Texas-Style Smoked Turkey Breast
Bring some Texas-style barbecue flavor to your next turkey dinner with this Smoked Turkey. A skinless turkey breast is rubbed with Kinder’s The Blend and smoked low and slow before finishing in a buttery wrap for juicy, tender meat with plenty of smoky flavor. It’s a flavorful twist on classic turkey, whether you’re making it for Thanksgiving or firing up the smoker for a weekend gathering.
Ingredients
1 boneless, skinless turkey breast, about 3–4 lb
Kinder’s Butcher’s Brine, optional but highly recommended
1 Tbsp Kinder’s The Blend
½ Cup unsalted butter, sliced into pats
ALSO WORKS GREAT WITH:
Kinder’s Brisket Rub
Kinder’s Seasoned Salt
Instructions
Brine & Prep
While brining isn’t mandatory, it is highly recommended. A skinless turkey breast is extremely lean, and brining helps season the meat throughout while allowing it to retain more moisture during the smoking process.
Prepare the Kinder’s Butcher’s Brine according to the package directions and brine the turkey breast for 5 to 6 hours.
Remove from the brine and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Smoke
Preheat the smoker to 225-250°F. Oak, pecan, or hickory all work well. (*See Smoker Notes below)
Place the turkey breast in a shallow dish. If you didn’t have time to brine, coat evenly with 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce.
Season all over with The Blend, rolling the turkey breast around in the dish to pick up any seasoning left behind. Continue turning and rolling the breast until the seasoning is evenly distributed over the entire surface.
Place the turkey breast directly onto the smoker grates. Smoke at 225-250°F until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches approximately 140°F. (*See Smoker Notes below)
Tear off one large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure it is large enough to completely wrap the turkey breast without creating any openings or seams on the bottom. Arrange the butter pats in the center of the foil and place the turkey breast directly on top.
Bring the foil up and around the turkey breast and tightly crimp the edges together above the breast, creating a well-sealed package that will hold in the melted butter and turkey juices.
Return the wrapped turkey breast to the smoker and continue cooking until the thickest part reaches 160°F. As the butter melts, it will combine with the turkey juices and Kinder’s seasoning, basting the breast as it finishes cooking.
Remove the turkey breast from the smoker.
Rest & Carve
Let the turkey rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, still completely wrapped in the aluminum foil. Keeping the breast wrapped during the rest allows it to stay warm while resting in the seasoned butter and accumulated juices.
After resting, carefully open the foil, making sure to reserve all of the buttery juices inside.
Slice the turkey breast across the grain, then spoon some of the reserved butter and turkey juices over the sliced turkey before serving.
*Smoker Notes
We smoked our turkey on a standard pellet smoker. If you’re using an offset smoker or a different kind of smoker with wood chips, this lower heat can produce more smoke. For these types of smokers, we’d recommend smoking at 250°F.
We recommend the foil butter wrap to happen around a 140°F temp for the final smoking stage, but if you aren't happy with how much color your turkey breast has taken on you can reserve the butter foil and apply when you pull the turkey from the smoker for it's resting / carryover cooking stage.
