Smoked Turkey Breast with Texas Butter
If you’re looking for a dinner centerpiece that can double as next-day lunch meat, this Smoked Turkey Breast with Texas Butter is a great option. For the longest time, I thought that smoked turkey was only for Thanksgiving dinner- little did I know what I was missing out on. Between the hickory smoke flavor infused into the turkey plus a compound butter loaded with flavor, with this recipe, you’ll end up with leftovers that even the pickiest of eaters will love.
Equipment
- Smoker or Grill
- instant read thermometer
- Meat Injector or Mop
- Aluminum Foil
- Spatula
- Baking Sheet
- Wire Rack
- Plastic Wrap, Freezer Bag, or Vacuum Sealer
Ingredients
- 1 3 lbs.. boneless turkey breast
- BBQ Rub of choice
- 1 ½ sticks butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste cloves are fine if not injecting
- 1 T Dijon mustard
- ½ lemon juiced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon chives
Instructions
For the Texas Butter:
- Combine 8T of the butter plus the following nine ingredients until well combined and keep at room temperature.
For the Smoked & Stuffed Turkey:
- Take out the turkey breast, trim any excess fat or skin, and wipe clean of excess slime/residue. Next, Inject the breast in several spots with the Texas butter, distributing as evenly as possible (Note: If you’re not injecting, save this to add to the breast later or dip with when finished). Next, season the turkey liberally with your BBQ rub of choice, ensuring it contains a salt component to help brine the meat. Place the turkey in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
- Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees (depending on the size of your smoker, it may be best to do this while you’re prepping the turkey in step 1). Once the smoker is ready, add the turkey breast. I like to place the breast on a wire rack to make transporting easier. Let the turkey cook until the internal temperature registers 130-140 degrees. Once this happens, remove the turkey from the smoker.
- Place the turkey breast on a large sheet of foil (presentation side up), folding up the sides to prevent liquid from spilling. Pour half the remaining butter onto the turkey, flip it over, and pour the rest. Wrap tightly with the foil and place it back on the smoker presentation side down (either way works, but this way, the turkey looks better for the final presentation). Note: If you did not inject with the Texas butter in step 1, only add ½ C of the butter mixture at this stage. Keep the rest for dipping.
- Let the turkey breast keep cooking until it registers 160-162 degrees. At this point, remove it from the smoker and allow it to rest, still wrapped, for at least 20 minutes (Carryover cooking will take the turkey up to 165 degrees internally).
- Finally, remove the turkey from the foil, slice it, and serve with the Texas butter and sides of choice. Enjoy!