Hi, I’m Chef Tony Matassa with BBQGuys.com.
Today we are making smoked turkey on the Traeger Timberline, I’ll show you how to do it from
start to finish.
Let’s get to it!
Let’s start off by mixing together the marinade, which we’ll use to inject the turkey with.
In a mason jar, either add a half cup of your favorite seasoning blend or add a little black
pepper...oregano...a little orange zest..
Some lemon zest… honey..
A little Worcestershire sauce… kosher salt…
granulated sugar..
Garlic powder..
Onion powder..
Dried rosemary..
Paprika… a little cayenne pepper..
Dried sage… ground coriander…
fennel seed powder..
Some thyme leaves… and white pepper.
Now we’ll finish it off with a splash of brandy.. and finally we’ll let these complex
flavors steep and meld together with some hot water.
You’ll want to let this infuse for at least an hour……..but if you have the time…...
I like to let the flavors meld overnight.
Once the marinade is ready, I like to strain it through a coffee filter to make sure none
of the dry spices clog the injection needle.
Once strained, just blend in some olive oil… and a little melted butter.
Now it’s time to inject this bird!
Just work your way around..adding the marinade in several spots.
This will act as an internal brine for the turkey, so you’ll want to inject it the
day before you plan on smoking it, so that the bird gets a chance to marinate overnight
in the fridge.
I’ll go ahead and fill my Timberline with some pellets so it’s ready to go when the
time comes.
You can find pellets in pretty much any wood you prefer, I like cherry best for Turkey.
Inside the grill, I have a drip pan set on a wire baking rack.
This will allow it to sit underneath the cooking grids so the vegetables we will be roasting
can collect some flavorful drippings from the turkey while it roasts.
In the drip pan, I’ll add some white potatoes.. sweet potatoes…
chopped bell pepper..
A little celery..
Some yellow onion..
Carrots…
some chopped shallots..
And a head of garlic.
I’ll season this with my homemade poultry seasoning, if you want to make the one i’m
using today i’ll have the recipe in the description.
Next up, add some Worcestershire sauce… a drizzle of olive oil..
Some Chicken stock… and a generous pour of your favorite red wine.
Now to finish getting the turkey ready for the grill, let’s mix up some compound butter
to coat it with.
To a bowl of softened butter, add a couple tablespoons of poultry seasoning… half a
bunch of fresh chopped parsley..
Some fresh sage.. and rosemary.
Mix this together well, and finish it off with a little olive oil & some fresh squeezed
lemon juice.
Now we’ll rub the turkey with some olive oil and poultry seasoning.
And I’ll add the compound butter under the skin of the turkey and inside the cavity,
this will allow it to self baste while roasting…..keeping it juicy while providing tons of flavor.
Set the bottom rack in your Traeger & it’s time to get this bird on the grill!
I’ll put the temperature probe in the thickest part of the breast so that we can keep an
eye on the progress.
Now for the easiest part, we just need to ignite the pellets with the push of a button
& set our target temperature…
the grill will handle the rest!
The Traeger Timberline can even be controlled remotely from their app.
I’ll set the target temperature to 325 for today’s cook.
You can also set your target probe temperature from right here in the app..I’ll set it
to 165°F.
The great thing about using a pellet grill for a cook like this is.. the auger will keep
the right amount of wood pellets burning in the firepot, & the convection fan will roll
the smoke evenly over the turkey..
All you have to do is sit back & relax.
Alright, we’re about 2 hours into the cook, let’s check it out!
Oh yeah…...we’re looking good!
Let’s go ahead and baste the turkey with a little melted butter, because why not!
The internal temp is reading 160, so it won’t be long now!
This was about a 15lb.
Turkey…
What’s nice about using a drip pan with wine & broth like we have today is.. the steam
rising not only keeps the turkey juicy, it also makes for a quicker roasting process.
This bird is getting some beautiful color from the smoke & it’s smelling great out
here!
I’ll let it cruise until it hits 165 internal, then I’ll temp it in a few areas to be sure
it’s cooked through.
Once we hit the mark, we’ll let it rest about 20 minutes with the grill turned off
& the lid closed.
Finally…..
I think it’s time to dig in!
Nice.. looks like it turned out really tender.
And for the best part…..The taste test!
That was excellent!
The combination of the flavored butter, with the injection.. and then that hint of smoke
that comes off the pellets..
I hope you’ll give it a shot.
Thank you for watching today.
I’m Chef Tony Matassa... and remember, at BBQGuys.com.. we smoke the competition!