Smoking a Turkey is easy and delicious AND by spatchcocking the turkey it cooks quickly and evenly. Also make gravy without having any turkey drippings.
How I smoked this turkey
I adore turkey! I make 3-4 turkeys a year! I’ve been making my Brown Bag turkey for years and years and years. It’s always a huge hit, moist and easy.
But a few years ago my Brother in Law wanted to smoke a turkey – so I did some research! I decided this would be a great time to try something new – Spatchcocking.
At this point I’ve spatchcocked and smoked 3 turkeys and I love it! I use the same flavoring as my brown bag turkey – my compound herb butter.
The earlier you make the compound butter the stronger the flavor will be, BUT you can make it right before smoking if you forgot (I’ve done both).
Just take me to the Smoked Turkey Recipe with Gravy already!
If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for smoked turkey, along with links to other thanksgiving recipes and get straight to this delicious turkey and gravy – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
How to Spatchcock a Turkey
– First pick a good turkey – I honestly recommend an organic turkey, I think they have the best flavor. Get at least 1/2 a lbs per person – for major leftovers (like to make my turkey soup or pot pie) consider 1 lbs per person.
– Thaw your turkey if you haven’t already – in the fridge, think 24 hours for every 5 lbs
– Take out the neck and giblets and rinse the bird with cold water
– Turn the turkey over and cut out the spine – it cuts fairly easily with strong scissors.
– Turn the turkey over AGAIN, spread the ribs and press down on the breast bone – it will break with some pressure.
– Tuck the wings behind the breast and flatten the thighs.
How to Make Turkey Gravy without drippings
– The only negative to smoking a turkey is not having drippings – for a gravy lover like me it’s a bummer. Here is my normal Drippings filled Gravy recipe
– One tip is to make your own turkey stock – Then you can use that for your gravy. It lasts about 6 months in the freezer. I make a turkey at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter – so I always have some in the freezer to use.
– If you DON’T make your own stock the next best thing I recommend is using Turkey Better than Bullion.
– My last tip is to consider adding some garlic. Dice it really fine and cook it with the butter before adding the flour.
To make this Smoked Turkey and Gravy you’ll need
- Smoker
- Wood pellets
- good kitchen scissors for cutting out the spine
- silicone gloves
- herb mincer
- Meat Thermometer
- mashed potatoes
- butter crescent rolls
Smoked Turkey and Gravy
If you love these Thanksgiving recipes as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!
If you love Smoked Turkey and Gravy you’ll love these other Thanksgiving recipes!
Perfect Pecan Tart | Turkey and Wild Rice Soup | Pumpkin Pie
Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup | Crescent Rolls | Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Connect with Ashlee Marie Online!
To watch me make this Smoked Turkey with Gravy play the video in the recipe card (if you’re on desktop, it should be auto playing for you).
You can find all my cooking show style recipe videos on YouTube, or my short recipe videos on Facebook Watch, or my Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Spatchcock Smoked Turkey with gravy
Ingredients
Spatchcock Smoked Turkey
- 15 lbs Turkey thawed
- 1 C butter softened
- 1 Tbsp diced rosemary
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp diced sage leaves
- 1 shallot diced
- 4 tsp diced garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Turkey Gravy
- 1/2 C Butter
- 1/2 C Flour
- 1 packet Turkey gravy
- 1 C Water
- 2 C Turkey Stock (I like using Better than Bullion if I don't have my own stock)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
- Make the compound butter – dice the rosemary, thyme and sage with an herb cutter.
- in a bowl mix the butter, herbs, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper.
- preheat your smoker to 400
- Clean your turkey with cold water, making sure to take out the neck and gizzards (you can save them for making turkey broth or throw out)
- cut the spine out of the turkey – with good scissors or knife. Cutting through the thin ribs is easy, the shoulder bones are a little tougher
- Now turn the Turkey over, separate the two sides and press down on the breast bone breaking it and flattening the turkey
- Pat your turkey dry inside and out
- tuck the wings behind the breast so the points don't burn. You can turn your thighs a few different directions, play with it a little until they fit easily.
- add the butter under the skin of the breasts and thighs. You can add more butter to the outside of the skin but I found that the herbs tend to burn there so I switched to adding olive oil, salt and pepper all over the skin.
- Place your turkey in your smoker. Put your meat thermometer into the breast of the turkey, making sure it doesn't touch any bone.
- Cook until the meat thermometer reads 165 – it should take about an hour – but depends on a lot so it could be anywhere from 45 mins to 1 hour 15 mins
- Pull your turkey out and let it rest for 15 mins – I cover it with foil during this time
- slice and serve!
Turkey Gravy
- in a saucepan melt the butter
- Add the flour and whisk to a paste
- add the turkey gravy packet and stir
- add the water and stir until smooth
- add the turkey stock and stir until smooth, bring to a simmer and cook until thickened
- add salt (and pepper) to taste.
Leave a Reply