Tried my first turkey for thanksgiving

[LincolnLog]

I’m a few days late, but just thought I’d share my first attempt at a turkey on my Stampede. I picked up a bag of the Traeger turkey blend pellets which came with a brine kit and some rub so I decided to go all in with it. I had a fresh 19 lb bird and I brined it in the Traeger solution for 24 hours. Then I spatchcocked it and injected it with a recipe that I found online. Then I used the Traeger rub and put it on at 275. After an hour I started basting it with melted butter that had poultry herbs in it. I did this about every 20 minutes to half hour for a total cook time of 3.5 hours. The final result was probably the juiciest, most tender, flavorful turkey that I’ve ever had! The skin was amazing, the white meat was juicy, and the dark meat was smoky and delicious. Like most people I’m used to only having turkey once a year. But after this I think that’s going to change. I’ve been eating this turkey every day since and it just seems to get better every time!

 

[Mike]

@LincolnLog that turkey looks great man!

Growing up I was never a big turkey fan as we always cooked it in the oven and it was always dry. Then dad bought a turkey deep fryer and it was enjoyable to eat finally. THEN I tried smoking a turkey... it's the only way to eat it now.

I actually stock up on turkeys in my deep freezer so I can have turkeys year round. I have NEVER done that prior to smoking!