Smoked Turkey: The Ultimate Guide to Smoking a Turkey for Christmas

Ingredients: 

• Whole Turkey
• Kosmos Q ‘Dirty Bird’ Dry Rub
• Kosmos Q ‘Turkey Brine’ Soak & Brine
• Kosmos Q ‘Peach Jalapenos’ Rib Glaze
• Water

Note: The sugar in the Sweet Rub will cause the skin of the bird to get quite dark and caramelised. It is not burned! It will simply appear darker. Keep this in mind if you choose to use the Sweet Rub instead of the Turkey Rub.

Difficulty: Medium

Cook time: 8 hours

Wood recommendation: we recommend using apple, cherry, or hickory wood chunks for smoking a turkey. These woods produce a light flavour that won’t overwhelm the turkey while still giving it a great BBQ smokiness.

Tech recommendation: An instant-read meat thermometer or remote meat thermometer is going to be your best friend while cooking this smoked turkey. Temperature is key when smoking a turkey, so make sure you have a good thermometer on hand to monitor the temperature of the various parts of the turkey while it is cooking.

Method: 

Step 1: Prepare your Turkey Brine. You will need a large container capable of carrying the required liquid for your size of Turkey. 

Kosmos Q Turkey Brine instructions:
 

1. 1 cup of Turkey brine to 1 gallon of water (1 gallon = 3.8l), blend well. 
2. Place the turkey in the brine breast side down and cover the turkey completely with the brine mixture, place in the refrigerator covered for 1 hour per pound. 
3. Remove from brine, rinse and air dry in refrigerator (covered for 4-6 hours)

Step 2: Once removed from the brine and dried. Rub the turkey with your favourite chicken/turkey rub. In today’s cook, we are using Kosmos Q ‘Dirty Bird’ Dry Rub. It’s an excellent rub and is family-friendly. It renders a beautiful colour and as the name suggests it works amazingly well on all things ‘birds’. 

Optional: Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine and tuck the wing tips behind the shoulder joint.

Step 3: Get your Smoker BBQ up to temperature. Whether you’re using splits or charcoal we are aiming for a pit temperature of 225f or 107f. In today’s cook, we are using the Flaming Coals Offset Smoker BBQ

Step 4: It’s time to get your turkey in the pit! Close the lid and smoke for around 30 minutes per pound (1 pound is 0.45kg). The turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F or 75 °C

Optional: Add an aluminium foil tray under your turkey to catch the drippings. 

Step 5: Every 30-35 minutes spritz the turkey with apple juice or water to help reduce surface temperature reducing the likelihood of burning. 

Step 6: (Optional) When your turkey reaches an internal temperature of 155°F or 68 °C you may wish to glaze the Turkey with Kosmos Q ‘Peach Jalapenos’ Rib Glaze or a similar flavour (they all work great, it’s up to your personal preference). Allow the glaze to set and your turkey to come up to temperature before removing from the offset. Having a good quality sauce pot and basting brush will make the job easier. 

Step 7: Allow your turkey to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy this incredible smoked Turkey! 

Expert tip: Start testing your turkey’s internal temperature at least an hour before you think it will be ready. Poultry can be very misleading and cook at different speeds, to avoid overcooking and drying out your turkey use a good instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey in the breast and thigh as it cooks. Make sure you test both sides of the bird (both sides must be 165 °F or 75 °C to be considered food-safe). 

Check out our Range of BBQ Smokers

Check out our recipe blogs