The Best Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey
This is the best spatchcocked smoked turkey recipe to make for your Thanksgiving dinner. Even if it’s your first time cooking a turkey on the smoker, don’t feel nervous; this is an easy process that produces deliciously tender and juicy meat every time. One of the secrets is my homemade butter injection that bastes the meat from the inside.
Want other flavor options? Try my spatchcocked smoked Creole turkey or my maple bourbon pellet smoked turkey.
Quick Look: Best Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey
- What It Is: This recipe shows you how to spatchcock (butterfly) a whole turkey, season, and smoke it to perfection on a pellet smoker.
- Why Make THIS Version? This turkey is butterflied so it cooks quicker and more evenly, then it’s rubbed with a homemade spice blend and injected with a flavorful butter mixture for incredibly moist and juicy meat.
- Key Ingredients: 15 pound whole turkey, homemade spice rub, and homemade butter injection.
- Dietary Info: 100% carnivore-approved!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes.
- Resting Time: 1-2 hours after injection and 30 minutes after cooking.
- Smoking Time: 2.5-3 hours. Actual time may vary.
- Total Time: 4.5 to 6 hours, depending upon rest and cook times.
- Pairs Well With: Serve with your favorite Thanksgiving sides, or try my Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, Smoked Bacon Wrapped Onion Bombs, or Street Corn Deviled Eggs.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Spatchcocked for Quicker, More Even Cooking: Spatchcocking cuts the cook time by about 30%, helps the breasts and legs cook at the same rate, and exposes more surface area to the smoke for a better flavor.
- Injected for Incredibly Moist Meat: Injecting the meat with butter injection seasons the meat from the inside out and ensures that it stays moist during the cooking process.
- Butter Under the Turkey Skin: Putting one stick of unsalted butter under the skin of each turkey breast is key. As the turkey cooks, the butter melts and bastes the meat from the inside to make it incredibly moist and rich.
Featured Review
Made this for Thanksgiving. Definitely the best spatchcock turkey recipe I have used. Flavor and juiciness were prefect and I received all positive comments about the taste. Thank you.
– Shawn
Key Ingredients
- Whole Turkey: I recommend using a turkey that’s around 15 pounds for this recipe. Ensure that it’s fully thawed before using. To thaw, let it sit in a rimmed pan on the bottom shelf of the fridge for 24 hours per 4-5 pounds. A 15-pound turkey will take 4-5 days to thaw completely.
- Homemade Spice Rub: A simple mixture of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, seasoned salt, and sage is all you need to make a flavorful rub.
- Avocado Oil Spray: I like to use this as a binder to help the spice rub stick to the skin. Other types of cooking oil sprays will also work, or you can simply brush the skin with oil if you don’t have a spray.
- Homemade Butter Injection: I love using a butter injection to keep the turkey meat juicy, as it bastes the meat from the inside and adds a great flavor. Simply combine melted butter with a few other ingredients to make the injection mixture.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Additions
- Smoker Pellet Options: I like to use a wood that has a mild, slightly sweet flavor, like apple, pecan, or cherry pellets for turkey. Avoid strongly flavored pellets like hickory or mesquite, as they can add bitterness to the turkey.
- Don’t Want to Use Beer in the Injection? Substitute with apple juice or additional chicken broth.
- Spicy Version: Add ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the spice rub.
How to Smoke a Spatchcocked Turkey
Spatchcocking and smoking a turkey is easier than you might think. Here’s my expert tips and techniques for making perfect juicy turkey every time.
- Thaw the turkey in the fridge. Allow 24 hours per 4-5 pounds of meat. Once it's thawed, remove it from the packaging, remove the giblets and neck from the cavity, and pat it completely dry with paper towels, inside and out. Any moisture on the skin will prevent it from getting crispy.
- Spatchcock the turkey. Place it breast side down on a cutting board and use a pair of kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone. Remove the backbone, then flip the turkey over. Press down with both hands until you feel and hear the breastbone crack. Place it on a rimmed cookie sheet and tuck the wings.
