Traeger Smoked Turkey Without Brine

Name: Traeger Smoked Turkey Without Brine
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 405 min
Ingredients: 10-12 pound fresh turkey; ½ cup unsalted melted butter ((divided)); ½ cup avocado oil ((divided)); 1½ tbsp orange juice; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 Tbsp garlic powder; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; 1 Tbsp rubbed sage; 1 Tbsp Traeger Blackened Saskatchewan Rub; 1 Tbsp paprika; 1 Tbsp sea salt; 2 tsp Tajin Seasoning; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp cayenne pepper ((optional)); ½ tsp lemon pepper; 3 sprigs sage; 3 sprigs thyme; 3 sprigs rosemary; 1 medium orange ((sliced)); 1 medium onion ((chopped)); 1 bulb garlic ((sliced in ½))

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If you're looking for a new way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey this year, give this Traeger Smoked Turkey Recipe a try! It's tender, smokey, and easy to prepare! But if you have a smaller gathering, try my Traeger smoked turkey breast recipe instead!

When you smoke a turkey on a pellet grill, low and slow, then finish it at a higher temperature you get a turkey with juicy breast meat, crispy skin, and an amazing smokey flavor!

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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
🛒 What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients Notes And Substitutions
🔪Tools Required
🍗 How To Make A Traeger Smoked Turkey
🍽 How to Plate A Thanksgiving Turkey
🤷🏻‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
Other Thanksgiving Favorites
👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips
🍴Traeger Smoked Turkey Serving Suggestions
🍖 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🧐 Why This Recipe Works

This Traeger smoked turkey recipe does not require brining. I don't know about you, but I never have enough room in the fridge for a turkey soaking in brine, especially around Thanksgiving!
My favorite thing about smoking turkey on a Traeger is that it frees up the oven for side dishes, bread rolls, and pies!
Leftover smoked turkey breast can be used to make delicious gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches!
The Traeger smoked turkey carcass can be used to make a delicious creamy turkey soup.

🛒 What Goes Into This Recipe

🔖 Ingredients Notes And Substitutions

Turkey: When smoking a whole turkey, choose a small to medium-sized turkey, weighing no more than 15 lbs. According to this USDA article, larger turkeys between 16-24 lbs are generally toms (male turkeys) while turkeys 15 lbs and under are hens and tend to be more tender.
Injection Marinade: The turkey will be injected all over with an injection marinade. The marinade is made with melted butter, avocado oil, orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and cayenne. The cayenne is always optional.
Wet Rub: I like to season my Traeger smoked turkey with a wet rub made of melted butter, avocado (or olive oil), and rubbed sage and these spices: Traeger Blackened Saskatchewan Rub (or use your favorite rub), Tajin Seasoning, paprika, sea salt, lemon pepper, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Aromatics: Loosely stuff the cavity with aromatics to enhance the flavor. You'll need a variety of fresh herbs. I used fresh sage, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary. I also added a head of garlic sliced in half, a small chopped onion, and a sliced orange. If you prefer, you can use a chopped apple instead. Leave plenty of room in the cavity for air and smoke circulation.

🔪Tools Required

Traeger grill or another pellet grill
Wood pellets
Meat probe and an Instant read meat thermometer
Steel meat injector syringe
Disposable aluminum pan with rack
Turkey baster or a silicone brush
Butcher's twine (if your turkey legs do not come already secured with their own skin flap).

🍗 How To Make A Traeger Smoked Turkey

You'll want to start with a completely defrosted turkey. To learn how to safely defrost a frozen turkey, head over to this USDA article with detailed information on how to defrost a turkey. Spoiler alert, don't use the dishwasher! I didn't know people actually did that.😳

Step 1 | Prep Turkey

Begin by removing the turkey gizzards and heart from the neck cavity. Next, pull the neck and gravy bag (if included) from the body cavity. Rinse turkey in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Truss the legs with twine, if the legs are not secured by the extra flap of skin.

Pro Tip: Don't toss the giblets, use them to make giblet gravy.

Step 2 | Prepare Marinade & Inject Turkey

Reserve 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil for the wet rub. Add the rest of the butter to a small bowl, cover it with a paper towel, and microwave for 30 seconds. Pour oil, and the remaining marinade injection ingredients into the bowl and whisk until combined. Using a Marinade Injecting Syringe, inject the marinade into the turkey breast and thighs.

Pro Tip: When injecting the turkey, stick the injector into the breast then move it around to distribute the melted butter throughout the muscle fibers (see recipe video). If there's any injection marinade left, stir it into the wet rub.

Step 3 | Prepare Wet Rub & Season Turkey

In another bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter then add the reserved 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir the turkey-rub spices into the marinade to make a paste. Work the paste into the turkey skin and cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey then loosely stuff the cavity with the aromatics.

Step 4 | Smoke Turkey (Preheat your Traeger Grill to 225°F.)

To allow the smoke to circulate around the turkey, place a small rack into a disposable aluminum pan. Carefully transfer the prepped turkey into the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan onto the grill grate and stick the temperature probe into the thickest part of the turkey breast. Set the probe temperature to 150°F and use Super Smoke, if you have that option.

