Transform a whole turkey into a smoky, golden centerpiece infused with citrus, apple, onion, garlic, and celery aromatics. A melted butter baste, and a fragrant herb blend of parsley, rosemary, sage, basil, thyme, and citrus peel create layers of flavor, while the pellet smoker delivers tender, juicy meat with a subtle wood-fired finish. Perfect for holidays or gatherings, it’s a rustic yet refined take on classic roast turkey.
Wood Pellet Smoke Roasted Turkey
Now I understand that if you aren't a pellet grill user, this post might now appeal to you, but for me, this worked out so well I need to hold onto it for future use! Yes, you can, of course, also roast this turkey in your oven if you don't have a pellet grill.
I have a Traeger (#ad) and while I'm not a weekend warrior with it, I do really enjoy using mine, even in the summer, since it doesn't require standing over it, and during busy holiday seasons it can act as a second oven as well!
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Since I'm still pretty much a novice with my pellet grill, I often rely on guidance from The Complete Wood Pellet Barbeque Cookbook (#ad), an excellent source for pellet grill newbies. If you've just gotten a wood pellet grill, I highly recommend this as a resource you'll turn to time and again, since the booklets that come with pellet grills just aren't really adequate.
Just a quick reminder.... as always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below for the recipe and printable!
Here's what you'll need to make my Wood Pellet Smoke Roasted Turkey:
- 1 (12 to 15-pound) turkey (mine was 13)
- 1 tablespoon kosher, sea or spring salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
- 1-1/2 cups water, chicken or turkey stock/broth, apple juice or cider or white wine
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- Wood pellets (a combination of apple and cherry recommended)
Aromatics:
- 1 apple
- 1 orange (I used a satsuma)
- 2 lemons
- 1 medium onion
- 2 ribs celery
- 2 garlic cloves
If you already have a favorite garlic and herb blend mix on hand that you love, certainly feel free to use that in equal parts instead.
For the Herb Blend:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher, sea or spring salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried lemon peel
- 1/8 teaspoon dried orange peel
Mix together the herb and garlic seasonings so you can evenly distribute on your turkey.
Slice lemons and cut onion, apple and oranges into wedges. Cut celery into 1-1/2-inch chunks, peel and smash garlic.
If your turkey was brined, gently rinse (but don't forget to sanitize!) to get rid of excess salt and set aside on a rimmed pan. Pat dry all over, including in cavity, with paper towels.
Combine the tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons pepper and massage all in the cavity of the turkey. Get on up in there - I know it's kinda creepy but don't be scared!!
Put half of the aromatics into the bottom of the roaster and top with rack. Pour the liquid into the roaster. You can use water, chicken stock/broth, apple juice/cider or white wine.
Transfer turkey to rack and stuff cavity with the remaining aromatics. Brush the melted butter all over turkey. By the way, if you don't have a roaster with a rack, you can bunch up aluminum foil balls and set your turkey on those. The key is to lift it out of the liquids.
Sprinkle with the herb blend. Tuck the wing tips up under the turkey and truss with cooking twine if desired. My turkey had what's called a "hock lock," made from nylon that is heat safe, so I just left it on. This helps to keep the turkey in form for more even cooking, though you can remove it and replace with twine. Mine also has a pop up indicator to let you know when the turkey is done and though I usually just leave it in place, I rely on a separate instant read thermometer.
Fill pellet hopper with pellets - a combination of apple and cherry pellets (#ad) are a great option for a turkey. You don't want the hopper to run out so make sure its filled!
Start pellet grill and set to 225 degrees F. Once grill reaches temperature, transfer roasting pan to grill grates and smoke for 1 hour. Check pellets.
Increase temperature to 325 degrees F and continue cooking until juices run clear when punctured at the thickest part of thigh, and temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, about 4 to 5 hours longer depending on size, or about 20 minutes per pound. Baste turkey with pan juices about every 40 minutes. Be sure to check the pellet hopper to make sure that they are dropping evenly and not running too low!
Carefully remove the roaster from the grill and loosely tent with foil.
Let rest 25 minutes before carving.
I made my turkey ahead, so it's going into a Lock and Lock (#ad)!
For more of my favorite turkey recipes, check out the collection on my Pinterest page!
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