If you’ve ever had trouble deciding between smoking or frying your holiday turkey, why not do both? Smoke-Fried Turkey gives you the best of both worlds: the rich, smoky depth of low-and-slow cooking and the crispy skin that only comes from deep-frying.

💪 Why Smoke Fried Turkey is Awesome

This recipe is all about combining those flavors and textures into one unforgettable bird — smoky, juicy, and golden crisp. Once you try it, you’ll see why Smoke-Fried Turkey is becoming the new holiday tradition for BBQ lovers everywhere.

🥒 Step 1: Brine the Bird

A good turkey starts with a great brine. You can use your favorite brine recipe, but one of my go-tos is pickle juice — yes, really! The acidity and salt help tenderize the meat while adding subtle tang and flavor. Make sure to look for clean ingredient pickle juice that doesn’t use polysorbate 80, a common food additive that has been shown to cause colon cancer in mice. If you want to make your own pickle juice, check out my pickle juice brine recipe here. Luckily, these days many brands sell pickle juice as a standalone, making pickle juice brining a breeze! Or do what I do: save up that leftover pickle juice in your fridge for brining and recipes. Pickle juice has so much flavor!

How to do it:

• Before cooking, pat the turkey completely dry to avoid dangerous splatter when frying.
• Submerge your thawed turkey in pickle juice (or a half pickle juice/half water mix). Note: when cooking turkey, give yourself at least a few days to defrost in your fridge!
• Let it brine overnight in the fridge. If your turkey won’t fit in the refrigerator, you can fill a cooler with pickle juice and add ziplock freezer bags full of ice to keep the turkey at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) or below.

💉Step 2: Inject for Flavor

Next, we’re adding flavor from the inside out. Use melted butter as your base — I love a mix of of my Sunshine State of Mind Butter for brightness, or Cajun butter for a little kick. If you want to try my highly addictive all purpose craft BBQ Rub, use promo code TURKEY! For $1.00 of my rub. It compliments all proteins, veggies, fruit AND even doubles as a cocktail rimmer!

You will need a good injector for this step. Here is the one I use. This injector is great for all kinds of bbq: chicken, turkey, pork. I like to inject chicken with pickle juice for extra flavor for quick weeknight grilling sessions. This injector will get lots of use!

Inject the butter mixture all over — the breast, legs, and especially the thick parts where flavor tends to hide. Then, season the outside with your favorite BBQ rub to build another layer of flavor and help develop that beautiful crust.

💨 Step 3: Smoke for Flavor

Time to build that smoky foundation!

Set up your smoker or charcoal grill for indirect heat at 250°F. Add your favorite wood — I like bourbon barrel chips for a deep, rich flavor that pairs beautifully with turkey.

Smoke the turkey for about 1 hour. The goal here isn’t to thoroughly cook the bird — just to infuse it with that irresistible smoke flavor and start rendering some fat under the skin.

Once you’ve got that perfect smoky color and aroma, it’s time to bring on the fryer.

🔥 Step 4: Fry for the Finish

Now we’re turning up the heat — literally.

Heat your oil (peanut oil works best for its high smoke point and clean flavor) to 350°F.

Before you lower the turkey into the fryer:

• Double-check that your turkey is completely thawed and dry. Any moisture or ice can cause oil to splatter or overflow — and that’s how accidents happen.
• Lower the turkey slowly and carefully.

Fry until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165°F as measured by your Thermapen. Since your bird has already spent time in the smoker, it won’t take as long as a raw turkey. Use a reliable meat thermometer and keep a close eye on the process.

When it’s done, lift the turkey out carefully, let it drain, and rest for at least 20-30 minutes before carving.

Turkey fryer recommendation: I used the Loco Turkey Fryer. This turkey fryer is almost identical to the one I used and includes all the accessories, even an injector!

🧯Step 5: Safety First
Deep frying a turkey is no joke — so here are a few non-negotiable safety reminders:

Never walk away from a fryer while it’s running.

