Skip to main content
Epicurious

Smoked Turkey Breast

By Matt Horn

5.0

(2)

Sliced smoked turkey breast on a cutting board.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee

Turkey does not play a starring role in the great Southern barbecue traditions, but it is in fact a pretty common BBQ meat there—and elsewhere—both because there have always been plenty of wild turkeys to hunt and because turkey traditionally has been an inexpensive meat to buy from the supermarket. Three pounds (1 kg) is the size of a typical one-half (one side) boneless turkey breast; if you need to feed more people—perhaps for a Thanksgiving meal—just buy both sides and double the rub quantities in this smoked turkey breast recipe.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    2½ hours

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. (14.4 g) ground rosemary 
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. (6 g) coarse ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. (7 g) smoked paprika
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 3-pound (1 kg) boneless turkey breast

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix the rosemary, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and granulated garlic together in a small bowl to make the rub.

    Step 2

    Season the turkey breast firmly with the rub and let it sit for up to 1 hour to absorb the flavors.

    Step 3

    Preheat the smoker to 300°F using white oak or your own wood preference.

    Step 4

    Place the turkey breast in the smoker. Cook the turkey breast until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F to 170°F, about 1¼ to 1½ hours.

Image may contain: Food, Ribs, Animal, Seafood, Sea Life, Lobster, and Bread
Images and text Horn Barbecue by Matt Horn; photography by Andrew Thomas Lee. © 2022 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Buy the full book from Harvard Common Press or Amazon.
TagsGarlicRoot VegetableVegetablePaprikaHerbs & SpicesPoultryGrillingThanksgiving

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Crispy Baked Wings With Berbere Honey Glaze and Fried Garlic
Berbere is a spicy chile blend that has floral and sweet notes from coriander and cardamom, and when it’s paired with a honey glaze, it sets these wings apart from anything else you’ve ever had.
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Miso-Peanut Hibachi Chicken
The magic of this hibachi chicken recipe comes from a combination of miso and peanut butter and how it beautifully caramelizes when it hits the grill.
Mint Julep
A strip of lemon zest balances this refreshing spring classic.
Luscious Banana Pudding
Layer homemade custard, ripe bananas, and vanilla wafers under clouds of whipped cream for this iconic dessert.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Île Flottante
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.