How To Get Crispy Skin On Smoked Turkey

Servings 14

Prep Fourth dimension twenty mins

Cook Time 4 hours

Skill Level easy

Are you ready to swallow the most tender, juicy, delicious smoked turkey yous've ever had with extra crispy skin and gravy made from the drippings? If so, this is the smoked turkey recipe for y'all!

Ingredients

Smoked Turkey

15 pounds whole turkey, thawed
i bundle of turkey alkali, optional recipe in notes
ane tablespoon olive oil
one tablespoon Kosher salt, use less if desired
i tablespoon black pepper, use less if desired

Butter Herb Mixture

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 cloves of garlic, minced
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt
i/ii tablespoon black pepper

Smoked Turkey Gravy

3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons fat drippings from smoked turkey
2 cups drippings from smoked turkey, fatty drippings removed
3 cups chicken stock
1 celery stalk
ane carrot, peeled
i/ii onion
iii cloves of garlic, crushed
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of thyme

Steps

Brine the turkey

If the turkey is frozen use the directions in the notes below to defrost it. Discard the giblets, but salve the neck for the gravy. 2 days prior to smoking the turkey, brine it according to the turkey brine package directions or use my recipe in the notes below. You'll want to bring the turkey 1 hour for every i pound - do not brine much longer. I like adding orangish and lemon peels along with a 1/4 cup of bourbon to the alkali for added season. Don't add the peels if your brine mix has citrus flavors in it already.
Air dry the brined turkey

After the turkey is done brining, remove it from the brine, rinse, and pat dry out with newspaper towels. Identify the turkey - chest side upwardly - on a wire rack or any rack that will allow air to pass on all sides. Place the turkey in the refrigerator and allow to dry out overnight, preferably 24 hours. This will remove the excess moisture from the turkey allowing it to get much crispier pare when cooked. If you don't accept fourth dimension to alkali, come across the notes below for additional tips to become the skin crispy. You will notice the deviation in the skin in the pic below after 24 hours of air drying.
Gear up the herb butter mixture

In a small bowl, combine the herb butter mixture ingredients and mix well.
Season the turkey

Start by separating the peel from the breast creating a pocket to stuff the butter herb mixture in. Be careful not to rip the pare. Once separate, encompass the entire breast nether the pare with 1/4" layer of butter mixture. You can run your hand along the summit of the peel to spread it around the chest more easily. Add any leftover mixture to the within of the crenel. Drizzle the outside of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with table salt and pepper.
Preheat the smoker

Preheat smoker to 225°F. Most pellet grills don't need information technology, but you tin can add a pan of water in the corner of the smoker to continue moisture inside. If using a Traeger with the Super Smoke setting, turn it on as well.
Prep the gravy

In a roasting pan or aluminum pan, add the saved neck from the turkey, chicken stock, celery, carrot, onion, crushed garlic, rosemary, and thyme.
Fume the turkey

If possible, place the gravy pan underneath the grill grates to catch the drippings, otherwise identify a rack within of the roasting pan containing the gravy ingredients. If not using a roasting pan with rack, identify the turkey directly on the grill grate with the breast aimed away from the heat source. This is my preferred method as it allows more fume to flow around the turkey. Smoke the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 110℉, approximately 1-2 hours. I recommend using an internal meat thermometer to easily continue track the temperature.

Once the turkey hits the target temperature of 110℉, increase the temperature of the smoker to 350℉. Continue to cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 160℉ in the thickest office of the breast, about 3 more hours. The smoked turkey will continue to cook once removed from the smoker and somewhen achieve a final temperature of 165℉ in the breast. Call up, time can vary greatly depending on the smoker, outside temperature, and the type of turkey. E'er cook to temperature and non time!
Rest the smoked turkey

Remove the smoked turkey from the smoker and transfer it to a etching board. Let information technology rest on the counter for at least xxx minutes earlier carving. This will let the juices to redistribute back into the meat and not run out when slicing. I don't recommend tenting it with foil equally it will make the skin soggy.
Brand the gravy

Pour the drippings from the turkey gravy pan into a fatty separator. If you don't have ane, you can strain the drippings through a mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. Discard everything except the drippings. Wait a few minutes for the fat to split and rising to the top.