Always fry outside, away from your home, deck, or overhangs.

Keep children and pets far away from the cooking zone.

Pat your turkey dry before frying — moisture and hot oil do not mix!

Have a fire extinguisher on hand just in case.

🍗 The Result

Once you carve into that bird, you’ll see why everyone’s talking about Smoke-Fried Turkey. The smoke adds depth and aroma, while frying seals in moisture and gives you that perfectly crisp, golden-brown skin. It’s juicy, smoky, and crunchy all at once — the ultimate holiday showstopper.

Serve it up with your favorite sides, pour a little bourbon, and enjoy the oohs and ahhs around the table.

✅ Smoke-Fried Turkey Recap: Supply List

You’ll Need:

• 1 Whole turkey (thawed)
• 1 Gallon Pickle juice (for brining), note you will need 2, 64 oz bottles of this pickle juice to equal a gallon.
• 1 stick Melted butter (Cajun or seasoned with 2 tbsp of Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ Rub) for injecting
• Injector - for injecting the butter mix
• ¼ cup Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ Rub (use code TURKEY! For $1.00 off) OR your preferred BBQ Rub, for rubbing the outside of the turkey
• Peanut oil for frying
• Wood chips (bourbon barrel, hickory, or applewood) for smoking
• Thermapen or instant read digital thermometer, for checking the internal temp of the breast of your turkey
• Fire extinguisher, just in case!
• Turkey Fryer, make sure you get the accessories you need with this equipment such as heat proof gloves for pulling the turkey out of the fryer, and propane for fueling the fryer

METHOD:

1. Brine turkey overnight in pickle juice.
2. Pat dry, inject with flavored butter, and season all over the turkey with the rub, remembering to get into all the nooks and crannies of the bird.
3. Smoke at 250°F for 1 hour.
4. Heat oil to 350°F and fry until internal temp hits 165°F.
5. Rest, carve, and serve!

If you’re looking for a way to elevate your holiday bird, Smoke-Fried Turkey delivers big-time flavor and the kind of crisp-skin perfection that’ll have everyone coming back for seconds. You’ll be super excited about leftovers with this tasty method that keeps the turkey moist and full of flavor!

Once you try it, you may never go back to roasting again. If you try this method, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!! I love hearing from you!

Happy smoking and frying, BBQ Fam! 🦃🔥

Print

Smoke-Fried Turkey

Holiday Turkey that is smoked for a kiss of smoke and then finished in the deep fryer for the perfect combo of smoke flavor, juicy meat and crisply skin.

Course American BBQ, Holiday Meal, Thanksgiving Turkey

Cuisine American, American BBQ

Keyword smoke fried turkey

Prep Time 1 day day

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 1 day day

Servings 10

Author Robyn

Cost 30

Equipment

• 1 injector
• 1 turkey fryer
• 1 bottle Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ Rub
• 1 fire extinguisher
• 1 Meat Thermometer

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized turkey (extra large turkeys may not fit on your grill or fryer as well so keep this in mind when purchasing a turkey!)
• 1 gallon pickle juice look for pickle juice without polysorbate 80 (which has been shown to cause colon cancer in mice)
• ¼ cup Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ Rub
• 5 gallons peanut oil, for frying Peanut oil is still a seed oil but it's very hard to find beef tallow in this quantity so peanut oil is the best available option
• 1 stick butter (8 oz butter)

Instructions

Method:

• Brine turkey overnight in pickle juice.
• Pat dry, inject with flavored butter, and season all over the turkey with the rub, remembering to get into all the nooks and crannies of the bird.
• Smoke at 250°F for 1 hour.
• Heat oil to 350°F and fry until internal temp hits 165°F.
• Rest, carve, and serve!

The post Meet Your New Holiday Obsession: Smoke-Fried Turkey appeared first on Grill Girl.