This smoked whole turkey breast is great as a main meal, with some delectable sides, or thinly sliced as a sandwich stuffing. 225 degrees Fahrenheit should be maintained as the roasting temperature using an electric or thermostatically controlled smoker. Any leftovers must be refrigerated.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 35 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- wood chips of choice, soaked in water
- water as needed
- 8 ¾ pounds bone-in turkey breast
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning (such as McCormick®)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- disposable drip pan, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat a smoker to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Drain wood chips and place in smoker chip pan. Add water according to manufacturer recommendations.
- Unwrap turkey breast and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine butter, salt, steak seasoning, smoked paprika, onion powder, and black pepper in a bowl to create a seasoned butter.
- Gently separate skin from muscle of the turkey breast and rub seasoned butter between the skin and the muscle, keeping the skin intact. Use about 1/4 of the seasoned butter on each side, and rub the remaining seasoned butter all over the outside of the turkey breast.
- Place prepared turkey breast directly on a smoker rack, and place the disposable drip pan on the rack below, if recommended by the manufacturer. The drip pan should not rest on the chip pan or the water pan.
- Close and secure the smoker, lower thermostat to 225 degrees F (105 degrees C), and smoke 3 1/2 to 4 hours, adding wood chips and water as needed.
- Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature. Smoke until turkey registers 155 to 161 degrees F (68 degrees C to 71 degrees C). Wrap turkey breast in heavy-duty aluminum foil, then wrap in several layers of thick towels, and allow to rest for about 45 minutes. The residual heat will finish cooking the turkey breast to a safe temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees F).
- Slice and serve warm.
- Thaw turkey breast before cooking, if purchased frozen.
- Most commercially prepared turkeys and turkey breasts are pre-brined by injection with some kind of a salt and/or flavoring solution. A brine is unnecessary for a turkey breast that has been injected. If the purchased turkey breast has not been injected, use one of the brine recipes from this site and allow extra time for the brining process.
- Use low-sodium Montreal steak seasoning if you want to reduce the overall sodium in this dish.
- Eight servings are listed for plated meat. This size turkey breast will provide enough thin slices for 10 to 12 sandwiches.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 610 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 366 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 130 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 820 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |