Smoked Turkey Breast is brined, covered inwards an herb butter, in addition to smoked on the grill for a flavorful dish. It stays prissy too juicy, and it’s overall a rattling tardily recipe to follow. It makes a dandy turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or whatsoever vacation, served alongside all the best side dishes! Find out how to smoke a turkey chest on a gas grill, charcoal grill, or a Big Green Egg.
Why We Love This Smoked Turkey Breast Recipe
This was the starting time turkey breast recipe that we developed, and it’sec still a favorite. It stays then juicy together with has the perfect herb rub. Here’sec why we love it then much:
- Easy. In the recipe card, y'all’ll find instructions for both charcoal too gas grills, also every bit for a Big Green Egg.
- Juicy. Using a turkey brine as well as herb butter helps go on the kernel moist in addition to tender.
- Flavorful. Smoking the turkey gives such a dandy depth of season. I recommend using applewood or cerise woods to complement the natural flavour of the marrow.
How to Smoke a Turkey Breast
There are and so many dissimilar ways you lot can fume your turkey chest. In this recipe, I reach instructions for using a Big Green Egg, a charcoal grill, or a gas grill. You’ll call for woods chunks, chips, or pellets for your smoker–role what y'all intend is best for the equipment you lot take.
Please banker's bill the cooking times are unlike depending on which type of grill or smoker used. The breasts can accept anywhere from 1½ hours upwardly to 4 hours, depending on the size of the breasts together with the method used.
How to Store and Reheat
To store leftover turkey, it’sec easiest to fully carve together with piece it first. Place slices in an airtight container or resealable pocketbook, or roll tightly inwards aluminum foil. Keep inwards the refrigerator up to three days.
To reheat, I recommend placing slices inward the oven at 225°F until warm. But leftovers likewise gustatory modality nifty common cold for a quick dejeuner.
How to Freeze
To freeze, tightly twine a stack of slices inward aluminum foil or plastic roll, and and so place them in a freezer-condom resealable bag. Freeze upwards to 3 months. You can thaw earlier reheating, or rut directly from frozen.
Serving Suggestions
This juicy smoked turkey chest is the best principal dish for whatever vacation, or simply a particular dinner. Serve it amongst whatsoever of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. You tin’t get incorrect alongside creamy mashed potatoes, roasted mushrooms, loaded mac in addition to cheese, corn casserole, as well as close to dinner rolls. And don’t forget the turkey gravy to drizzle over everything!
If using a Big Green Egg, the temperature should live kept at 225°F. If using a gas or charcoal grill, the temperature should live kept between 325-350°F.
The breasts can accept anywhere from 1½ hours up to iv hours, depending on the size of the turkey as well as the of grill/smoker used. Check the recipe card for more specific time estimates. Generally, judge xxx minutes of cooking per pound.
I absolutely recommend brining the turkey! Brining helps to continue the moisture in the breast while it cooks, as well as it helps to add together flavor. The common salt penetrates the pith, which makes it overall more tender too juicy.
Brine the turkey for eight-12 hours for the best results. Fully submerge the turkey inward the solution, in addition to home it inward the refrigerator the 24-hour interval earlier you lot plan to fix it.
The best style to know it’second done is to cheque the internal temperature regularly, and look for it to attain 163°F. Check at the thickest function of the breast to live certain it’s cooked all the style through.
Brining earlier smoking is actually the best manner to go on it from drying out. It’s the simplest clandestine to a juicy turkey!
5-Star Review
“Amazing! We smoked our turkey chest in addition to it turned out juicy in addition to delicious!” -Melissa
Recipe
Smoked Turkey Breast Recipe – How to Smoke a Turkey Breast
Ingredients
For the Brine
- 3 quarts cold water
- ½ cup kosher table salt
- ¼ loving cup granulated sugar
For the Turkey and Herb Butter
- ii cups wood chips or ii large woods chunks– Apple or Cherry recommended
- one (5-vii pound) unbrined whole turkey breast boneless or os-inward; non Butterball-mode
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (i⅛ sticks)
- ii cloves garlic minced
- ane teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
- ane teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- i teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- one teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
- ii teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed ruddy pepper flakes
- two cups apple juice or apple cider or other fruit juice
Recommended Equipment
- Disposable thirteen×ix-inch aluminum foil tray
- Smoker Big Green Egg, charcoal grill, or gas grill
Instructions
SEE NOTE in addition to READ INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY before starting.
For the Brine
- In a rattling big container, combine water, common salt too sugar. Whisk until the salt & carbohydrate dissolve. Set the turkey chest inwards the water (add together more water, if needed, to completely submergand refrigerate eight-12 hours.iii quarts common cold water, ½ loving cup kosher salt, ¼ cup granulated carbohydrate, one (five-seven pound) unbrined whole turkey breast
- Remove the turkey from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking, as well as pat it dry out (within & ouwith paper towels.