- Make the spice rub by stirring all the dried spices together until they’re combined. Prepare the injection mixture by combining the melted butter, lager beer, chicken broth, hot sauce, 1 tablespoon of the spice rub, lemon juice, and garlic paste until well combined.
- Fill an injector with the butter mixture and inject small amounts into several locations of the breasts, thighs, and drumsticks. Slowly withdraw the needle while injecting instead of forcing all the butter into one pocket. Place the turkey in a rimmed pan, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Discard any remaining injection mixture.
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 275°F. While it’s heating up, loosen the skin on the turkey breasts. Distribute slices of softened unsalted butter under the skin (1 stick on each breast). Lightly spray the skin with avocado oil cooking spray and generously season the skin with the spice rub. Press the spices onto the skin with your hands.
- Once the pellet smoker is preheated, place the turkey skin-side up on the upper rack (if there’s enough clearance). Position an aluminum foil pan under the turkey to catch drippings. Smoke until the turkey has an internal temperature of 160°F in the breast and 175°F in the thigh, about 2.5-3 hours total. Check the thickest area away from the bone. If the wing tips darken, tent them with foil.
- When the turkey reaches the proper internal temperatures in breast and thigh, remove it from the smoker. Place on a wire rack with a sheet pan underneath it, cover with aluminum foil, and let the turkey rest for 30 minutes. The internal temp of the breast meat should increase to 165°F during the rest.
- Carve the turkey with a sharp knife. (I like to quarter it to separate the white and dark meat.) Serve with reserved pan drippings if desired and round your meal with your favorite side dishes. Enjoy!
James’ Grill Master Pro Tips
- Refrigerator Thawing Method: Let the turkey sit in a rimmed pan on the bottom shelf of the fridge for 24 hours per 4-5 pounds. A 15-pound turkey will take 4-5 days to thaw completely.
- Is your turkey still partially frozen after refrigerator thawing? Place the turkey in a leakproof bag and submerge it in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes, until the turkey is fully thawed. Cook immediately; skip the 1-2 hour rest after injection.
- Let the turkey rest for 1-2 hours after injecting and before cooking to allow the injection mixture to distribute through the meat.
- Reduce the salt in the rub if you’re watching your sodium intake.
- If the wing tips darken during cooking, tent them with foil.
Best Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey FAQs
If you’re smoking a spatchcocked turkey at 275°F, it will take between 2.5 to 3 hours to smoke it to a safe temperature. However, never judge doneness by time alone; always check the temperature. Pull the turkey from the heat when the breast reaches 160°F and the thigh reaches 175°F. Always check the temperature in the thickest part of the meat away from bones. Also, ensure that the breast reaches 165°F after a 30 minute rest; if it doesn’t, return the turkey to the smoker.
Yes, I highly recommend spatchcocking a turkey before smoking it. This technique cuts down the cooking time by about 30% and helps the meat cook more evenly as well since the turkey is flattened. Best of all, the only kitchen tool you need to spatchcock is a heavy-duty pair of kitchen shears.
The main downside of spatchcocking is that the whole turkey doesn’t look as impressive. However, I think the advantages of spatchcocking make it a great technique. If you don’t like how a spatchcocked turkey looks, simply carve the meat before your Thanksgiving guests arrive, and no one will be the wiser.
Refrigerate leftover turkey within 2 hours of cooking. Seal leftover meat tightly an refrigerate for up to 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or oven until heated through, adding a splash of pan drippings or low-sodium stock to keep the meat from drying out.
Serving Suggestions
This spatchcocked smoked turkey tastes great when drizzled with pan drippings or homemade gravy. Round out your meal with favorite side dishes, like No Bake Smoked Mac and Cheese, Smoked Cowboy Baked Beans, or the mashed potatoes and gravy from my Steak Bites with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Use up leftover meat in my Smoked Turkey Bacon Ranch Sliders and enjoy them along with my Prosciutto Wrapped Brie Poppers.
