Whew! What a busy weekend it was!
It all started with a good 3 miles of running after work on Friday. This half marathon training stuff is crazy. Just crazy. I’m only running 3-4 miles now, and I can’t imagine going 4 times as far!! Then, Saturday, we decided to do a practice holiday meal (since we’re probably hosting Christmas this year…YAY!) and invited the in-laws over…smoked turkey, potatoes, green beans, a twist on cranberry sauce that knocked everyone’s socks off (sharing that Wednesday) and a great dessert that I’m sharing with you guys Friday! It’s going to be a week of Thanksgiving…with a twist…on the blog. I hope you all LOVE it as much as we loved it!
Can I also brag a bit? As far as my side of the family goes…Christmas shopping is ALL DONE! I just have to get something for my husband, and of course, help him out with his family’s gifts. 🙂 Once I get started on shopping, I am a gift shopping machine. I kind of want to go in the attic and grab our container of gift wrap, but I think my husband would give me a permanent side-eye. Ah well…now to just relax and finish making the gifts that I plan on crafting.
So, that picture may not be the most picture perfect turkey (I think it’s because I didn’t butter the skin well enough and I tore it…womp wah), but OMG…it was SO tasty. And that’s all that matters, right? (especially once it’s carved up) Making the turkey in a smoker is a fun twist on the traditional oven-roasted turkey. It’s full of smoky flavor, and since the turkey is injected with a whole jar of marinade, the turkey is crazy moist.
NOTE: This recipe is intended for an electric smoker (we own a Masterbuilt one).
Smoked Turkey
Source: Dadgum, That’s GoodIngredients:
- one whole turkey, thawed
- 1 bottle buttery creole injection marinade…make sure it comes with an injector or purchase your own (we used Tony Chachere’s)
- cajun seasoning (we used Tony Chachere’s)
- apple wood chips, for smoking
- apple juice
- water
- 1 stick unsalted butter
Directions:
- Fill the smoker’s water pan 1/3 of the way full with half apple juice and half water (about 3 cups for our particular water pan). Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F. Rinse out and dry the thawed turkey in the sink (don’t forget to disinfect the sink after this!). Using the injector, inject the turkey (in various areas) with one full jar of the buttery marinade.
- Liberally season the skin (and carefully underneath the skin) of the turkey with cajun seasoning, being sure to rub it well into the skin. Cut the butter into small pats, and carefully place them under the skin of the turkey.
- Add a small handful of apple wood chips to the smoker (we have a special loader for this). Open the smoker, and place the turkey on a rack high in the smoker (in the center of the rack) and close the door. Every hour or so of the cooking process, add another handful of apple wood chips to your smoker (no more than 5 times for the whole cooking process of the turkey). Smoke the turkey for about 30 minutes per lb., ensuring that the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove the turkey from the smoker and place it on a rimmed baking sheet, covering the entire turkey with foil to allow it to rest. Allow the turkey to rest for about 30 minutes before serving.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, there are turkeys starting to show up in stores again. 🙂 One of my family’s favorites has always been Butterball.
This year, Butterball is embracing the new Thanksgiving table and offering great tips for including everyone in the family when it comes to preparing this year’s Thanksgiving feast. I know from hosting Thanksgiving & Christmas parties that any help is definitely welcome in the kitchen. There are tips available on their site to help with anything from choosing the perfect turkey for your family/friends to carving a turkey (other how-tos are available here). Also, for any turkey questions, they also have their turkey talk-line.
The wonderful folks at Butterball want to make Thanksgiving that much easier for three lucky readers of The Nifty Foodie. They’re offering $20 gift certificates to go towards the purchase of your turkey. Isn’t that just awesome?
To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter widget below.
Note: This giveaway is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until November 13th at 12:00am (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Disclaimer: Butterball supplied the 3 $20 gift certificates for the giveaway. I was not compensated or given product to write this post….just wanted to share some turkeys with y’all (because I love these turkeys SO much)! All opinions are 100% my own.
That turkey sounds AMAZING! I can just imagine the turkey sandwiches from the leftovers!! Now I can’t wait for Thanksgiving! 🙂
No recipe, but I LOVE deep fried turkey!
I’ve never had anything other than roasted turkey but I’ve always wanted to try deep fried turkey.
I’ve never had anything but a roasted either, but I’d love to try a smoked and a fried turkey.
I don’t eat turkey, but everyone else in my family does! 🙂
I’ve tried turkey all kinds of ways. But surprisingly my MIL does the best turkey with paprika and butter!!!
We host Thanksgiving every year and smoking a turkey might be a great alternative!!
My brother deep fries the turkey every year and it is amazing! I can’t wait for Thanksgiving.
I have never made a turkey, I would like to start with baking one.
Deep-fried turkey is the gold standard around our house!
I love the tried and true classic, oven roasted, but love getting creative with the leftovers.
I really want to try deep fried turkey, but we are too chicken to actually do it ourselves. Definitely slow roasted in the oven is the go to for the holidays!
I will be a guest and would love to give the certificate to my lovely SIL.
I love to brine my turkey then roast it in the oven, basting it with white wine, garlic, and butter.
Definitely a classic roast turkey girl!
Yeah fried turkeys are great but I just got a smoker and would love to smoke one
I like roasted turkey!
I’ve only attempted to roast a turkey once. Last year I bought a turkey breast from Costco that had stuffing in the middle, and boy, was that easy!
I’ve never had a smoked turkey… but now I really want one! 🙂
I would love to try a fried turkey. But of the turkey’s I’ve made an Asian-inspired turkey was my favorite.
I love the smoked turkey, but most of the time we just roast it with herbs
I enjoy roasted turkey.
Roasted turkey is my favorite and I like when marinades or flavor injectors are used to flavor the meat…especially a Cajun one with a little zing.
I love roasted turkey!
I like smoked turkey.
I like just a roasted turkey. I put mayo on it and cook on 400 for about 45 minutes to seer in the juices them lower temp.So juicy
I don’t have a good recipe, but I like roasted turkey!
i love it oven roasted
we like our turkey FRIED in peanut oil !!!!!!!!!!!!!
we deep fried our turkey last year! yum
Love it fried, but prefer just the friend turkey breast
One year we had a Cajun flavored turkey from Honey Baked Ham and it was so good.
I like just the plain, old-fashioned roasted turkey with a sage seasoning or turkey rub. I’d like to try a deep-friend one some time, though,.
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My friend made the best deep fried turkey – it was super yummy
I prefer a nice roasted turkey although last year we had fried turkey at a friends house that was quite good. This year I m cooking and it will be roasted love the way it makes the house smell-yum!
I know it is only 7:50am, but turkey sounds delicious right about now! 🙂
Ours is fried every year – hubby won’t have it any other way!
I”m making my first turkey this year. I’ve always been afraid and just bought a fully cooked from Popeye’s, but not this year!
Looking forward to frying another turkey this Thanksgiving!
I’m an old-fashioned girl when it comes to turkey… Roasted, please!