My first Thanksgiving was with my host family when I came over to the US to study. It was my first time eating turkey. I thought ‘What is that giant chicken?!’ And I wasn’t a great fan: It was too dry and bland to my taste. Twenty years later, I’ve had my fair share of turkey and many Thanksgiving meals. While I enjoy the celebrations, I never had the desire to cook the bird on my own. Until now. This Smoked Miso Butter Turkey Breast changed everything. It’s richly flavored, incredibly moist and so easy! It is our first family Thanksgiving turkey recipe, and I believe it will be our go-to Thanksgiving turkey recipe for many years to come. I hope you and your family will enjoy the recipe too.
Why Smoking Turkey Breast?
I’ve had roasted turkey and deep-fried turkey on past Thanksgiving. However, there are always several challenges in preparing the perfect bird. The smoked turkey breast idea was inspired by Mr. JOC’s recent trip to Austin and eating at Franklin’s Barbeque, where one of the meats offered is smoked turkey. We got the Franklin Barbecue cookbook and gave the recipe a try and loved it. The recipe uses a 4-pound turkey breast, much smaller than a typical whole turkey that weighs over ten pounds. The resulting turkey breast was juicy and flavorful, and the prep was super easy (we couldn’t believe it!). So we both worked on a few recipes that incorporated Japanese flavors and decidedly agreed that miso butter was the best. The combination elevates the meat with a creamy, umami and surprising flavor. If you’re interested in smoking, here is the equipment that we use:
3 Important Tips to Make Juicy Smoked Turkey
1. Buy the appropriate size turkey breast (4 lbs for single breast).
We’ve purchased different sizes of turkey breasts and found that 4 pounds for a single turkey breast (no bones) works the best for smoking. If the turkey breast is too small, the flavor from the dry rub becomes too strong and overpowers the meat. The smaller breast also cooks too quickly and doesn’t absorb as much smoke flavor.
2. Use double heavy-duty foil and wrap.
After smoking, wrap tightly in heavy-duty foil so none of the juice escapes. During the last part of cooking, the wrapped turkey absorbs all the buttery goodness of the miso mixture as well as its own natural juices.
3. Use a meat thermometer.
Turkey will become tough and dry if overcooked. As soon as it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, you have to remove it from the heat and let the meat cool down while still wrapped. A meat thermometer is your best friend in this recipe! Preferably, time the turkey to be ready 15 minutes right before being served. Your friends and family will love you when they enjoy a slice of warm, juicy, and succulent turkey.
Turkey Dry Rubs + Miso Butter Sauce
Who would have thought that cooking turkey could be so easy? There is no brining or any special marinade process involved. Simply mix the dry rub and sprinkle generously over the turkey right before smoking. Many markets carry turkey breasts with skin on, so we usually ask the butcher to remove the skin and bones for us. It’s less work when you start prepping at home. All we do is trim some excess fat and tissue before sprinkling on the dry rub. We then add miso and soy sauce during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Turkey meat absorbs the gentle umami from miso and soy sauce, giving it a tasty finish. I used my all-time favorite miso from Hikari Miso®, Kodawattemasu, for this recipe. You can use any miso you have in your refrigerator whether it’s white or red miso. It adds a robust and umami-packed complexity to the final taste.
Miso Butter Gravy
As I make different kinds of homemade roux often to make Japanese curry, White Stew, Macaroni Gratin, etc, making the gravy is very easy. There are two important tips you must remember when making the gravy. If you are careful with the above 2 tips and follow my steps, you will have nice lump-free roux and gravy! For this recipe, I added a tiny bit of miso and soy sauce to enhance the flavors in the sauce. If you want some Japanese spin in your ordinary gravy, give it a try this Thanksgiving! How does a pellet smoker work? It’s very easy, simply feed wood pellets in the feeder and set the temperature you want to cook at. The feeder will control the temperature and feed the appropriate amount of pellets. All you need to do is refill the feeder when it’s low. Do you recommend Traeger? We don’t have a preferred brand but our friend had recommended it. Costco in the US was running a Traeger promo in the warehouses so they were a really good deal. We purchased our junior size Traeger smoker at Costco for around $400. So far we haven’t had any issues with it. What size Traeger should I get? This depends on how many people you usually feed. Our junior size one can almost smoke 2 of anything at the same time, ribs, tri-tip, turkey breast, or steak. However, it does not leave much room to grill veggies and other side dishes. If we had the chance to pick again we would select the next size up. Can I use other wood pellets? Yes, you can use wood pellets from other brands. We like the Lumberjack brand vs. Traeger’s for the smell and taste. Is it easy to clean up? Yes! With disposable liners, cleanup is super easy. Since it doesn’t cook as hot as a BBQ grill, food doesn’t get burnt or stuck as easily to the grate. What kind of wood should I buy? There are recommended types of wood for various types of protein but we find that the combination of cherry, hickory, and oak work with most meat. We buy the premixed pack so we don’t have to do it ourselves. How does a smoker compare to a BBQ grill? A smoker doesn’t sear as well as a BBQ grill since it cooks with indirect heat. We would not recommend doing steak on the smoker but any other meat would work. On the other hand, it’s fantastic for cooking chicken evenly without worrying about the skin getting burnt and the meat is still raw. Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments below. The truest critics we have of the turkey are our children, and they simply love the smoked turkey. Besides complaining that it was too spicy when we tested it with the smaller turkey breasts, they gave this recipe two thumbs up. If you are planning for a Thanksgiving get-together with just a few friends and do not want to deal with a whole turkey, give this smoked turkey breast a try. It is the perfect Thanksgiving turkey recipe for smaller gatherings and no-fuss cooks. If you don’t have a smoker, don’t worry, you can still use the recipe to cook the turkey in an oven. There won’t be any smoky finish, but you’ll still get a delicious turkey! Serve it with orange ginger cranberry sauce on the side.
Other Delicious Smoker Recipes
Traeger Baby Back Ribs Reverse Sear Steaks
Holiday Recipe Ideas
Our Best Holiday Recipes for The Unforgettable Feast 15 Favorite Japanese Hot Pots, Soups & Stews
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