Traeger Smoked Turkey

Do you have to spatchcock your turkey? No. But here's what it means.
Have you seen all of those photos of beautiful whole chickens and turkeys on social media and in magazines? The breasts are perfectly cooked and the poultry's legs look perfectly crafted. Spatchcock turkey allows the turkey to cook more evenly on a level surface.

To do this, you will have to remove the backbone from the turkey. This will open it up and allow it to lay flat. I like to use these cooking shears from Amazon. You can also use a knife, be careful!

You will usually save time with the spatchcock method (usually an hour or so), so if you're in a hurry I recommend it.

The general rule of thumb is 1 pound of turkey per guest. Each guest may not eat 1 pound, but you may need to also consider leftovers. If you have a small party you can even consider a turkey breast. This recipe breaks down the ingredient servings based on the size and weight of the turkey.

That will make it easy to scale down or scale up the servings you will need of each ingredient, by taking into account the weight of the turkey you are using.

I recommend thawing in the refrigerator or in cold water.

If using the refrigerator, keep the turkey in it’s original packaging and place a sheet pan underneath to catch any juices that may leak out.

Here is the safety chart for thawing in the fridge according to the USDA:
4-12 pounds: 1 to 3 days
12-16 pounds: 3 to 4 days
16-20 pounds 4 to 5 days
20-24 pounds 5 to 6 days
Here is the safety chart for thawing in cold water according to the USDA:
4-12 pounds: 2 to 6 hours
12-16 pounds: 6 to 8 hours
16-20 pounds 8 to 10 hours
20-24 pounds 10 to 12 hours

Once thawed, it can stay in the fridge, safely, up to 2 days.

You will need to remove the contents of the inner cavity. Giblets are typically inside. Giblets are the little bundle of parts and usually include the neck, the gizzard, which is a muscle that grinds up food before it enters the digestive system, the heart, and the liver. Some people save these and cook them up or make gravy. You can discard if you wish.

Dry the turkey with paper towels. I like to spritz the turkey with olive oil using this spray bottle from Amazon. This will allows the spices to adhere. You can also drizzle it on and rub it in.

If you are injecting the bird with butter, you don’t need a ton of olive oil, unless you want it! Getting the skin nice and moist with oil will help produce crispy skin on the turkey. You can also use butter.

Then add your spices. I use these:
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Dried or Ground Thyme
Dried or Ground Oregano
Paprika (I prefer Smoked Paprika)
Salt and Pepper

Once you have your olive oil (or butter) on the skin, combine your spices and rub them in all over the bird front and back.

Next, I inject the turkey because it's one of the best ways to ensure it's juicy. You can make your own butter marinade injection or buy a store-bought version like Tony Chachere’s Butter Injection Marinade or Tony Chachere’s Garlic and Herb Injection Marinade.

If using an injection marinade you should inject 1 ounce of the marinade per pound of turkey you have. This turkey was 14 pounds so I used about 14 ounces of marinade.

The best type of wood and flavored pellets to use are cherry, apple, alder, oak, and hickory. The Traeger Signature blend also pairs well with anything.

The total time to cook will vary based on the size of your turkey. This 14-pound bird took about 5 hours. You will need to use a meat thermometer for accuracy. It will need to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. A whole turkey is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.

I like to start with the temperature low at 225 degrees for a few hours, that will allow the smoke flavor to penetrate the meat. Then I turn the temperature up to 350 degrees until the turkey reaches 165 degrees internal temperature.

A few things can lead to a dry turkey. One cause is constant basting. It sounds like that should help, right? If you’re constantly opening the smoker door to baste the turkey, you are letting out heat. This means you will need to cook it longer, which will dry it out. If you spatchcock the turkey (and inject it) you don't need to baste it while it cooks.

If you inject the turkey with a marinade prepared with something like butter, this helps add moisture directly to the bird. Some people like to stuff butter directly under the skin of the turkey. If you use an injector, you don’t need to. You can read more about How to Put Butter Under Turkey Skin here.

Sometimes turkeys are dry because they are huge. It’s really difficult to cook a 20+ pound turkey evenly where the entire turkey cooks at the same speed. If you have a huge turkey, some parts may turn out drier than others.

Let the turkey stand for 15-20 minutes before carving to allow juices to set. The turkey will carve more easily. You will also wind up with dry turkey if you slice too soon.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge tightly covered and sealed for 3-4 days.

Reheat on 325 degrees in the oven until warm. You can also place it in broth to keep it juicy while it bakes.

You can freeze cooked turkey for up to 4 months. It's best to slice the turkey before freezing it. Once sliced, you can wrap it in foil, bag it up and then place it into the freezer until you next fancy some turkey.