We’ve written about frying turkey, spatchcocking it, roasting it, thawing it, even smoking a whole turkey. But what if you want turkey and don’t have half a platoon of eaters coming over for Thanksgiving? Easy. Smoke some turkey breast.
Smoking just the breasts of a turkey is a fantastic way to cook that lean and tender muscle. There’s no mucking about with dark meat/lighte meat temperature differences, there’s just cooking one thing very well. Whether you want an easier way to do turkey at Thanksgiving or you just want a delicious dinner that will result in tasty leftover sandwiches, smoked turkey breast is a great way to go.
Let’s take a look at the tools, temps, and method (adapted from MeatChurch.com) for fantastic smoke-roasted turkey breast.
Challenges for a perfect smoked turkey breast, and how to face them
Turkey breast is chronically overcooked. Why? Because it’s so low in fat and connective tissue. The meat goes from perfectly cooked to overcooked in a matter of a few degrees, and there’s no forcing the lost moisture back into the meat.
This drying-out problem is exacerbated by the breast’s geometry: that long, thin tail is likely to overcook before the thick center is done. So even if you get one part of it done perfectly, another part probably won’t be great.
Well, those are not insurmountable problems. In fact, a little thermal thinking and a little science can get us to a place with pretty much perfect breast meat.
Smoked turkey breast temperature
First, let’s get right to the thermal meat of the matter: if you want juicy turkey breast, you can’t overcook it. While it is common practice to cook poultry to 165°F (74°C) “for food safety,” you can achieve the same bacterial kill-off levels at lower temps held for longer times. In fact, skinless turkey breast reaches the same kill-off at only 157°F (69°C) in only 47.9 seconds. It will have the same safety at 155°F (68°C) in 1.2 minutes! Every degree you shave off of the final temp (as long as you stay within the food-safe range) saves you more and more moisture within the turkey breast, so don’t cook it all the way up to 165°F (74°C)! Use your Smoke X2™ to monitor the temps throughout the cook and pull out your trusty Thermapen® ONE to verify the temp once the alarm on the Smoke X2 sounds.
Final internal temps are important, of course. But they are only half the story. You need to consider your smoker temp, as well. If your smoker is at 425°F (218°C) when you reach 157°F (69°C) in the thermal center, the meat around that thermal center will be well overcooked. And the carryover cooking will ensure that the thermal center also gets overcooked! Cooking a tender piece of meat like this at a lower, gentle temperature is the way to go. We went with Matt Pittman’s advice and cooked ours at 275°F (135°C). At that temp, the thermal gradients between the surface and the center remain relatively small.
Brining turkey for temperature protection
Brining meat does more than make it salty. When proteins interact with salt, they denature in a way that prevents them from scrunching up and squeezing out their water when cooked. Bathing turkey breasts in a salt bath for 3–6 hours will work especially well on the outermost parts of the meat, which also happen to be the parts taht overcook and dry out the most. By using salt as a thermal defense solution, we can get turkey that is more perfectly done throughout, not just in the very center.
A basic brine of 1 cup of kosher salt per gallon of water (you can also add a half-cup of sugar if you like) is great for this purpose. We aren’t brining for deep flavor so much as we are brining for texture, but, if you want more flavor, add it!
Seasoning a smoked turkey breast
How you season your turkey is up to you (I like something with a little sweet and a little heat, but lots and lots of paprika for color), but no matter how you decide to season it, you need it to stick to the bird while you cook it. For that, we employ a binder: mayo.
Yep. Apply a thin coat of good-ol’ mayonnaise to you turkey breasts before seasoning, and you’ll get better adhesion and better “bark.” The proteins in the mayo act as a simple glue when they heat up, binding with the spices. But beware! Use too much mayo and it will melt and slough off the surface of the bird, taking your seasonings with it, before the proteins have the chance to firm up. You really just need a thin, scraped-on coating.
A note on buying turkey breasts
This recipe call for boneless, skinless breasts, an item that is not readily available at every grocery store. But you can often find a breast roast that is just a bone-in breast pair. We bought one of those and cut the breast meat off of the partial carcass, then pulled their skins off. If you want something particularly tasty, render that skin gently and cook it until it becomes crispy like bacon.
If you try this recipe, you’ll certainly want to make it again. Why not make it up this weekend? You can call it practice for Thanksgiving, and you’ll get some wicked good sandwich meat in the bargain. By keeping an eye on critical temps and giving thermal care to the cook, you can make juicy, amazing smoked turkey that you and your whole family will love. Let us know how it goes!
