The outdoor cooking device pictured above is a Traeger pellet fired grill. This device is not very impressive when it comes to high temperature cooking but for smoking a turkey it is certainly capable of handling the job. The unit is equipped with a thermostat allowing worry free cooking. At lower temperatures you can basically set it and forget it. Pecan wood pellets were used to cook and flavor the turkey.
The turkey pictured above was a fresh 12 pounder. After rinsing and patting the bird dry, I brushed the skin with extra virgin olive oil. I stuffed the cavity of the turkey with onion and lemon slices, and several crushed garlic cloves. I then seasoned the turkey using a mixture of equal parts Old Bay Seasoning and lemon pepper. After preheating the cooker, the turkey was allowed to smoke for 3 hours at 225 degrees. After three hours I increased the temperature to 350 degrees and continued cooking for another 1.75 hours. The bird was finished when the temperature in the breast registered 170 degrees and the temperature in the thigh was 180. Total cooking time was approx 4.75 hours.
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