Smoked turkey recipes aren't just for the holidays. Get your smoked turkey fix year-round!

The right smoked turkey recipes will help you cook a bird that is remarkably moist and tender. Additionally, the wood smoke yields a flavor and texture that you just can't get in an oven.

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Now I admit, I do like my oven roasted turkey...braising all nicely in its own delicious juices. My favorite part is the wing!

Of course, when you smoke a turkey the meat will still be juicy but the skin takes on a different texture. Depending on how it's prepped, it can be nice and crispy or a bit chewy.

While I do smoke turkey legs and breasts fairly often, I only have two smoked turkey recipes for whole birds. The recipe I feature here is the easier one.

However, before we get started here is a tip to ensure a safe and enjoyable eating experience. (What follows applies to all of my smoked turkey recipes).

Safe Thawing

Depending on where you live, you may be able to purchase a truly fresh, never frozen turkey. But for the majority of us, it's frozen turkey or nuthin'. But that's okay, as long as we follow food safety guidelines.

A turkey should never be defrosted on the counter.

The USDA says:

"It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Allow about 1 day for every 4-5 pounds of turkey to thaw in the refrigerator.

Turkey may be thawed in cold water in its airtight packaging or in a leak-proof bag. Submerge the bird or cut-up parts in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes... ."

That's important stuff. Using the right smoked turkey recipes is great, but you obviously want to also make sure your bird is safe to eat. And as a side bar, this just doesn't apply to smoked turkey recipes but to the handling of all poultry.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's discuss the prepping and cooking process step-by-step.

Here's what you'll need:

• turkey
• low sodium turkey rub
• broth for injecting turkey
• food and grill thermometer
• syringe food injector
• drip pan
• charcoal
• 4 or 5 chunks of fruit wood for smoking (apple or cherry are great)

Preparing Your Turkey

Step 1: Clear main cavity
Once your turkey is defrosted, remove any contents from inside the bird - usually the neck and a bag of "giblets". If your turkey came with a plastic, pop-up thermometer inserted in the meat, remove it.

Step 2: Separate the legs
There may be some small metal contraption or a flap of skin holding the legs together. Remove it. Holding the legs together impedes the wood smoke from freely entering the bird's cavity and it makes the legs/thighs take longer to cook. Trussing the bird's legs like in the picture at the top of the page is purely for show.

Next, rinse the bird with water and pat dry.

Step 3: Rub turkey with oil
Rubbing the turkey with oil will help the skin get crispy when the bird is smoked.

Adding Flavor

Step 4: Season turkey
You want to use a low sodium seasoning or rub for your turkey as we'll be using a bit of salt in the next step. As you apply your seasoning, be sure to work some of it under the skin so that the meat will have additional flavor.

Step 5: Inject turkey with broth
I generally recommend brining poultry. However, for my smoked turkey recipes I inject the bird with a simple flavor solution that includes low-sodium chicken broth, butter, and white wine. You just need a syringe food injector which is sold in most supermarkets.

Do keep in mind that most turkeys sold in your local supermarkets have already been enhanced with a solution that contains salt. So, if you wish, you can omit some or all of the salt from the injection solution by using melted butter and wine only.

Below are the ingredients for the broth solution to inject in your turkey. This will be enough for any size turkey, even a large one:

1. 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
2. half a stick of melted butter
3. 1/4 cup of white cooking wine

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl or container. Take your syringe food injector and fill it with the flavored broth. Stick the needle in the turkey parallel to the grain and inject the broth slowly as you carefully remove the needle. Repeat several times throughout the turkey, concentrating on the breast.

Be careful not to squirt yourself in the eye with the broth as you're removing the needle. You will not enjoy it if you do.

Finally, take some aluminum foil about the size of your hand, rub it with oil and wrap the ends of the wings and drumsticks with it. This will protect them from getting dried-out during the first hour of cooking. The oil on the foil prevents it from sticking to the skin.

At this point, you're done prepping your turkey. Let it sit while you move on to the next step.

Step 6: Getting your grill ready
For all my smoked turkey recipes, I set-up my grill for indirect heat of 325F (see my grilling basics guide for help with setting up your grill).

A good digital grill thermometer will give you an accurate heat reading. I use the Maverick ET-732 Wireless Barbecue Thermometer Set. It lets you monitor the temperature of both your meat and the grill simultaneously.

To heat-up your grill, a full chimney starter worth of coals will get your started.

Since we're cooking with indirect heat, at no point do you want the turkey directly over the coals. If you're using a kettle-type grill put your coals off to each side of the grill and put a drip pan in the middle to catch the drippings.

Fill the drip pan with about 4 cups of hot tap water to add moist heat in your grill and to stop the drippings from drying-up and burning on the hot surface of the drip pan. Try to keep the drip pan about 5 inches from the bottom of the turkey so you can get adequate heat and smoke flowing beneath.

Smoking your turkey

Step 7: Smoking your turkey
Once your grill is set-up, insert the thermometer probe into the breast meat of your turkey (if you have a leave-in thermometer). Make sure the probe is not near any bone. Place your turkey on the grill breast-side up. Add a couple of wood chunks to the coals and close the lid.

Add two chunks of wood after 45 minutes and two more chunks 45 minutes after that. Then that's it for the wood. You don't want to over-smoke your bird.

Add 15 to 20 charcoal briquettes every hour to keep the heat going. Be sure to remove the foil from the wings and drumsticks after the first hour.

After the first hour has passed, make sure the water in the drip pan has not evaporated. If it's getting low, add several cups of boiling water this time, as you want to maintain the temperature within your grill/smoker.

Once the temperature of the breast portion of the turkey reaches 160F, check the dark meat. Once the dark meat has also reached 160F, remove the turkey from the grill and let it rest for 15 minutes.

During the resting period the internal temperature will rise another 5 degrees and reach the required 165F. After the resting period, your culinary masterpiece is ready for carving. And that's it!

Other smoked turkey recipes

This is just one of several of my smoked turkey recipes, with more to follow. In the mean time, check this one out:

1. Grilled Turkey Breast (with apple wood and banana leaves)

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