Last Updated on January 8, 2024 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
Origin: Nose To Tail, American
Method: Smoker
Jump to RecipeThis hot and fast smoked boneless turkey breast is the perfect recipe for an easy Thanksgiving dinner, or any time of year. This smoked Butterball turkey can typically be ready to eat in about 2 hours.
I don't know about you, but I love Thanksgiving. I hate the fact that it only comes once a year, so I am constantly looking for ways to have a Thanksgiving dinner as frequently as possible.
Thankfully I have found a way to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner year-round. Now you can enjoy your tryptophan-induced food coma whenever you desire with this quick and easy smoked turkey breast.
Table of contents
Making the Smoked Boneless Turkey Breast
I know in our family the white meat was always the most sought after growing up, so this recipe uses all white meat turkey breast. We use a boneless breast so you don't even have to worry about deboning anything. The kids, however, will miss out on pulling apart the wishbone.
For this hot and fast smoked turkey, we use a Butterball boneless turkey breast roast. This turkey breast comes pre-brined, so there is no need to brine the smoked turkey, but for those using a fresh turkey breast, you certainly use a brine like our Apple Cider Turkey Brine.
Form and season the boneless turkey breast
Sometimes with thawing a boneless turkey breast they can become a bit misshapen. Simply reshape by making sure all of the turkey is in the twine netting. After the turkey cooks, it will maintain its shape, no worries. Next, apply a generous seasoning of your favorite BBQ rub for poultry. We often make our own, but this time we used some Plowboys Yardbird, which is always a hit.
You want to generously season all sides of the boneless turkey breast. Depending on the size, we typically use about ⅓ to ½ cup of BBQ rub.
Smoking a Hot and Fast Turkey Breast
To make the smoked Butterball turkey roast, preheat your smoker to about 300 degrees. We love making this smoked turkey breast on a drum smoker like our Gateway, but Big Green Egg smoked turkey breast is another favorite.
What is the best wood for smoking turkey
Because turkey is a mild protein, mild woods are preferred. For the smoked turkey breast, we like to cook over a milder flavored fruit wood such as apple or cherry. For a more robust flavor you can use pecan or hickory, but it is easy to over smoke turkey so take care when using stronger flavored woods.
Rotate the meat about every 45 minutes
To help ensure even cooking you will want to rotate the meat 90 degrees about every 45 minutes. We also highly recommend monitoring the meat with an in-meat thermometer. Our personal favorites are FireBoard products, but there are a lot of good products out there so just do your research before you purchase one.
When the meat reaches about 145 degrees or whenever the outside of the turkey breast begins to look dry, we like to add a few tabs of butter on top of the smoked turkey breast to help flavor and moisten the turkey as it finishes its smoke bath.
From grill on until grill off, the turkey breast takes about 1.5-2 hours, BUT ALWAYS GO BY MEAT TEMP NOT BY TIME! (I must admit my fat thumb accidentally hit caps lock but it is one of my BBQ pet peeves so I left it, because it can be the difference between average BBQ and great BBQ). Don't just assume the meat is done at 2 hours, check the temp.
When the center of the turkey has reached a temp of 158-160 degrees it is time to remove it from the smoker. We always double check the temp with an instant read thermometer. If you only own 1 tool for BBQ this is what you should own. If you know what your meat temp is, you can cook great BBQ on anything, anywhere.
Turkey breast doneness chart
Despite what you see written all over the internet, 165 degrees is not the best temperature for cooking turkey breast and will typically result in dry turkey. 165 degrees is the temperature in which most bacteria are killed instantly. You can obtain the same safety cooking turkey to a lower temp with a lower hold time. Our preferred method is to remove the turkey from the smoker at about 155-157 degrees and then rest the turkey for 3-5 minutes before serving.
Give the meat a rest to maintain juiciness.
After removing the smoked turkey breast from the smoker, place it on a cutting board, cover with foil, and let it rest for about 5 minutes. It is always good practice to let all of your meat rest for a few minutes after cooking as it helps the meat retain its moisture, instead of spilling it all over the cutting board. This also allows the turkey to reach its FDA safe temperature with the carryover temp.
Time to carve and serve the easy smoked turkey breast
After letting the turkey rest, it is time to show off your carving skills and slice up the turkey. Remove the mesh and slice the turkey. If you went with the boneless turkey breast this is going to be the easiest turkey carving you have ever done.
Now it is time to eat!
What to Serve with Smoked Turkey Breast
This smoked turkey breast is so quick and hassle free, you will even have ample time to make up a couple of your favorite Thanksgiving sides. We love to serve it up alongside our White Castle stuffing, mashed potato cakes, and lingonberries.
Or you can serve it up alongside our Grilled Apple Cranberry Salad and Holiday Stuffing with Truffle Sausage for something a little more upscale. Of course, no turkey dinner is complete without some Southern style smoked gravy.
For an added bonus, there is also minimal cleanup afterwards, so you will be passed out in the recliner watching NFL football in no time. Have leftovers? Give our Louisville Hot Brown: Kentucky’s Turkey Sandwich a try.
Frequently Asked Questions
For turkey breast, mild woods such as apple, cherry or maple work best as turkey is a mild flavored protein. For a bit more robust flavor you can use pecan or hickory.
Turkey breast is very prone to drying out and is best when pulled from the heat source at about 155-157 degrees and then rested for a few minutes before serving.
Yes, according to the FDA turkey cooked to an internal temperature of 155 degrees with a 1.3-minute hold is just as safe to eat as turkey cooked to 165 for 1 second. The lower cook temperature also results in a much juicier turkey.
By far the best way to reheat turkey is with a sous vide. This allows you to reheat the turkey without drying it out. If you do not have a sous vide wrap leftover turkey in foil and reheat in a 350-degree oven until the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. If you tried and enjoyed our recipe, please share with others and please leave us a comment and review. We also love to see your pics so don’t forget to tag us @Carne_Diem_Culinary or #CarneDiemBlog. To be notified of future recipes please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or sign up for our e-mail notifications. Until next time, Carne Diem!
📖 Recipe
Easy Smoked Boneless Turkey Breast
Equipment
- Grill or Smoker
Ingredients
- 1 Butterball Boneless Turkey Breast
- About ½ cup of your favorite BBQ rub for poultry
- 3 Tablespoon Salted Butter divided
Instructions
- Remove your turkey breast from the packaging and be sure to remove the gravy packet, it it came with one. Make sure all of the turkey breast is within the mesh netting.
- Sprinkle liberally with your favorite BBQ rub for poultry. We typically make our own, but Yardbird by Plowbows is a great place to start for a store bought rub.
- Preheat your smoker to 300 degrees.
- Cook the turkey to an internal temp of 150 degrees, rotating the turkey 90 degrees every 45 minutes. This typically takes roughly 1.5-2 hours, but that is just an estimate.
- Top with the divided butter, and continue smoking until you reach your target temp of 157-160 degrees. This typically takes about 15-30 minutes.
- When you reach your target temp, remove the meat to a cutting board, and tent with foil. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.
- After the rest, slice the turkey and serve with you favorite dressing and sides.
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