Smoked Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
On November 12, 2020 (Updated November 05, 2024)
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These Smoked Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites are perfectly sized bites of flavor that are just as good served as an appetizer as they are an entrée. You can’t beat bacon wrapped food, and these turkey bites are no exception.
Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
These turkey bites are little morsels of turkey goodness. Boneless, skinless turkey breast cubes are wrapped in bacon and seasoned with my Smoked Turkey Rub. They’re finished with a sweet and tart Cranberry BBQ Sauce for a Thanksgiving-inspired explosion in your mouth.
These bites are almost like a turkey version of a burnt end in terms of size and enjoyment. Turkey itself isn’t extremely flavorful, so the added flavor from my turkey rub and bacon (as well as the BBQ sauce!) make these the perfect appetizer or main course for just about any occasion.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
Here’s how to make some sweet, tart, perfectly cooked turkey bites.
- Cut and season. Cut the turkey breast into bite-sized cubes and season liberally with turkey rub. These will taste great with any number of seasonings or rubs you put on them. My Signature Sweet Rub (make your own from my recipe for Best Sweet Rub here), or Chicken Seasoning will taste awesome as well.
- Wrap. Wrap each bacon bite in bacon and secure with a toothpick.
- Smoke. Preheat the smoker to 275 degrees F. Use your favorite hardwood for this smoke. I used almond wood, but I think pecan, maple, apple, or cherry would also be fantastic options. Place the turkey bites on the smoker, close the lid, and smoke until the bites reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees F.
- Sauce. Place the turkey bites in disposable aluminum pans and top them with butter, brown sugar, and cranberry BBQ sauce.
- Finish smoking. Return the pans to the smoker and smoke until the turkey bites reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. The bacon should be nicely rendered and the sauce should thicken and become like a tasty glaze.
- Rest and dig in. Allow these to rest for 10 minutes before digging in.
While I usually recommend removing toothpicks from food prior to serving it to your guests, I feel like you can make an exception for these bites. Feel free to leave the toothpicks in, as they make a nice handle for snacking.
Tips for Making Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
Before diving into this recipe and video, I’ve added a few tips to help you get the most out of this appetizer.
- Use bacon with a regular thickness. Do not use thick or super thin bacon for this recipe as thick bacon will be too chewy and not render down completely. Thin bacon will also crisp and potentially burn before the turkey comes to temperature.
- Broil for crispier bacon. If you want crispy bacon, pop these onto a high temperature grill or under your broiler for a few minutes at the end of your smoke time.
- Don’t overcook. The turkey breast meat is quite lean and can get dry when overcooked. Keep a close eye on temperature using a reliable instant read thermometer, and remove the bites promptly when they come to temperature.
So there you have it! You’re ready to make your own turkey bites for a holiday party or a game day snack! Make sure to leave a comment below letting me know how much you liked these guys!
More Smoked Turkey Recipes
Ready to smoke up all the turkey recipes? Here at Hey Grill Hey we just LOVE turkey. And nothing tastes quite as amazing as turkey cooked on the smoker. Check out these other popular smoked turkey recipes below!
Turkey Bites Recipe
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
Video
Ingredients
- 5 pounds boneless, skinless turkey breast
- 2 pound bacon cut in half width-wise
- 4 Tablespoons Smoked Turkey Rub or your favorite BBQ seasoning
- 3 cups Cranberry BBQ Sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce
- 8 Tablespoons butter cut into cubes
- ½ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F with your favorite hardwood. I like maple, pecan, apple, or cherry for this recipe.
- Make the turkey bites. Cut your turkey breast into 1.5 inch cubes. Season on all sides with the turkey seasoning. Wrap each piece of cubed turkey in a half slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
- Smoke the bacon wrapped turkey bites. Arrange the turkey bites directly on the grill grates, making sure the bites aren't touching or too close together. Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature is 130 degrees F.
- Make a BBQ braise. Transfer the partially-cooked bites to two half hotel pan sized aluminum pans. Increase the heat on your smoker (or turn your oven on to 400 degrees F). Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the bites. Drop the butter cubes in and 4 Tablespoons in each pan. Finally, drizzle the BBQ sauce over the turkey bites.
- Finish cooking the turkey bites. Return the pans to the hot grill or oven, close the lid and grill for 15-20 minutes, tossing gently every 5 minutes, until the internal temperature of the bites reads 165 degrees F.
- Rest and serve. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved it – I do my one pomegranate BBQ sauce with this. Anyone tried this with chicken?
Made these last Thanksgiving for a Brunch and they were the “hit of the party”. The whole family even requested them at Christmas also.
Wouldn’t turkey thighs be a smarter move over breast meat due to the higher fat content?
Give it a try! I’m sure it’d be great with thigh meat.
I want to smoke these the weekend before Thanksgiving to take with me to my family’s house. Any advise for reheating?
Reheat in the oven at the lowest temperature setting it will do!
could these be done in the oven?
Absolutely! Follow the same time and temps!