My tasty smoked turkey breast without brine recipe is easy to make and it turns out super juicy. Today you’ll learn how to smoke turkey breast (3-4 LB boneless or bone-in) on the Traeger Pellet Grill, Green Egg, or whatever you’re using. Let’s smoke turkey!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time2 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Resting Time30 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs55 minutesmins
Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American, BBQ
Keyword: smoked bone in turkey breast, smoked boneless turkey breast, smoked turkey breast, traeger smoked turkey breast
For the smoked turkey breast dry rub poultry seasoning
¼tsp onion powder
½tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp rosemarydried
¼ tsp thymedried
¼ tsp sagedried
¼ tsp paprikadried
⅛tsp red pepper flakes
½tsp salt
¼ tsp pepperblack
Instructions
Preheat the Traeger grill or whatever smoked you’re using to 225 degrees F. Make sure there are enough pellet wood chips in the smoker to last a few hours and you have a drip pan in place. In this demo, the Traeger wood pellet blend was used, but Maple, Hickory, and Cherry pellet wood chunks are good options, too.
Make the smoked turkey breast poultry seasoning. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the poultry seasoning (onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, sage, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper). Set aside.
Place turkey breast on a work surface and pat turkey breast dry with paper towels. Coat all over with melted butter by using your hands to massage the butter into the turkey breast.
Season the turkey with the poultry seasoning (use as much as desired - in this Traeger demo, all of the seasoning was used). Use your hands to massage the seasonings into the turkey breast.
Place your turkey breast on the smoker grill grate and cook for 40 - 45 minutes per pound, until the internal temp reaches 160°F. You may find that some recipes say 30 minutes a pound will work, but I have found that is not enough time at 225°F.
The exact smoked turkey breast time will vary based on how large of a turkey you’re smoking. Use an instant read thermometer to verify when your turkey does reach an internal temperature of 160-165°F (note: 165°F is the official safe temperature, removing it at 160°F in theory allows time for the turkey to keep cooking up to temperature). Remove from heat.
Wait at least 20-30 minutes before slicing so the juices can settle. You can cover the turkey breast with tin foil to keep it warm and leave it out at room temperature.