Pro Tip: If the wet rub is clumpy, use a silicone brush to gently distribute it all over the turkey.

Step 5 | Adjust the Temperature

When two hours have elapsed, turn the grill temperature up to 250°F. Continue smoking the turkey until the breast temp comes to 150°F (my 10 lb turkey took 4 hours). Turn the smoker's temperature up to 350°F and the probe temperature to 165°F.

Pro Tip: When smoking a turkey, always rely on the probe temperature to know when the turkey is ready rather than a specific amount of time.

Step 5 | Continue to Smoke & Baste Turkey

When enough turkey drippings have accumulated in the bottom of the pan, use them to baste the turkey. Continue to smoke the turkey until the breast temperature reaches 165°F and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the innermost part of the thigh reaches 180°F.

Pro Tip: If there aren't enough turkey drippings to use a turkey baster, brush the juices on instead.

Step 6 | Rest Smoked Turkey

Remove the turkey from the smoker and begin the shutdown process. Tent the turkey with foil and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving it.

Pro Tip: The resting period will allow the juices to redistribute through the muscle fibers. This will keep the turkey juices from seeping out when you slice into the turkey.

smoked treager turkey breast sliced, showing the juicy center — Juicy Traeger smoked turkey

Pro Tip: Notice how moving the needle around while injecting the turkey breast distributes the marinade throughout the breast meat.

🍽 How to Plate A Thanksgiving Turkey

Here is an easy way to plate a Thanksgiving turkey. Line the edges of a large platter with a mixture of fresh or dried herbs. I used two varieties of sage, thyme, and rosemary, the same herbs I used to stuff the turkey.

a large platter with a smaller platter in the center, surrounded by herbs and sliced oranges

Next, I placed a smaller plate in the center. Make sure it's large enough to accommodate the size of your turkey. Finally, add a pop of color. I added dehydrated oranges and dried lemon slices. If serving this Traeger smoked Turkey for Christmas, you can add pine fronds, dried bay leaves, and cranberries.

Not sure how to carve your turkey, here's a How to Carve A Turkey Guide with video and step-by-step instructions.

carving a turkey — Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

🤷🏻‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What size turkey should you buy?

The size of the turkey will depend on the number of guests. You should plan for 1 to 1-½ lbs of turkey per guest.

Remember that some of that weight accounts for the bones, neck, and giblets (gizzards, liver, and heart). If you have more than 10 guests, consider smoking another turkey or a turkey breast.

What is the best wood to smoke turkey with?

Apple, maple, cherry, pecan, oak, and hickory are all great options for smoking a turkey on a pellet grill.

Should you brine a turkey before smoking it?

Although there are many brined turkey recipes out there, I prefer to skip this step. Instead, I inject the turkey with butter, which makes it really tender. Smoking the turkey at a lower temperature and basting it further ensures that the turkey remains tender and juicy.

Should I wrap my turkey in foil while smoking?

In order for the smoke to penetrate the turkey, it should not be covered with aluminum foil. However, the turkey can be loosely tented with foil as it rests.

How do I get crispy smoked turkey skin?

Ensure the skin is coated with ample oil, butter, or pan juices then smoke the turkey until the internal breast temperature reaches 150°F. Turn the grill's temperature up to 400°F and continue to smoke the turkey until the breast temperature registers at 165°F.

How long do you smoke a turkey at 225 per pound?

Plan on smoking your turkey for approximately 30 to 40 minutes per pound.

How long does it take to smoke a 15-pound turkey at 225 degrees?

It will take approximately 7-8 hours to smoke a 15-pound turkey. Keep in mind this number can fluctuate based on the outside temperature and how many times the lid is lifted.

Other Thanksgiving Favorites

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

If you need to feed more people, it's better to smoke 2 smaller turkeys instead of one large one. A larger turkey takes longer to cook and as a result can get too dry from the lengthy cooking time.
It's not generally recommended to stuff a Traeger smoked turkey with traditional stuffing. Stuffing the turkey will add to the smoking time and the stuffing might not heat up enough to kill any bacteria that may be present.
You may be tempted to skip the resting period, but don't! If you slice the turkey as soon as it comes off of the grill, the juices will run out of the turkey, resulting in a dry turkey.
To keep the Traeger smoked turkey's skin from getting soft or rubbery, lightly tent the turkey as it rests. You do not want to create steam under the foil.
The internal temperature can continue to rise after you remove the turkey from the grill so keep an eye on it.
If you need the turkey to cook faster, you can smoke the turkey at a higher temperature, 325°F — 350°F, which will drastically reduce the cooking time.
Whatever you do, don't toss out the turkey bones and carcass. Make a delicious smokey broth with it instead. You can then use the broth to make my delicious creamy turkey soup.
Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week or freeze for up to 4 months.
Use your Thanksgiving leftovers to make mini turkey pot pies.

🍴Traeger Smoked Turkey Serving Suggestions

Here are some great side dishes and desserts to serve with your Traeger turkey!

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