How to Smoke a Turkey on a Traeger?

Turkey is everybody’s favorite, especially if it’s thanksgiving. Moreover, the holiday season is considered a turkey season. The undisputed king, the Turkey, comes under the spotlight. Furthermore, it is the right time to cook the perfect turkey for your guests at thanksgiving.

In addition to this, there are several different ways to cook a turkey. Roasting the turkey is the best ideal for the party hostess.Apart from that, there is no one method to follow for cooking turkey. The main aim is to get the smoke flavor of the turkey.

However, there are a lot of ways that you can chase to get there. Even more, this guide will help you cook the best turkey, and you can learn different methods of cooking a turkey.Do you want to Traeger a turkey but are worried about the entire procedure? Don’t panic; we have simplified things for you to cater to the best thanksgiving party.

Smoking not only gives an excellent taste to your turkey, but it is way easier than roasting. So fasten your seat belts and read the guide carefully to smoke the perfect turkey to make it one of the best memories for you and your guests.

Initially, you have to choose the right turkey for your big day. Before you prepare your recipes, make sure you have the right turkey in your hands. However, the size of the turkey entirely depends on the number of guests you will cater to. Apart from that, if you are following the general rule of thumb, then you must consider 1 ½ lb per person.

Be cautious while finding the right turkey. While you search for the giant turkey, you may forget that a turkey weighing more than 16 pounds may be a male turkey. Hence, male turkeys are not as tender as female ones.

Cooking such a bird that weighs more than 16 pounds will give you and your guest a tough time. So consider buying the small turkeys in multiple quantities. Also, to fulfill more needs, you can add bone-in turkey breast to cater to more guests and cook quickly.

Let’s move ahead with the best-smoked turkey recipe.After you are done choosing the right turkey, make the perfect brine for your turkey. You might wonder what brine is? So, brine is the foundation for your favorite turkey. All the spices that get together on your turkey and prepare your turkey to be smoked.

i. Salt plays an essential role in making your turkey super delicious.

ii. Aside from that, the right salt concentration will make an excellent turkey. Even more, salt prevents brine from escaping the meat cells.

iii. In addition to this, we suggest you marinate your turkey for a good 24 hours so that the brine sticks well with the turkey.

iv. Apart from that, there is one more option available for you to brine the turkey. You can easily inject the brine inside your turkey before you are ready to smoke.

Want to have a flavorful and delicious turkey? Then follow the methods to brine your turkey well. Moreover, you will need three ingredients to brine your turkey.

Step 1: For a classy savory flavor, you need some liquid. Also, water, beer, or some stock will work fine. However, if you are fond of a sweet taste, add some juice, vinegar, or wine.

Step 2: Now, the essential part is adding salt to the brine. For each gallon of liquid, you will require half a cup of salt. Also, be sure to add the right amount of salt to your brine.

Step 3: Now, add all the desired herbs and spices. Also, you can add celery, onions, carrots, and other things that go well with the bird.

Step 4: on a medium-high flame, mix all the ingredients well and let the salt dissolve properly.

Step 5: Later, let the brine cool. Also, note that your brine is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit once you add it to your turkey.

Let’s come back to your turkey and remove the giblets. For smoking the turkey, you don’t need the giblets. So, the turkey you buy from the story comes with the giblets, and you have to remove them instantly. It’s not that the giblets go in vain; you can use them for making homemade turkey gravy.

After you are done with removing the giblets, you must choose a perfect rub for your turkey and go ahead with the smoking procedure.

In addition to this, a goodpoultry rub will work excellently to give a tempting taste to your turkey and a delicious color to your main course. You need to pour the rub mix into a small bowl and then sprinkle it over the entire turkey for a delicious taste.

Now truss the turkey by bringing its legs near the body. Furthermore, the turkey
you buy from the store comes with a built-in plastic truss. In addition to this, one
advantage of trussing a turkey is that your turkey comes in a regular shape after
you truss it. Also, trussing secures the turkey from hotspots.

If you want to sparkle your taste buds, you can add stuffing to your turkey before smoking. So, while your turkey smokes, the stuffing inside will also cook.

Your turkey drippings do not go in vain. You can collect the drippings in a bowl and save them for later to have them as your turkey gravy. Apart from that, what you only require to do is wait for the turkey to smoke.

Meanwhile, all the tasty drippings will be shed to the bottom. The turkey should smoke before it is removed from the Traeger and the remainder of the drippings strained.

Now you are well aware of choosing the right turkey, covering it with a perfect brine, you are all ready to smoke the excellent turkey. You will surely want to smoke your turkey in a wood pellet grill. The reason why you prefer a wood pellet grill is that because a wood pellet grill provides you with two options:

• Offers fool-proof temperature control
• Infuses the meat with delicious flavor

Now it’s time to choose the wood for smoking the turkey. Furthermore, the wood types depend on the type of flavor you want in your turkey. You will surely choose the hardwood pellets. Here are a few wood types that will give you your favorite flavor:

• Apple gives you a light and fruity smoke flavor
• Maple pellets give you a sweetie flavor
• Oak or hickory will provide you with uber natural or a nutty flavor.

Do you want to go with a more fantastic flavor, then mix the above and delight your guests with the mouthwatering turkey flavor?

The most common mistake people make while smoking the turkey is not giving enough time to cook the turkey. Besides that, you can set a 165 degrees Fahrenheit for poultry.The internal temperature depends on the actual cooking of the turkey. You must choose a pellet grill as it helps you cook an even turkey because they help in circulating the hot air across the turkey.

When it comes to the breasts of the turkey, which are thick enough, you must set its temperature to 165 degrees. However, the temperature of the thighs must be 180 degrees.

All the methods of cooking the turkey are acceptable. Moreover, the high-to-low methods help you lock the flavors of your turkey, and you get the crispiest skin. Furthermore, you can set the temperature high for a good 30 minutes, followed by reducing the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for the remaining cooking procedure.

Another method to cook a delicious turkey is by setting the temperature low to high. Besides that, the low to high temperature lets the bird absorb the true amount of smoke.Moreover, you can start at 225 degrees Fahrenheit unless the internal temperature reaches 100-110 degrees. Afterward, you can set the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit so that you can serve and eat.