This Cajun smoke-fried turkey is bold, spicy, bright, and exciting. There aren’t many turkey flavors like sage and thyme in this turkey. The homemade Cajun turkey injection makes it a star on your holiday table.
The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without a beautifully browned turkey as the centerpiece of the festive feast. While roasting a turkey in the oven is tradition for many, smoking and deep frying both have devotees for achieving optimal flavor. But what if you could combine smoking and frying in one turkey recipe? The result is crispy fried flavor enveloping tender, juicy smoked meat – turkey perfection!
As both a seasoned barbecue pitmaster and holiday cook, I’ve experimented with just about every method of preparing turkey. Smoked fried turkey quickly became my favorite preparation. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions to make this show-stopping bird yourself.
Benefits of Smoked Fried Turkey
Combining smoking and frying techniques gives you the best of both worlds
- Smoking initially cooks and flavors the meat, keeping it incredibly moist and tender
- A quick fry at the end crisps the skin and seals in juices
Smoked fried turkey stays succulent even after cooling and for leftovers, The fried exterior also reheats very well
You get incredible texture – crispy skin and succulent meat And the smoke provides a depth of flavor you just can’t achieve with oven roasting alone
Equipment Needed
To smoke fry a turkey, you will need:
- Smoker
- Turkey fryer pot, burner, and propane tank
- Peanut oil – about 3 gallons for a 12-15 lb turkey
Turkey fryer kits can be purchased affordably at stores like Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart.
Prep the Turkey
Start with a fresh, fully thawed turkey 12-15 lbs in size. Carefully remove the neck and giblets. Pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels.
For seasoning, I recommend using a basic salt, pepper, and herb dry rub. A little goes a long way, so don’t overdo it. The turkey will get most of its flavor from the smoking process.
If you want extra crispy skin, you can carefully loosen it from the breast meat with your fingers before applying the rub. This helps render fat and crisp the skin.
Smoking the Turkey
Set up your smoker and preheat to 250°F. Use your favorite smoking wood – I like a blend of hickory and cherry.
Place the seasoned turkey in the smoker breast side up. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, being careful not to touch bone.
Smoke the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F. This ensures it stays nice and juicy. For a 15 lb turkey, expect smoking to take around 3 hours.
When done smoking, carefully remove the turkey and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. You can also refrigerate it to smoke a day ahead.
Frying the Turkey
Pour peanut oil into the turkey fryer, leaving 8-10 inches of space at the top. Heat to 350°F – this will take 30-45 minutes.
Very slowly lower the turkey into the hot oil using the hook and rope. The oil may bubble up, so go slow and use caution. Fry for approximately 3-4 minutes per pound.
Use a thermometer to check doneness – target an internal temp of 165°F in the thickest part of the breast.
When finished frying, lift from the oil and let drain and rest before carving. Be very careful handling the extremely hot turkey.
Serving Smoked Fried Turkey
Let the turkey rest at least 15-20 minutes before carving. Dig into the incredibly juicy, smoky meat!
The fried skin will be a gorgeous, crackling brown. It makes a perfect vessel for holding in the moisture of the smoked meat.
Leftovers hold up great and are amazing for turkey sandwiches. Reheat pieces in a skillet to recrisp the skin.
I recommend serving the turkey with some classic sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It also pairs nicely with barbecue sides like baked beans, collard greens, or mac and cheese.
Make It a Memorable Holiday Meal
The process does take some time and equipment, but smoked fried turkey is 100% worth it for a show-stopping holiday centerpiece. Your guests will be amazed by the incredibly tender, juicy meat encased in ultra-crispy fried skin.
The combination of smoking and frying really does produce the ultimate turkey – a whole new twist on tradition! I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Smoked fried turkey might just become your new favorite holiday dish.
How to Safely Deep Fry a Turkey
Deep frying anything can be risky, but a whole turkey is always a challenge. Many, many fires break out each year with people trying unsuccessfully to fry their holiday turkeys. To keep your family dinner from going bad and the fire department from being called, here are some safety tips.
- Use a dedicated turkey fryer. Most can be picked up for around $100. These pots are very deep (about 28 to 30 liters), so they can hold both the turkey and the oil without spilling.
- Check that your propane has a regulator and a valve that turns it off yourself. A lot of the turkey fryer kits you can buy already have this adapter built in. This safety feature can prevent an explosion.
- Don’t overfill your turkey pot with oil. In step 1 of the recipe card below, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to figure out exactly how much oil you need to cover and fry your turkey.
- Dry your turkey before frying. To keep the oil from splashing and bubbling, it’s important to dry the turkey before frying it. I dry it with paper towels inside and outside the cavity.
- Place your fryer far away from any building in your yard, on a roof, on a deck, or on the ground. If your oil does catch, it can quickly and far spread. Keep the fryer as far away from anything that could catch fire as you can.
- Wear an apron and good shoes. Even from a deep fryer, hot oil can spray a long way.
Smoked Then Fried Cajun Turkey
A Cajun smoked turkey breast was actually the first thing my husband and I ever smoked. First bite of home-smoked meat. My father-in-law helped me with my old, free gas grill and a pie tin full of wood chips. I was hooked!.
It had all the flavor of a Cajun smoked turkey and the crispy skin of a fried turkey. Years later, I wanted to bring back some of that flavor and nostalgia in a turkey. And thus, smoke-fried turkey was born!.
Your breasts, thighs, and legs will be juicy and tasty because the injection butter has flavors like Worcestershire sauce, lemon, and spicy creole seasoning in it. You can make a turkey that tastes great and has great texture all the way through by adding smoke and then deep-frying it.
One quick tip for this recipe: skip the seasoning. This turkey is seasoned from the inside out, so I don’t think it needs an additional dry rub. Additionally, the rub will mostly come off in the fryer. If you want to add more flavor, sprinkle some of the creole seasoning that was used in the injection on the turkey after you’ve sliced it. That little dusting of color looks and tastes great on the finished bird.
To brine or not to brine? This is a very serious question when cooking turkey. For this particular turkey recipe, I don’t believe an additional brine is necessary.
However, I do recommend purchasing a pre-brined turkey injected with a saline solution. Most turkeys you buy at the store already have a brine on them, which I think is a great way to go. Since the injection has a lot of flavor, I don’t want to mix it up with extra flavor from a brine like my Apple Spiced Turkey Brine.
Thanksgiving Turkey Smoked AND Fried – Best of Both Worlds!
FAQ
Can you smoke a turkey and then deep fry it?
Can you smoke 2 turkeys at once?
Can you stuff a turkey and then deep fry it?
Can you fry 2 turkeys in the same oil?