Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill creates a juicy and flavorful turkey with minimal effort. The pellet grill maintains steady temperatures and adds a delicious smoky taste that ovens can’t match! In this guide, we’ll show you how we’ve been smoking turkeys on the pellet grill (without brining them first!) the last several years.
Pellet Grill Smoked Whole Turkey for Thanksgiving
MMM… Thanksgiving dinner.🍗 Turkey, mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, a generous drizzle of gravy over everything… yum.
Every year when the holiday season rolls around, we find ourselves outside again, smoking another turkey on the pellet smoker! Actually, most times there are two turkeys on the Green Mountain, since this Mennonite family keeps getting larger. (We’re at thirty-something on one side and 40-something on the other side of the family! Not to mention extended family members.)
And no, we’re not going to brine the turkey first. Or use a dry rub. To be honest, I think brining is a good idea since a salty turkey brine makes for soft and juicy meat. (So if you want to do it, go for it!) Anyway, we’re here to tell you, you can skip the brine and inject the turkey with a butter mixture instead. And still get great results!:)
Pellet grill smoked turkey delivers amazing flavor with only a little bit of effort. Use this guide to create juicy turkey with crispy skin and smoke flavor, perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. Let’s get into it!
Ingredients
- Turkey – a whole turkey, weighing about 10-14 pounds; this particular time, I believe ours was a 13 lb. turkey
- Butter – salted butter
- Garlic – minced garlic
Supplies You’ll Need (and what we use!)
- Pan with sides – do yourself a favor and set that turkey on a pan to thaw in the fridge. It will most likely leak while thawing. (Ask me how I know😝)
- Green Mountain Pellet Grill – I gifted this grill to my husband back when we were dating (6-ish years ago), and we have used it a ton since then!
- Pellets – ya know, any will work. We’d probably go for something in the fruit wood line like these apple pellets, but it’s really a matter of personal preference! Use your favorite:)
- Roasting rack – you can just set that turkey straight on the grill grate, but it’s super nice to have a rack to hold it.
- Another pan with sides – often we use a tin foil roasting pan, to set under the turkey to catch any juices (to make into gravy!).
- Meat injector – to inject the turkey with buttery goodness.
- Small bowl or saucepan- for the butter mixture
- Basting brush
- Meat thermometer – you really should have a meat thermometer of some kind to check the temperature of the meat. We have this wireless meat thermometer, and it works great for longer cooks. We also have a classic meat thermometer that works fine, too.
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Buying & Thawing the Turkey
You’ll want to find a whole bird that is about 10-14 pounds. (It might even be labeled as a young turkey.)
A frozen turkey can take anywhere from 3-5 days to thaw in the refrigerator, so you’ll want to have it in the fridge a couple days before you plan to smoke it.
And if you can find a fresh turkey just in time, great!:)
Tip: Cook by temperature, not by time.
Outside temperature, wind, your pellet grill, the size of your turkey, and other factors can mess with the cooking times a little. Give yourself approximately an extra one-hour time buffer, so the turkey is for sure done in time for dinner!
How to Smoke a Turkey on a Pellet Grill
Thaw the turkey. It can take anywhere from 3-5 days to thaw a turkey in the fridge, so you’ll need to plan ahead a little!
Make sure the hopper is full of pellets and preheat the pellet grill to 300° F.
Prep the turkey.
Remove the bag of giblets and neck and discard or save for another use. Melt the butter and mix it with the garlic. Inject some of the butter mixture into each breast and thigh, holding the skin with your other hand to keep the butter from running out until it cools and hardens a little. Save the leftover butter mixture; we’ll use it for basting later on in the cooking process.
Smoke the turkey.
Place the turkey (breast side up) on a roasting rack and set the entire roasting rack and turkey in a pan on the grill grate (or put a pan under the grill grates) to catch any juices. If you have a wireless meat thermometer, stick the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the turkey breast. (Angle it in such a way that no juice can leak out!) Ours has two probes, so we used both.
