If you've never had a smoked turkey before, you must try it! I think it is by far better than any deep-fried turkey or oven roasted turkey that you'd have for Thanksgiving. Not to mention the turkey comes out super moist and delicious and great for making a club sandwich the next day. The rub makes this.
If you like smoker recipes try my recipe for Traeger Smoked Whole Chicken, Smoked Lobster Tails, Easy Smoked Salmon, Smoked Salsa, or Smoked Queso.
Why I love my Smoker
I love my smoker. It is a lot easier than lighting a charcoal grill and waiting FOREVER for the stupid coals to light up. All you do is flip the switch and turn it to whatever temperature you want to smoke at. All the other food blogs out there like to grill, and there is nothing wrong with that. This girl likes to smoke her meat instead. 🙂
INGREDIENTS for Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast
- Brine
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup whole black peppercorns
- 4 cups cold bourbon (I used Apple Jack Brandy, did not have any Bourbon)
- 1 ½ gallons cold water
- 1 (7-pound) turkey breast
- Dry Rub
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
How to make Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast
- Before beginning, make sure your bourbon, water, and chicken stock are COLD.
- To make the brine, combine the salt syrup, sugar, peppercorns, bourbon, and water in a large bucket. Remove any pieces from the turkey, like giblets or the neck, reserving to the neck for the gravy. Make sure to refrigerate it a resealable bag. Once the turkey is cleaned up, it in the liquid and refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it completely dry with paper towels. Place it on a baking sheet and refrigerate it for an hour or two so it dries thoroughly.
- Preheat your smoker to 300-325 degrees F, adding your wood chips to the burner.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder and cumin, mixing well to combine. Gently lift the skin of the turkey and rub the melted butter all over the meat. Use it all up! I use both my hands and a spoon to drizzle it down in spaces that I can't reach. Take the spice rub and rub it all over the meat as well, underneath the skin. Rub the rest of it all over the outside of the skin, covering the turkey.
- Smoke the turkey breast for 1.5 hours at 375 degrees.
Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast Tips:
How long to smoke for a 4 to 7 pound turkey breast?
This turkey breast was almost 4 pounds and took only 1.5 hours to smoke. A 7 pound turkey breast would take up to 3 hours.
Best wood chips for smoking a turkey breast
My favorite wood chips to use for smoking a turkey breast is always Applewood. I have a Traeger grill and used their pellet chips. Other types of wood chips that would work would be Apple, Cherry, Maple, Alder, and Hickory.
Other Recipes to Check Out
Grinder Salad Sandwich - Tiktok
Easy Air Fryer Chicken Breast - How Long to Cook
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Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast
- Prep Time: 30min
- Cook Time: 1.5 hrs
- Total Time: 1.5 hrs
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you've never had a smoked turkey before, you must try it! I think it is by far better than any deep-fried turkey or oven roasted turkey that you'd have for Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
- Brine
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup whole black peppercorns
- 4 cups cold bourbon (I used Apple Jack Brandy, did not have any Bourbon)
- 1 ½ gallons cold water
- 1 (7-pound) turkey breast
- Dry Rub
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Before beginning, make sure your bourbon, water and chicken stock are COLD.
- To make the brine, combine the salt syrup, sugar, peppercorns, bourbon, and water in a large bucket. Remove any pieces from the turkey, like giblets or the neck, reserving to the neck for the gravy. Make sure to refrigerate it a resealable bag. Once the turkey is cleaned up, it in the liquid and refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it completely dry with paper towels. Place it on a baking sheet and refrigerate it for an hour or two so it dries thoroughly.
- Preheat your smoker to 300-325 degrees F, adding your wood chips to the burner.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder and cumin, mixing well to combine. Gently lift the skin of the turkey and rub the melted butter all over the meat. Use it all up! I use both my hands and a spoon to drizzle it down in spaces that I can't reach. Take the spice rub and rub it all over the meat as well, underneath the skin. Rub the rest of it all over the outside of the skin, covering the turkey.
- Smoke the turkey breast for 1.5 hours at 375 degrees.
Notes
Smart points unknown (Not sure how to figure points out for a brine)
- Category: Medium
- Method: Smoker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: applewood smoked turkey breast
Recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats
Jenna says
The recipe for the dry rub is in the ingredients list. Refresh your page please.
JEANNE KAETHER says
Can you provide the dry rub recipe? I see the ingredients listed, but not the proportions of each ingredient. Thank you.
F. McArthur says
I did this recipe smoking on the BBQ at 200-250F for 6 hours. Beautiful colour, texture and flavour. Did it a second time, changing the apple Jack for apple Crown Royal Canadian rye, and the turkey for beef brisket and took second in the Squadron smoker challenge. Fed 120 personnel sample amounts.
★★★★★
Mike says
I really like this recipe and can't wait to try it. I do have to give one "critique" however. Since you are cooking your turkey at 375 degrees, you are not actually smoking the bird. Anything over 250 degrees even in a smoker, is roasting. In order to smoke a turkey, would have to be "low and slow" - under 250 degrees, and probably somewhere In the 3 to 5 hour range. If you like the flavor that your smoker gives you, even when roasting, here's a tip: set your smoker for high smoke and smoke the turkey for 30 to 60 minutes. Then turn it up to 375 and cook as you would using a meat probe to get the timing right. Hope this is helpful!