Smoked Turkey Rub
On November 01, 2019 (Updated May 10, 2024)
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This Smoked Turkey Rub is the perfect combination of BBQ flavors and herbs. It was created specifically to compliment the flavor of smoked turkey, so you better believe that it’s the best of the best.
Best Turkey Rub for Smoking
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the absolute best turkey rub for smoking. It was developed with smoked turkey in mind, so I married traditional BBQ flavors with good, earthy herbs.
Whenever my husband Todd and I are out of town, I get smoked turkey every chance I get. Consider this recipe my homage to the delicious smoked turkeys that you can get in restaurant joints. Since I love them so much, I decided it was time to make my own turkey rub to share with the world so you can make and enjoy your own delicious smoked turkey at home.
Dry Rub for Smoked Turkey
This dry rub is perfect for smoked turkey because it’s MADE for smoked turkey. When creating this rub, I wanted it to be versatile enough for the holidays, while keeping traditional holiday flavors in mind. The holidays make me think of all the herbs, and this one combines sage, rosemary and thyme to give you that delicious holiday turkey flavor.
Now, even though I created this rub for smoked turkey, don’t let me stop you from using it on other turkey as well. If you want to roast your turkey, this rub will add some killer flavor to your bird.
Ingredients for Smoked Turkey Rub
This rub combines 7 classic BBQ seasonings with 4 tasty herbs to make it the most well-rounded and palate-pleasing turkey rub around.
First up, we begin with the BBQ Basics:
- Brown Sugar
- Smoked Paprika
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Cayenne Pepper
After that, we add in some delicious herbs to help round out this turkey seasoning:
- Crushed Rosemary
- Thyme
- Rubbed Sage
- Celery Salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, using a fork to break up any chunks. This seasoning is ready to be used immediately, or if you’re big into prepping for Thanksgiving like I am, I like to make this seasoning ahead of time so it’s one less thing to worry about on the holiday.
You can store this turkey seasoning in any airtight glass container you have on hand. Personally, I like to store all my homemade seasonings and rubs in these glass spice containers. They are able to mingle with my other spices, and I can keep track of everything I make (and believe me, I make A LOT of homemade seasonings).
Assuming you have any turkey seasoning leftover, you can store any remaining seasoning in an airtight glass container for up to 1 month.
More Meat Rub and Seasoning Recipes
I know grocery stores sell a plethora of pre-made rubs and seasonings, but I gotta say, it only takes a few minutes to mix up your own, and the ones you make at home are often 1000 times better.
Whether you’re planning on smoking up a brisket this weekend, or you just need a quick seasoning for some steak you’re tossing on the grill this afternoon, Hey Grill Hey has all the rubs and seasonings you could ever need. Check out a few below:
Brisket Rub
Best Dry Rub for Ribs
Steak Seasoning
Smoked Turkey Rub Recipe
Making some epic BBQ should be easy, and Hey Grill Hey is here to help! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind the scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Smoked Turkey Rub
Video
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the smoked turkey rub in a medium bowl. Use a fork to combine and break up the sugar.
- Use immediately or store in a airtight container for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
First, looooooove your recipes and videos. My question is, would adding some baking powder to the rub help crispen up the skin?
Go for it! I’d use 1/2 teaspoon in the rub as written.
I’ve used this recipe for the past 2 years and love it! Quick question, I need to smoke 2 turkeys this year (both about 12 lbs) – will I need to plan on it taking longer to smoke them with 2 birds instead of 1 in the smoker?
It might depending on how big your smoker is. It should take the same amount of time unless you’re stuffing the cooker absolutely full to the brim, then it may take a little longer.
This was the most tasty juicy turkey I’ve ever made! I did a 24 hour brine, the left overs made a delicious soup! Thank you!
Hi there HGH! Can’t wait to get these recipe going on my new grill. My oldest has a life threatening dairy allergy though. I came across the recipie and would like a butter alternative if there is one that works for grilling. I found various articles that work for baking and pan fry, nothing specific to grilling and putting butter under the skin.
Olive oil would probably work pretty well!
It was amazing I butterflied the turkey it took an hour and ten minutes to cook turned off the oven and just in case it was not all theroughly cooked I left it in the oven to cook the rest of the way with the heat and be for placing it in the oven I insisted in not using any mustard on it and it stayed juicy, the turkey leg I had was a little dry but the breast was juicy I got to try to see how the turkey neck came out thats for sure and also added some BBQ sauce onto it while baking, thank you so much.
This was delicious!! It was my first time smoking a turkey by myself and this rub was a great hit! I rolled pats of butter in it and then placed them under the skin of the breast meat. So yummy!!
Good idea, . Thanks!
Used this on our Thanksgiving turkey today on the smoker and it turned out amazing. Started with a basic two day brine, used this rub, and smoked at 350 for about 3.5 hours. Outstanding.
Thats what I was doing then my dads friend was saying oh thats not gonna work you have to do this and that now it became an argument because she was saying that you should not mix rosemary and thyme together which I did anyways in order to follow the recipe, and she was like I’m going to take the plate away from anyone you offered a piece of that Turkey to anyways I added a little hispanic spin to it, some powdered chicken stock with powdered cilantro and onion from Maggi the package reads Doble gusto it’s in Spanish but it says claro de pollo capa de cilantro y cebolla, powdered chicken stock with a cap of powdered cilantro and onion powder and also used premixed BBQ burger mix to add more of that BBQ flavor I hope it works out since I could not find all of the ingredients I needed, I hope the best for everyone 2020 has hit us all hard but we have to remember to keep going,
Do you have a recipe for BBQ stuffing I can make in the BBQ thats easy to do, im interested
https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-sausage-stuffing/
Hi I’m wondering if I could cook the turkey in the oven I have a grill but not a smoker and its a gas grill and do not have easy access to it.
You can adapt any of my recipes for the oven. Juat follow the time and temperature guidelines and make sure you have a pan under the turkey so you don’t get drippings in your oven.
Thank you so much I think I will just grill this nice 10 pound turkey I bought lol it was supposed to be inexpensive but cant wait to give this a try also a friend if my dads says thyme is not supposed to be used on a turkey I hope to prove her wrong with this
Hi I made a mistake and washed the turkey with dishwashing soap and water I know huge mistake LOL I’m fixing that right now but wanted to know if that would make the turkey more sour, also I was told to use three spoons of formented balsamic vinager. I generally dont like vinager because I just dont like it but I would like to know if this would change a thing I’m not a chef but was told by one to do this after I rinse the turkey really good and then fill a large thing with water and add the three spoons
Oh no!! I would likely just gently rinse the turkey with cool water until all of the soap was off. And then thoroughly disinfect the sink area after your turkey is out.
What wood should be used when using this rub?
Whatever wood is your favorite will be fine!