For the Herb Butter
- In a modest mixing bowl, combine butter, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, mustard, common salt, pepper in addition to cherry pepper flakes.nine tablespoons unsalted butter, ii cloves garlic, one teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves, one teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves, one teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves, two teaspoons Dijon mustard, ane teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground dark pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Using your fingers, carefully separate the peel from the breast from the kernel underneath.
- Spread 3 tablespoons herb butter nether the skin of each chest in addition to the remaining three tablespoons butter over the exterior of the breasts. Use 2-three toothpicks per breast to secure the pare to the chest (along the border of the breast). Securing the peel amongst toothpicks prevents the pare from shrinking during cooking.
For All Cooking Methods
- Soak the woods chunks or chips inwards water for thirty minutes piece waiting for the coals to heat. If using wood chips, subsequently soaking them, home them in a package made amongst heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cut 3-iv slits into the top for the smoke to vent.ii cups wood chips
For Using a Big Green Egg
- Open the bottom vent all the fashion. Light the coals using ii alkane series wax cubes fix in a skilful, grade base of operations of lump charcoal. Leave the lid open until the fire is burning and the coals become hot.
- Close the bottom vent to most a 1-inch opening as well as close the top vent almost all the fashion. The top vent will call for additional adjustments to proceed the temperature at 225°F.
- Set the forest chunks on acme of the coals together with home the rut deflector plate, feet-side upward, over the coals.
- Set the aluminum foil pan inward the eye of the deflector plate and add together ii cups H2O too ii cups apple juice or cider (almost fruit juices will worto the pan).ii cups apple tree juice
- Set the cooking grate in-place and shut the lid.
- Bring the internal temperature to 225°F, open the hat together with make clean in addition to oil the grate.
- Set the turkey on the grate, shut the hat too ready the turkey at 225°F for ii hours. (Adjust the height vent equally needed to go on the temperature at 225°F.)
- After ii hours, check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast in addition to proceed cooking, adjusting the superlative vent as needed.
- As the internal temperature of the turkey gets closer to 163°F, bank check its internal temperature more than frequently. Turkey breast takes most 35-45 minutes per pound when cooking at 225°F, and then a vi-pound chest could accept two-iii½ hours to prepare at 225°F. The turkey is done when its internal temperature registers 162°F-163°F on an second-read thermometer. The pare should live amber colored as well as beautiful.
For Using a Charcoal Grill
- Thirty minutes earlier cooking the turkey, open the bottom vent of the grill halfway in addition to place the foil pan inwards the eye of the bottom grill and pour in 2 cups H2O in addition to two cups apple tree juice or cider.two cups apple juice
- Fill a charcoal chimney alongside charcoal together with calorie-free it from the bottom. The coals are cook when the height coals are partially covered amongst ash, well-nigh twenty-30 minutes.
- Pour one-half the coals along i side of the foil pan too the other one-half along the other side.
- Place the forest chunks/or foil packet of forest chips on peak of 1 side of the coals.
- Set the cooking grate inwards home, close the hat together with open up the lid vent halfway. Heat the grill v minutes, and then make clean in addition to crude the grate.
- Place the turkey, peel side upwardly, over the foil pan inward the heart of the grill.
- Cover the grill (with the hat vent positioned over the turkeand prepare ane½-ii½ hours (go along the internal temperature of the grill between 325°F-350°F). The turkey is done when the internal temperature of the turkey registers 162°F-163°F on an second-read thermometer. The skin should be amber colored too beautiful.
For Using a Gas Grill
- Remove the top cooking grate too place the foil parcel of wood chips on the chief burner. Replace the cooking grate together with plough all burners to high. Cover the grill too estrus until hot and the woods chips are smoking. This should have most 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low too suit burners, every bit needed, to go along the grill’s internal temperature between 325°F-350°The full cooking fourth dimension could be 1½-2½ hours. The turkey is done when the internal temperature of the turkey registers 162°F-163°F on an second-read thermometer. The pare should live amber-colored too beautiful.
For All Methods
- When the internal temperature reads 162°F-163°F, transfer the turkey to a cut board, tent alongside foil, together with permit it to rest 20-25 minutes earlier slicing.
- Carve and serve.
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Becky’sec tips
- Note: Please bill the cooking times are different depending on which type of grill or smoker used. The breasts tin accept anywhere from i½ hours upwardly to four hours, depending on the size of the breasts together with the method used.
- Be certain to fully thaw the turkey breast ahead of time if you lot’re using a frozen i. I estimate virtually a one-half-pound of sum per guest, so go on that inwards mind when choosing a size.
Storage: Store smoked turkey breast inwards an airtight container inward the fridge for upwardly to iii days or inward the freezer for upwards to iii months.
Nutrition Information
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- Sheet Pan Turkey Breast Dinner
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