. Seriously, one of the worst things you can do is panic and make a bunch of rapid fire adjustments on your Traeger.

How to Get a Crispy Skin on a Smoked Turkey

Do you prefer the skin of the turkey to be crispy like it is when it comes out of the oven? Here’s how you can still get that with the smoke flavor from the Traeger:

• When the internal temperature of the turkey measured at the thickest part of the turkey breast reaches 140 – 145ºF, preheat your oven to 425ºF.
• At the turkey temperature of 150ºF, remove it from the smoker.
• Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in the 425ºF oven until the temperature probe reads 160ºF in the breast meat.