In a medium saucepan over medium rut, add three tablespoons of the fat drippings from the top of the liquid and 3 tablespoons of flour. Whisk until combined and fragrant. Add the broth from the bottom of the drippings into the pan ensuring non to get much of the fat. If there isn't plenty dripping to make 2 cups then add together chicken stock until 2 cups of liquid is reached. Add the liquid to the pan and melt for v minutes or until the gravy is the consistency you like. You lot can add together common salt and pepper to the gravy if desired, but there should exist more than enough flavor without it!
Serve the smoked turkey with gravy

Once the turkey has rested for at least thirty minutes, cleave information technology and serve with the delicious gravy. Enjoy!

Notes

How long does information technology take to fume a turkey?

The smoking duration for the turkey depends on the weight and temperature of the bird. It is usually recommended to smoke the turkey for xxx to 40 minutes per pound. But this duration may also vary according to the temperature at which you are smoking your turkey. Here is a cheat sheet that will help you empathise the smoking duration and their relevant temperatures:

For 115°C or 225°F, yous should fume the turkey for 30 to xl minutes per pound.
For 120°C or 250°F, you should smoke the turkey for 25 to 35 minutes per pound.
For 135°C or 275°F, you should fume the turkey for 20 to 30 minutes per pound.

We also recommend not going above 135°C or 275°F for smoking, or it will enter the baking temperatures instead. If following the recipe higher up, you'll only want to increase the heat once the turkey has smoked at a lower temperature for a few hours starting time. Similarly, a lower temperature than 115°C or 235°F will not be enough to kill the bacteria in the turkey for human consumption. Set yourself plenty fourth dimension to smoke the turkey at the recommended temperatures.

Turkey Alkali Recipe

Hither are the ingredients that you will need for the brine; this recipe is for x-to-18-pound turkey:

one gallon water
one gallon vegetable broth
ane gallon common cold water ice water
1 cup body of water salt
ane tbsp dried sage
i tbsp dried rosemary
one tbsp stale thyme
1 tbsp dried savory

Heat together all ingredients except ice water. Heat until the table salt is dissolved, then allow it cool at room temperature. Meanwhile, pat your turkey dry with a kitchen towel. Place the bird breast side down into a large bucket for brine - 5 gallon buckets or coolers work really well. Now pour the goop and ice h2o over it. Brine the turkey for 1 hour per pound.

How long should I alkali a turkey?

It is recommended to alkali turkey to brand the meat tender and provide overall flavor to the meat. Earlier we talk nigh brining fourth dimension, it is crucial to discuss the fresh and frozen birds and their weight.

If you accept a frozen bird, you lot must cheque the label to make certain it isn't already pre-seasoned, enhanced, or brined. If not enhanced with a salted or seasoned solution, you must first thaw the bird in the refrigerator or water bath. And so you will alkali the turkey for 1 60 minutes per pound.

If you lot purchased a fresh turkey the brining process will be much easier. Yous'll want to stick to the same i 60 minutes per pound brining dominion. So, if you accept an fifteen pound bird, so xv hours of brining is perfect.

How to thaw a turkey?

Thawing a turkey depends not just on the size but also on the surround yous are thawing the bird. By that, we hateful y'all can either defrost the turkey in the refrigerator or in the sink.

Thawing a turkey in the refrigerator is a slow process compared to the "thawing in the sink" method. A bird of only iv pounds can take an unabridged solar day to thaw in the refrigerator. Here is the estimated time duration for various weights if thawing in the refridgerator:

ane twenty-four hours for a 4 pound turkey
ii days for four to 8 pound turkey
iii days for eight to 12 pound turkey
iv days for 12 to 16 pound turkey
5 days for 16 to 20 pound turkey
6 days for 20 to 24 pound turkey

Once you have calculated the duration of the thaw, you'll want to add another day to the process if you are going to alkali the turkey.

If you use the "thaw in sink" method, a four to 10 pound turkey volition thaw in the common cold water in approximately 2 to five hours. In short, the estimated duration is around xxx minutes for a pound. We also recommend changing the water every thirty to 40 minutes and adding ice to proceed the turkey cold. Some other method that we personally use it to thaw the turkey in a cooler with water ice h2o. A expert cooler will continue the turkey cold enough the entire duration.