Whole Smoked Turkey

Ever since Luke brought home our smoker years ago, I've been dying to try this: smoking a whole turkey.

Having recently fallen in love with the smoked chicken at our local barbeque joint, I knew it was time to give Smoked Turkey a go. I wasn't brave enough to try this recipe for the first time for Thanksgiving, but I certainly could have. It was super easy and tasty!

Turns out, it was way easier than I imagined... so here I am to squash all your preconceived notions about Smoked Turkey

1. Whole Smoked Turkey isn't dry or overdone. In fact, it can be incredibly moist without a whole lot of extra work!
2. Whole Smoked Turkey is, actually, super smoky! I thought that the size and density of the turkey would keep it from holding a lot of the smoke flavor, but it turned out to be even smokier than some other things we've done
3. Whole Smoked Turkey is super easy, incredibly worth it and gives your leftovers for days! (Note: it's seriously incredibly in potato or tortilla soup!)
4. Turkey is smoked best with applewood chips. Hickory will impart too much smoke flavor for the white meat to handle.
5. Brining is completely unnecessary. Unless you like taking up a ton of space in your fridge for a very long time.
6. Buy a disposable pan with a rack. Our rack almost didn't fit in the smoker.. it was a nerve-wracking minute there while we tried to get the whole things into the smoker. It fit, but it was close. Disposable pans are slightly smaller and make for easier clean up!

So if you have a smoker, give it a go! You won't be disappointed.

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Whole Smoked Turkey

Ingredients

• 1 10-14 lb turkey
• 1 small onion quartered
• 1 small apple quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 carrot quartered
• 1 celery stalk quartered
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Rinse the turkey and pat very dry with paper towels. Drizzle the bottom of the turkey with olive oil and half the garlic salt and onion powder. Place the turkey in a disposable roasting pan fitted with a wire rack.
• Put the quartered onion, apple, carrot and celery in the cavity along with the bay leaf, garlic clove and peppercorns. Drizzle the top of the turkey with the remaining olive oil and the remaining spices. Tie the drumsticks together and tuck the wingtips under the breasts.
• Smoke at 225 degrees F for 30 minutes per pound until a thermometer reads 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh and 155 degrees F in the breast. Remove from the smoker and cover in foil. Let rest for 15-20 minutes, then carve and serve.