Smoked Spatchcock Turkey With Honey BBQ Sauce

Hands down, this is the best spatchcock turkey smoker recipe with BBQ rub and sauce. With NO BRINING NEEDED! There’s so much tasty sweet and smoky flavor going on in EACH BITE. It’s an easy pellet grill recipe for a crowd. Let’s smoke it…

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Why this recipe for smoking a spatchcocked turkey is so good…

• NO BRINE needed! So no need to worry about whether or not you spatchcock turkey before or after brining. 
• Big flavor.
• Learn exactly how to spatchcock a turkey and smoke it.
• See how long to smoke a spatchcock turkey.
• Great smoker recipe for a group of people. 
• Easy smoked main dish idea for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter.
• Includes a video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page). 

How to spatchcock turkey for smoking

Spatchcocking a turkey is simple and only takes a few minutes.

1. Use kitchen shears or a really sharp chef’s knife cut along each side of the backbone of the turkey. 
2. Remove and discard the backbone. 
3. Flip the turkey so the breast side is up. 
4. Push down the turkey breast to flatten it out. 

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make it.

Smoked spatchcocked turkey Ingredients

• Whole turkey (~11 LBs)
• BBQ rub (or poultry seasoning)
• Olive oil 

For the spatchcocked smoked turkey compound butter  

• Butter (unsalted)
• Salt and pepper
• Rosemary
• Thyme

For the honey BBQ baste (optional – it’s delicious!) 

• BBQ sauce
• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Butter (unsalted)

Also check out this guide to smoked turkey breast…

How to smoke a spatchcock turkey

Now I’ll walk you through this smoked spatchcock turkey recipe…

Quick look at the recipe…

1. Spatchcock and seasoning turkey. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat Traeger with a water pan off to the side of the grill grates.
3. Smoke the spatchcocked turkey for 1.5 hours.
4. Make honey BBQ baste and add it to turkey. Finish smoking at a higher temperature. 
5. Rest and enjoy.

Detailed instructions…

1. Remove the whole turkey from plastic. Remove inside parts and discard. Pat turkey with a paper towel.
2. Spatchcock turkey. (see steps above)
3. Season spatchcocked turkey. First, use your fingers to loosen the skin of the turkey breast from the meat. Smear compound butter between skin and turkey breast. Next, add olive oil and massage into the turkey. Then add your rub seasoning to the turkey. Rub into the turkey skin for about 1 minute. Tuck the wings into the side of the bird so they cook more evenly.
4. Chill turkey in the fridge before smoking. While you don’t need a full-on brine, it’s recommended to let the spatchcocked turkey sit in seasoning for a while to make it more flavorful. If you have the time, transfer seasoned spatchcocked turkey to the fridge and store for at least 2 hours, to overnight. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 30 minutes before smoking it.
5. Preheat Traeger smoker to 275 degrees F. Add Traeger Turkey Blend wood pellets, or whatever pellets you’re using to the hopper. If desired, add a roasting pan with raised edges to catch the drippings below the grates (below where the turkey will sit). Add a small pan filled with room temperature or cold water on top of the grates, to the side, to add moisture as the spatchcocked turkey smokes (optional, but recommended).
6. Smoke the spatchcocked turkey. Once preheated, add the spatchcocked turkey directly to the grill grates, ​​breast side up. Smoke the spatchcocked turkey at 275 degrees F for 1.5 hours.
7. Make the honey BBQ sauce baste. You don’t have to baste the turkey, but it will add a lot of flavor to the skin. To make it, add all the basting ingredients to a small saucepan and place the saucepan into the smoker 30 minutes into the cook time. After 30 minutes stir to combine ingredients and baste the turkey with the honey bbq sauce (use only half of the sauce). Continue to smoke for a 225 degrees F for an additional 30 minutes bringing your total cooking time – without the baste – to 1.5 hours 
8. Raise the temperature of the smoker to 350 degrees F. For the second time, brush the spatchcocked turkey with the remaining honey bbq baste. Close the lid and smoke until internal temperature of the turkey, measured in the thickest part of the turkey (the thigh) with an internal meat thermometer. Spatchcocked turkey is done smoking at 165 degrees F in the breast and 175 degrees F in the thigh.. Our total smoke time for spatchcocked turkey was about 2 hours.
9. Rest smoked spatchcocked turkey for at least 20 minutes, under tin foil if desired. Carve and enjoy!

See how to spatchcock chicken and how to make smoked whole chicken…

FAQs

More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes

• Smoked leg of lamb
• Smoked wings
• Smoked turkey breast
• Whole smoked turkey
• Smoked onion rings
• Traeger smoked ham
• Smoked whole chicken
• Traeger tri tip
• Smoked Traeger pizza
• Smoked jalapeno poppers
• Smoked corn on the cob
• Traeger beef ribs
• Smoked brisket flat
• Smoked shrimp
• Grilled chicken wings
• Grilled skirt steak
• Flank steak marinade
• Grilled potato wedges
• Smoked pulled pork
• Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes

See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.

Meat thermometer recommendations

Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly. 

On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

1. Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
2. ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill. 

It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature. 

How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about smoking a spatchcock turkey. You can also make smoked spatchcock chicken on the BBQ pellet grill, which I’ll share along with a smoked beer can chicken recipe soon. 

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