Check the temperature of the turkey every 30 minutes or so. We’re going by temperature, not by time, so it’s important to keep an eye on the temperature!
Once the turkey reaches about 145°F, it’s time to start basting! Re-heat the butter mixture if needed and use a basting brush to spread it onto the turkey. (This will help get that crispy golden-brown skin!) Now apply more butter every time you check the turkey until it’s finished.
Once the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F, it is done! Make a loose aluminum foil “tent” over the turkey and let it rest for 30 minutes or so.
Carve, serve, and enjoy!
P.S. Don’t forget to the gravy🙂
How to Store Leftover Turkey
Cut any leftover turkey off the bone and place into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Recipes with Leftover Turkey
Fun fact: you can swap chicken with turkey in almost any recipe that calls for cooked chicken!
Tips, Tricks + Notes
- Make sure that turkey is thawed! It’s no fun to open the turkey package and ugh, it’s still frozen inside.
- Smoke by temperature, not by time. (In other words, four hours of cooking time is approximate!) Outside temperature, wind, your pellet grill, the size of your turkey, and other factors can mess with the smoking times, so we go mostly by temperature.
- If the turkey gets done early, it can rest for an hour or so, or you can stick it in the oven at a low temperature to keep it warm until dinner. If the turkey is behind schedule, bump up the grill temperature a little to speed things up.
- Yes, on that turkey packaging, it probably will say to cook to 170 degrees. According to USDA, 165 degrees is the minimum safe internal temperature. And some folks stop before that, like at 160 degrees, because of carryover cooking that can happen.
- You can add any herbs or spices you wish to the butter injection and baste mixture, or stuff the turkey cavity with onions, herbs and citrus. Or rub seasoning on the outside of the turkey. It’s not recommended to stuff the turkey with actual bread stuffing, for food safety reasons.
Share this Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Smoked Turkey on the Pellet Grill
Smoking a turkey on a pellet grill creates a flavorful, juicy bird with minimal effort (and no brining). The pellet grill maintains steady temperatures and adds a delicious smoky taste that ovens can't match!
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
Instructions
- Thaw the turkey. It can take anywhere from 3-5 days to thaw a turkey in the fridge, so you'll need to think ahead a little. (Or find a fresh, unfrozen turkey😅)
- Make sure the hopper is full of pellets and preheat the pellet grill to 300° F.
- Prep the turkey. Remove the giblets and neck and discard or save for another use. Melt the butter and mix it with the garlic. Inject some of the butter mixture into each breast and thigh, holding the skin with your other hand to keep the butter from running out until it cools and hardens a little. Save the leftover butter mixture; we'll use it for basting later on.
- Place the turkey (breast side up) on a roasting rack and set the entire roasting rack and turkey in a pan on the grill grate (or put a pan under the grill grate) to catch any juices. If you have a wireless meat thermometer, stick the probe into the thickest part of the turkey breast. (Angle it in such a way that no juice can leak out!)
- Check the temperature of the turkey every 30 minutes or so. We're going by temperature, not by time, so it's important to keep an eye on the temperature!
- Once the turkey reaches about 145°F, it's time to start basting! Re-heat the butter mixture if needed and use a basting brush to spread it onto the turkey. (This will help get that crispy golden-brown skin!) Apply more butter every time you check the turkey until it's finished.
- Once the turkey reaches 165°F, it is done! Make a foil "tent" over the turkey and let it rest for 30 minutes or so.
- Carve, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Place any leftover turkey into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Smoke by temperature, not by time. (Four hours of smoking time is approximate!) Outside temperature, wind and other factors can mess with the smoking times, so we go mostly by temperature.
If the turkey gets done early, it can rest for an hour or so, or you can stick it in the oven at a low temperature to keep it warm until dinner. If the turkey is behind schedule, bump up the grill temperature a little to speed things up.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 41Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 26mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gProtein: 4g
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
As always…
Thanks for visiting our small town! We’re delighted to have you and you’re more than welcome to stay awhile and explore!
’til next time,
We love you and we’ll be praying for you, and happy Thanksgiving!
Julie
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