Cooking up the perfect Thanksgiving turkey is a bit of an art form. Some like it roasted, others deep-fried. But I belong to the group that firmly believes smoking is the best way to go – after the bird has had a nice, long soak in a salty brine (See also – Brown Sugar Brine Recipe).
This was the first turkey I’ve smoked on a pellet grill, so I ultimately ended up spatchcocking and splitting the bird in half, just to ensure an even cook on a new smoking device. In years past, I’ve put the whole bird into an electric box smoker and given it 10-12 hours of low-and-slow smoke. This method cut that cooking time in more than half. Both halves were cooked within five hours.
Seasoning Blend 1:
- FRESH SAGE, ROSEMARY, & THYME (CHOPPED)
- SALT
- CHILI POWDER
- GARLIC POWDER
- PAPRIKA
- GROUND CUMIN
- BROWN SUGAR
- GROUND FENNEL
- GROUND SUMAC
Seasoning Blend 2:
- FRESH SAGE, ROSEMARY, & THYME (CHOPPED)
- SALT
- GARLIC POWDER
- PAPRIKA
- NUTMEG
- BROWN SUGAR
Instructions:
- Take turkey out of brine and pat dry with paper towels.
- Use a heavy knife or poultry shears to cut out the backbone.
- Once the backbone is removed, crack the breastbone, then flip the turkey over and lay it flat.
- Use a heavy knife to cut the bird in half, right along the breastbone.
- Next, season one half with one seasoning blend and use the other seasoning blend on the second half.
- Use your fingertips to loosen the turkey skin from the meat, and get the seasoning on the meat beneath the skin.
- Dust what’s leftover of the seasoning on top of the turkey skin, and rub it in.
- Next, let the turkey halves sit in the fridge until they are ready to hit the smoker.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 F.
- Place the turkey halves in the smoker using aluminum roasting pans.
- Smoke until you have an internal temperature of 165 F in the thickest part of the meat, away from the bone.
- For a crisper skin, ramp up the smoker temperature to 350 F for the last 15-20 minutes of the cook.
- Once the turkey halves reach temperature, taken them off the smoker and cover with foil.
- Let the turkey rest for 45 minutes to an hour before carving.
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