Published 11/13/2022 • Updated 11/5/2024 Do you have a bigger group to feed? We have a whole smoked turkey recipe and a delicious roasted turkey recipe as well as other easy Thanksgiving recipes that are made with whole and easy ingredients. When you don’t need quite as much turkey as a full Thanksgiving bird, go for a smoked turkey breast! This bone-in smoked turkey breast recipe offers flavorful and tender meat with delicious smokey skin. Ever since we did our smoked turkey a few years ago, we’ve been obsessed with smoking turkey. I just love the extra flavor you get from pellets in the smoker and it frees up space in your oven. Plus, we developed this recipe so that you could smoke a turkey breast and smoke turkey legs at the same time! A quick overview: This turkey breast is brined, seasoned with our famous turkey seasoning, and spritzed with an orange juice mixture while it smokes at 240ºF for 2.5-4 hours.
What You Need for Smoking a Turkey Breast
Turkey Breast– this recipe calls for a 4-6 pound bone-in turkey breast. Be sure you find a turkey that is untreated. Some turkeys come pre-brined and we don’t want that. This turkey should feed between 6-8 people if you are serving it with sides. Brine Ingredients- you are going to bine your bird in an easy turkey brine which consists of water, salt, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, garlic, and onions. Check out some of our other turkey brine recipes: Smoked Turkey Brine and How to Brine a Turkey. Turkey seasoning– do not skip this seasoning, it adds so much flavor to this recipe. This turkey seasoning is the most flavorful seasoning that compliments turkey and other poultry so well. It is a combination of sweet + savory. Please please make it! Orange juice- orange juice is part of the spritz that you will spray the turkey with. A little sugar will keep the bird moist and keep the skin crispy. Apple cider vinegar- the apple cider vinegar is also a part of the spritz. It cuts the sugar and gives the spritz a nice balance. Smoker Pellets: we’re big fans of Traeger’s Signature Blend, but you’re more than welcome to use a flavored pellet, too.
Smoked Turkey Breast Variations
Dry brine instead: if you prefer a turkey dry brine, feel free to use that method instead. Swap the seasoning: feel free to use any kind of poultry seasoning if you don’t want to make your own homemade blend. Use apple juice: we’ve made a similar recipe with chicken legs before where we spritzed with apple juice during the smoking process and it’s absolutely divine.
Storage
Store your turkey leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Thermoworks Thermapen
Can I Freeze Smoked Turkey Breast?
Yes, you can freeze leftover turkey for soups, salads, or any other recipes. Let the turkey cool completely and then place it in a freezer-safe bag and freeze it for up to 3 months.
How to Serve Your Smoked Turkey Breast
Every Thanksgiving turkey deserves a homemade turkey gravy. We also loved eating this next to our Greek yogurt mashed potatoes, green bean casserole with bacon, and butternut squash mac and cheese.
Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes
Smoked Turkey Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Baked Turkey Tenderloin Smoked Turkey Legs Sous Vide Turkey Spatchcock Turkey
