Garlic Herb Smoked Turkey Breast

This Garlic Herb Smoked Turkey Breast is tender, juicy, and flavorful due to utilizing a easy brine and a selfmade garlic herb dry rub. This turkey breast would be the spotlight of your Thanksgiving or household dinner.

Are you planning a Thanksgiving meal? We advocate attempting our Cornbread Dressing, Mexican Corn Casserole, and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes.

Sliced smoked turkey breast on a platter.

Why I Love This Recipe:

Cooking Methodology: Utilizing the smoker permits me to set this up and let it cook dinner exterior, liberating up my oven inside for all my favourite facet dishes and desserts.
Leftovers: Bone-in turkey breasts are nice for cooking since you should utilize the carcass to make turkey broth, which you should utilize for soups. To not point out, leftover turkey is nice for a lot of meals, together with our Pot Pie recipe.
Crowd Pleaser: Smoked turkey is all the time a success every time we serve it, particularly with this garlic herb flavoring.

Elements:

Ingredients needed to make a smoked turkey breast laid on the counter.

Finest Wooden To smoke Turkey

For turkey select a light and candy wooden equivalent to pecan, maple, apple, cherry, or mesquite.

Methods to Smoke Turkey Breast:

Put together the Brine: Pour 2 cups of water right into a medium-size saucepan and warmth over medium warmth. Add the salt and sugar. Stir and proceed heating till the salt and sugar have dissolved and the liquid is obvious. Take away from the warmth.

Collage showing making a brine and adding a turkey breast to brine.

Add the recent herbs, crushed garlic, and peppercorns. Then, pour within the 4 remaining cups of chilly water and permit the brine to chill fully. Place the turkey breast in a big sealable bag or bowl with a lid. Pour the brine excessive, fully protecting the turkey. Seal and place in fridge in a single day.

Turkey breast coated with butter and sprinkled with dry rub.

Prep the Turkey: When able to cook dinner, take away the turkey from the brine, patting it dry to take away any extra brine. Add two teaspoons of the turkey dry rub into the butter. Stir collectively to mix. Utilizing your fingers, gently separate the pores and skin from the turkey breast. Rub a portion of the herb butter underneath the pores and skin on every breast.

Then, rub the remaining butter on the highest of the pores and skin. If the butter is sticking to your fingers and never the turkey, use the again of a spoon to make sure a pleasant, even layer of butter over the breast.
Evenly sprinkle extra of the dry rub on prime of the butter, getting the highest and sides of the breasts.

Smoking: Place turkey breast, breast facet up, straight on the grates of the smoker. Cook dinner for 3-4 hours till the turkey reaches an inside temperature of 160 levels F. The interior temperature will proceed to rise because the turkey rests.

Take away the turkey from the smoker, inserting it on a baking sheet or slicing board. Tent the turkey with foil and permit to relaxation for 15-20 minutes earlier than slicing.

Serving: To slice, minimize the breast down the middle to separate the 2 sides, then utilizing a pointy knife, minimize following the bone to carve out the breast. Lay the breasts down on the slicing board and slice thinly to serve.

Sliced smoked turkey breast served on a platter.

Make Forward and Reheating:

Make Forward: Smoke the turkey and slice it 1-2 days forward of time. Cowl and retailer within the fridge.
Reheating: Place the sliced smoked turkey breast in a baking dish with a small quantity of broth, cowl with foil, and bake at 250 levels F till the interior temperature reaches 165 levels F.

Serve With:

Brining the Turkey

Pour 2 cups of water right into a medium dimension saucepan and warmth over medium warmth. Add the salt and sugar. Stir and proceed heating till the salt and sugar has dissolved and the liquid is obvious. Take away from the warmth.
Add the recent herbs, crushed garlic and peppercorns. Then pour in 4 cups of chilly water.
Permit the brine to chill fully.
Place the turkey breast in a big sealable bag or bowl.
Pour the brine over prime fully protecting the turkey. Seal and place in fridge in a single day.
When able to cook dinner, take away the turkey from the brine, and pat dry eradicating extra brine.

Smoking the Turkey

Preheat smoker to 250 levels F utilizing mesquite, maple, or apple wooden.
Mix the elements for the turkey dry rub in a small bowl.
Prep the turkey by eradicating from the brine and eradicating extra from patting dry with paper towels.
Add 2 teaspoons of the dry rub into the butter. Stir collectively to mix.
Utilizing your fingers gently separate the pores and skin from the turkey breast.
Rub a portion of the herb butter underneath the pores and skin on every breast.
Then rub the remaining butter on the highest of the pores and skin. Should you discover that the butter is sticking to your fingers and never the turkey, use the again of a spoon to make sure a pleasant even layer of butter excessive of the turkey breast.
Evenly sprinkle extra of the dry rub on prime of the butter getting the highest and sides of the breasts.
Place turkey breast, breast facet up, straight on the grates of the smoker.
Cook dinner for 3-4 hours till the turkey reaches an inside temperature of 160 levels F.
Take away the turkey from the smoker, inserting on a baking sheet or slicing board. Tent the turkey with foil and permit to relaxation for 15-20 minutes earlier than slicing.
To slice, minimize the breast down the middle to separate the 2 sides, then utilizing a pointy knife, minimize following the bone to carve out the breast. Lay the breasts down on the slicing board and slice thinly to serve.

Make Forward: Smoke the turkey and slice it 1-2 days forward of time. Cowl and retailer within the fridge.

Reheating: Place the sliced smoked turkey breast in a baking dish with a small quantity of broth, cowl with foil, and bake at 250 levels F till the interior temperature reaches 165 levels F.