If youve never tried smoking a turkey in a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker, youve been missing out on a great experience, and some really tasty turkey!
The Smokey Mountain Cooker, also known by aficionados as the “WSM” or the “Weber Bullet”, is a very well made vertical charcoal smoker thats efficient and durable.
Ive had my 18.5″ WSM for years and have used it to smoke all sorts of meats – beef briskets and chuck roasts, chickens and turkeys, pork chops and picnic roasts, and even beef shanks a couple of times.
Depending on how you set up the charcoal, the smoker can cook at 325 to 350 degrees for 4 to 6 hours, or at the 225 to 250 range for up to 12 hours on a single load of briquettes.
Remove Product? Are you sure you want to remove the following product from the cart? arrow
How to Smoke a Turkey on a Smoker
How to Smoke a Turkey on a Smoker
First, let me welcome you to the wonderful world of smoking on a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker. The smoker is not only easy to use but will provide you one of the greatest turkeys you will ever eat! The 18”and 22” smokers are great for smoking full-size turkeys. You won’t likely be able to fit a full-size turkey on the 14” smoker but you can smoke a turkey breast on it.
Take the smoker apart into 3 sections. Place your chimney starter on the middle section of the smoker.
Light a chimney starter that is filled ¾ of the way with briquettes and wait until it is ashed over.
Place 6 wood chunks (4 cherry and 2 hickory) in an X shape on the bottom charcoal grate.
Fill the bottom ring of the smoker about halfway up to the first circle with unlit briquettes; this will be equivalent to one chimney starter.
Dump the lit briquettes on the unlit and let it kindle for 5-10 minutes. Put the smoker back together and place about 2-3 liters of water in the water pan. Set the bottom vents to about a quarter of the way open and keep the lid vent halfway open.
Preheat for 10-15 minutes until the smoker stabilizes at your desired temperature. Use your Weber Connect to monitor the temperature while you smoke.
If it is going to be cold where you live, like it will be here in the Midwest, then the turkey will take few extra minutes/pound to cook.
Keep the bottom vents locked in to about a quarter to halfway open and start with the top vent halfway open. Control the temperature throughout the process by turning the top vent to being more open to get the temperature higher or closing it a little to cool it down.
Your Weber Connect will monitor the internal temperature of the turkey and send temperature alerts throughout the cook. If you dont have a Weber Connect, then check the temperature of the turkey halfway through the cook with a thermometer, three quarters of the way and then when you think it is done to make sure that you are on the right track to hit 165. This will help you monitor the turkey and make sure it is not over cooked!
Check the temperature of the turkey halfway through the cook, three quarters of the way and then when you think it is done to make sure that you are on the right track to hit 165. This will help you monitor the turkey and make sure it is not over cooked!
The more you open the lid, the longer it will take to cook so be patient, relax and go watch some more football.
Keep in the mind that the turkey could cook a little quicker than you expect so be sure to have checked it halfway, three quarters of the way and then when you think it is done.
Check the temperature of the turkey on the innermost part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast to make sure that it is fully cooked at 165 degrees before removing it.
This step is important! Let it rest for 20-30% of the total cooking time. You can loosely cover the turkey with a piece of aluminum foil while it is resting or you can just leave it uncovered.
Before you carve into that beautiful bird, share your pictures on social media with us!
Looking for more turkey inspiration? Be sure to check out more tips here.
The Ideal Smoker Temperature For Smoking Turkeys
When smoking whole turkeys, its preferable to keep the smoker temperature higher than you would when smoking beef brisket or fatty hunks of pork.
The tough connective tissues in those meats break down best with low and slow cooking. Turkey and other poultry responds better to temperatures in the 275 to 350 degree range.
Most vertical charcoal smokers, including the Weber Smoky Mountain, are designed for lower temperature cooking. And even though it may be difficult to reach 300 degrees, smoking in the 250 to 300 degree range is usually not a problem.
Weather conditions and the quality of the charcoal used are a couple of factors that might limit the uppermost range of acceptable smoking temperatures for smoking turkeys.
Smoking Turkey in a Weber Smokey Mountain
Smoking turkeys in a WSM or other vertical charcoal smoker follows the same basic steps. The first is adding charcoal to the smoker.
Fill the charcoal ring about halfway with unlit charcoal briquettes. Place a few chunks of smoker wood on top of the unlit charcoal then dump a full charcoal chimney of hot coals over the top.
The hot coals will get the unlit charcoal going, gradually burning downward. Set up like this, the charcoal will put out heat more evenly than starting with a charcoal ring full of burning coals.
In other charcoal smokers that use a pan or bowl for the charcoal, fill the entire thing with burning coals. Thats because the pan is usually not ventilated, so unlit coals would not easily ignite and burn.
Wood chunks can be place directly on the bottom of the bowl, before adding the hot charcoal, or in between layers of hot coals.
Optionally, well soaked wood chunks can be added to the top of the charcoal, but I dont recommend doing this. The wood will eventually dry out and burst into flames, causing a temperature spike and creating a lot of soot that could coat the turkey.
Wood thats buried underneath the coals wont create extreme flames, and the soot is burned away as it rises through the hot charcoal.
FAQ
How do you smoke a turkey breast on a Weber Smokey Mountain?
Depending on how you set up the charcoal, the smoker can cook at 325 to 350 degrees for 4 to 6 hours, or at the 225 to 250 range for up to 12 hours on a single load of briquettes.
How long does it take to smoke a turkey Weber Smokey Mountain?
Brush the skin with the melted butter. Grill the turkey breast over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, until the skin is golden and the internal temperature reaches 160 to 165ºF in the thickest part of the breast (not touching the bone), about 1½ hours.
How long does it take to cook a turkey breast on a Weber grill?
Turkey breast takes about 35-45 minutes per pound when cooking at 225°F, so a 6-pound breast could take 2-3½ hours to cook at 225°F. The turkey is done when its internal temperature registers 162°F-163°F on an instant-read thermometer. The skin should be amber colored and beautiful.
How long does it take to smoke a turkey breast at 225?
Turkey breast takes about 35-45 minutes per pound when cooking at 225°F, so a 6-pound breast could take 2-3½ hours to cook at 225°F. The turkey is done when its internal temperature registers 162°F-163°F on an instant-read thermometer. The skin should be amber colored and beautiful.