More Side Dish Recipes to Serve with Smoked Turkey
If you make this recipe, I want to hear about it! Please leave a comment and ★★★★★ star rating below. That helps everyone know the favorites! Also, please tag me on Facebook, so I can see your creations. Happy Grilling!
Best Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey
Equipment
- meat injector
- Pellet Smoker
- leave-in thermometer
- Instant-Read Thermometer
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey 15 pounds, fully thawed
For the Spice Rub
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- avocado oil cooking spray to bind the rub to the skin
For the Butter Injection
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup lager beer
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon spice rub from above
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed, from ½ a lemon
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
For the Skin
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened and cut in slices
Instructions
Spatchcocking
- Place thawed turkey breast side down. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of backbone and remove. Flip the turkey breast-side up and press firmly on breastbone to flatten. Tuck wing tips under and pat completely dry with paper towels.
Making the Spice Rub & Injection Mixture
- Combine all the spices for the rub in a small bowl until evenly mixed.
- Whisk the ingredients for the butter injection, including 1 tablespoon of the homemade spice rub, in a medium bowl until it's well combined and smooth. Strain out any large particles that may obstruct the injector. If the butter is very hot, let it cool before injecting.
Injecting
- Fill injector and inject small amounts of the mixture in breast, thighs, and drumsticks in multiple spots until evenly distributed. Draw the needle out slowly as you inject. Place the turkey on a wire rack over a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered 1-2 hours, or up to overnight.
Seasoning
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 275°F. Use mild, slightly sweet wood pellets, like apple, pecan, or oak; avoid mesquite or hickory, as they're too strong for turkey.
- While the smoker is preheating, cut the softened butter into slices and distribute it under the turkey skin (1 stick per breast). Massage the skin to help spread the butter evenly under the skin.
- Lightly spray the turkey skin with avocado oil spray (or brush with oil if you don't have spray). Generously sprinkle with the spice rub, using your hands to press it onto the skin.
Smoking the Turkey
- Place the turkey skin side up on the top grate of the smoker, and position an aluminum pan underneath to catch the drippings. Insert a leave-in probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.
- Smoke until the breast reaches 160°F and the thighs reach 175°F, about 2.5-3 hours. Measure in the thickest part of the meat away from the bones. Time will vary depending upon the smoker and the size of the turkey. Always judge doneness by the internal temp, not by time alone.
Resting & Carving
- Remove the turkey from the heat and let it rest on a large cutting board loosely tented with foil for 30 minutes. This allows carryover cooking to increase the internal temperature to 165℉ in the breast and allows the juices to redistribute in the meat. (Check the breast temp to ensure it reaches 165℉ before carving. If it doesn't, return it to the smoker.)
- To carve, use a sharp knife or meat cleaver to cut the turkey in quarters and to separate the dark and white meat. Arrange on a serving platter and serve with any pan drippings on the side if desired. Enjoy with family and friends!
Video
Notes
- Refrigerator Thawing Method: Let the turkey sit in a rimmed pan on the bottom shelf of the fridge for 24 hours per 4-5 pounds. A 15-pound turkey will take 4-5 days to thaw completely.
- Is your turkey still partially frozen after refrigerator thawing? Place the turkey in a leakproof bag and submerge it in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes, until the turkey is fully thawed. Cook immediately; skip the 1-2 hour rest after injection.
- Let the turkey rest for 1-2 hours after injecting and before cooking to allow the injection mixture to distribute through the meat.
- Reduce the salt in the rub if you’re watching your sodium intake.
- If the wing tips darken during cooking, tent them with foil.
Thank you for posting this recipe. It was amazing! I threw a little Chipotle chili powder in my bird which gave it a little kick.
Made this for Thanksgiving. Definitely the best spatchcock turkey recipe I have used. Flavor and juiciness were prefect and I received all positive comments about the taste. Thank you.
So glad I came across you page. I can’t wait to try this reciepe.
Done to perfection🔥🔥🔥🔥