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Smoked Turkey Breast on the Traeger

thisjewcanque
Tender smoked turkey on the Traeger cannot be beat. When you don't need a whole bird, grab a turkey breast and give it the same Traeger treatment. You'll never look back!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 35 minutes
Course Holiday Meal, main, meat, poultry
Cuisine American, BBQ, holiday meal

Equipment

  • Sharp boning or paring knife
  • Cutting board
  • Twine
  • Aluminum foil
  • Traeger grill

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole bone in turkey breast
  • ½ cup seasoning of your choice we used Smoke Junkie
  • 1 stick of butter

Instructions
 

  • Defrost your turkey breast in the fridge until fully defrosted (usually a couple days)
  • Prep your work space with a big cutting board, a cookie sheet and your sharp knife
  • Unwrap the turkey breast and pat it dry with a paper towel
  • Flip the turkey upside down (cavity side up) and using the sharp knife, begin cutting along the bone on one side of the carcass
  • Keep your cuts as close to the bone as possible, keeping the most meat intact
  • Continue down one side of the carcass until you’ve reached the breast bone
  • At this point, you can cut the breast off the bone entirely, or leave it attached while you cut the other side
  • Repeat with the second side of the breast
  • Once both breasts are mostly removed from the bone, cut along the breast bone to remove the two halves
  • If you’re able, you should have two breasts intact, along with the skin, and no bones in sight
  • You have three different ways to prepare the turkey breasts from here
  • Bring the two breasts together and using the kitchen twine, tie them back together with the skin intact. You’ll end up with a football-shaped/sized turkey breast roast
  • Separate the two breasts and remove the skin. You can cook them, untied, straight on the grill
  • Separate the two breasts and leave the skin intact. Using kitchen twine, tie up the individual breasts into a bundle, somewhat pumpkin-shaped.
  • Once you’ve prepped your turkey breasts, preheat your Traeger Grill to 275*
  • Season the turkey generously with the seasoning of your choice
  • Allow the meat to sweat for about 15 minutes while your grill gets hot
  • Place the turkey directly on the grill grates and close the lid
  • Allow to cook for about 90 minutes, until the roast develops a great, rich color
  • Arrange two layers of aluminum foil on a cutting board
  • Arrange 4 tabs of butter on the foil
  • Then place the par-smoked turkey atop the butter and put 4 more tabs of butter atop the meat
  • Close up tightly in the foil and return to the Traeger to continue cooking
  • Once the meat has reached an internal temperature of 165*, carefully remove the foil-wrapped breasts from the grill
  • Allow to cool for about 20 minutes so they’re easier to handle
  • Then remove the Meater thermometer and slice
  • For thin-sliced deli-style turkey, refrigerate the cooked turkey in an airtight container for at least 24 hours. Then slice thinly using a sharp knife for a deli slicer
  • Enjoy!
Keyword smoked turkey on the Traeger