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Smoked Turkey Breast: Cooking and Pull Temps
Description
Boneless smoked turkey breasts, adapted from a recipe found on MeatChurch.com
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless turkey breast halves
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- BBQ rub or another seasoning
- 1 C kosher salt
- 1/2 C sugar (optional)
- Other brine ingredients, optional (we used a half bottle of hot sauce)
Instructions
Brine the meat
- Combine the cup of kosher salt (and the sugar if using) with one gallon of water. Stir to combine until all the salt is dissolved.
- Place the breasts in the brine and put the brine in the refrigerator for 3–6 hours.
Cook the turkey
- As the meat approaches the end of its brining time, preheat your smoker to 275°F (135°C). If using Billows™ BBQ Control Fan, set the fan-control channel on your Smoke X2 for that temp.
- Remove the meat from the brine and discard the brine.
- Pat the meat dry with paper towels.
- Smear the mayo onto the surface of the meat, scraping it with a gloved finger so that only a bare coat remains.
- Season the breasts on both sides with your favorite poultry rub.
- Place the turkey in the smoker and probe a breast with your Smoke X2. Set the high-temp alarm for 157°F (69°C).
- Smoke until the high-temp alarm sounds on your meat channel.
- Use your Thermapen ONE to verify that 157°F (69°C) is the lowest temp you can find in the meat.
- Remove the meat from the smoker and let it rest for a few minutes before carving in.
- Slice it up and serve it!
Note: only slice as much as you will eat. The leftovers are better if you let the breast cool as a chunk then slice the meat for sandwiches off of that chunk. Slicing it all when hot, then cooling it will yield drier sandwich meat.
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Steven says
What other alternatives to Mayo can you use? I ask due to my daughter having an egg allergy. Thanks!
Martin says
Mustard will work, as will any creamy salad dressing that (in your case) has no eggs.
Jeff says
I’ve used mustard on ribs, it’s a good binder and you can’t taste it when cooked. Also, a thin coating of olive oil works well too (if you’re worried about mustard imparting any flavor).
Vali says
Hi Martin,
The recipe looks very nice and I will give it a try, I do have 2 questions:
– what was the weight of your bigger piece – looks about 700g
– with your setup how long does it take for the piece to reach 69C?
Thanks,
Vali
Martin says
I don’t remember exactly now, but your estimate is not far off. It may have been as big as a kilo. It took us about 95 minutes with our setup and starting conditions.
Wayne says
When you smoke a turkey is the skin healthy to eat or is it best discarded?
Martin says
Great question! The skin will certainly not get crispy at this cooking temp. I love to take the skin off, mince it, and render it. You end up with golden turkey fat for later use and crispy, bacony turkey-skin bits that you can scatter on your food. Healthy? Not so much. Tasty? yes.
Michael says
I understand cook to temperature, but approximately how long should I expect the smoke to take? I gotta plan the rest of dinner and don’t want to miss by an hour…
Martin says
It should take about 90–120 minutes.
Joe Lecocke says
I have a 3-5 lb turkey breast that has been preserved with a solution according to the label. Do I follow your instructions for brining in addition.
Martin says
In that case, it’s kind of up to you. The ones we cooked were pre-injected, but we still brined and the result was great.
Dave Gowans says
Approximately how long will this cook? I know that temperature is king and it’s done when it’s done, but for planning purposes about how much cook time should be allocated?
Martin says
It should take 1.5–2 hours.
M sweitzer says
Can you do it bone in?
Martin says
Yes, you can!
Gerell Lagerloef says
Nice straightforward advice on temps/brine/seasonings. You have a good site hear for reference
Hans Sommer says
Nicely done. I’m following your low and slow method. Pulling at 155
Charlie says
What is the best wood for smoking Turkey Brest?
Martin says
The best wood is the one you like best! But I like apple.
Dixie Pederson says
Any advice on outdoor temperature? How cold is too cold to smoke? And how do we adjust the timing for colder outdoor temperature?
Martin says
As long as you have an accurate knowledge of the temperature inside your smoker, you should be fine. If your turkey meat thinks it’s 250°F, it doesn’t know that it’s 17°F outside! It will, however, take more fuel to reach and maintain a target pit temp the colder it gets. Use the air probe of your thermometer to keep an eye on that pit temp, and everything should go just fine.
Ron C. says
I have smoking Turkey Breasts for years ( we make a large batch of Turkey pot pies for the freezer) I brine, put on a rack in a shallow pan that’s has some Apple Juice or cider in it & cover very loose with some foil. Then pretty much the same as you suggest. I always use Apple Wood.
Ron Conrad says
Would you like to try a different binder ? I use pure maple syrup , on my Turkey & my ribs.