Description
While there are several steps to this turkey dish that must be done it advance, the most of the prep is hands-off and the result is a juicy, flavorful main dish.
Ingredients
- 1 3-pound frozen turkey breast roll
- 8 slices bacon
For the brine
- 1-quart cold water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt (if using table salt, which I hope you won’t, use 1/8 cup)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
For the dry rub
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- dash of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Thaw turkey breast roll in package overnight (or for 12 hours) in refrigerator.
- Add brine ingredients in a container and stir well until salt and sugar is dissolved.
- Remove turkey from package and pat dry. Discard gravy mix.
- Place turkey (in the netting) in a gallon-size zip-close bag. Pour brine ingredients into bag and seal. Squeeze the bag to distribute the liquid around the turkey and return bag to refrigerator for 4-8 hours.
- Remove turkey from the brine and place on baking sheet. Pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine.
- In a small container, combine dry rub ingredients.
- Using your hands, sprinkle and pat the dry rub all over the turkey roll.
- Wrap the 8 slices of bacon over the turkey roll. You can get fancy and weave the bacon together, but I tend to drape the bacon over the turkey and tuck in the ends.
- Start the smoker using your preferred wood pellets for smoking turkey. Set the smoker temperature to 225° F.
- Carefully place wrapped turkey on the smoker grates and smoke until internal temperature reads 160° F, about 3-4 hours.
- Remove turkey from smoker and let rest for 30 minutes for juices to distribute back into meat.
- Slice the smoked turkey as desired and serve with bacon slices.
Notes
Don’t rinse the turkey in the sink; just pat it dry with paper towels to keep the surround surfaces free of raw turkey juices. Any leftover rub should be discarded as it also will have raw turkey juices from your hands and fingers in it.
Cook to internal temperature of the meat rather than time. Cooking time varies and is dependent on your smoker and the ambient temperature outside. Remove when the thermometer reads about 160°F, the turkey will continue cooking as it rests (called carry over) and will be perfect and juicy after 30 minutes. Smoking meats are naturally a little pink. This is not an indication that the turkey is undercooked.