Smoked Turkey Breast is incredibly delicious. It is easy to make and tastes amazing on sandwiches. If you are on a budget it is a great and inexpensive alternative to a roasting a whole turkey.
Smoked Turkey Breast Recipe
Smoked Turkey Breast
Equipment
- medium saucepan – for making the brine
- large stainless steel saucepan with lid – for brining the turkey breast
- Smoker or BBQ Pit
- quality oak lump charcoal
- baking sheet with grate
- digital thermometer
- cutting board
- kitchen knife
- basting pot
- basting brush
Ingredients
- 3 pounds turkey breast – 2 breasts, skin on, uncooked
- 2 cup Poultry Rub
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup Turkey Stock
Instructions
For the brine
- Prepare a batch of Citrus Poultry Brine, and brine the turkey breasts overnight.
- Thoroughly rinse brine from the turkey breast with cold water. Drain and dry completely using paper towels.
For the rub
- Prepare a batch of Poultry Rub
- Generously apply poultry rub to all sides of the meat.
- Slice the lemons and oranges that were used in the brine, and place below the racks in your trays. Rest the breasts on the rack, allowing them to warm to rooom temperature while you heat up the smoker.
Basting the turkey breast
- Melt ¼ cup butter in a small saucepan.
- Add ½ cup homemade Turkey Stock. If you don't have turkey stock, chicken stock will do just fine.
Smoking the turkey breast
- Bring smoker up to at least 275 – 320 degrees. When the smoker is ready, insert a digital thermometers into the thickest part of each breast. Place the trays with the turkey breasts into the smoker. Smoke until internal temperature reaches 165℉, basting only once or twice during the cook. Be careful not to lose too much heat or to wash off the rub. Remove the turkey from the smoker, cover with foil and rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Notes
PRIVATE NOTES
Nutrition
More Information
If you are like me, you love the taste of a good turkey sandwich, like a Cranberry Turkey Melt. But, if it is not near Thanksgiving, it might be hard to find a whole uncooked turkey. If you are only intending to make sandwiches, it might not make sense to roast a whole bird. Plus, It is much easier to find uncooked turkey breast. You can usually find it year round in the frozen food section of your local grocery store.
You can make smoked turkey breast and not worry about what to do with all of the leftovers. There is no way that I could justify roasting a whole turkey unless it was to feed a bunch of people. By smoking only the breast, I can portion it out, vacuum seal it, and keep it in the freezer. Warming it up is as simple as putting the frozen sealed turkey into a large pot of water and simmering for 20 minutes
Related Recipes
Turkey Stock
Turkey Gravy
Turkey Dressing
Cranberry Turkey Melt
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