Are you interested in knowing the best wood for smoking turkey? Smoked or BBQ turkey means adding a lot of flavor and taste to your dining table, especially when you have prepared it on your own. However, you have the perfect BBQ smoker, but it comes to having a classic, aromatic, and irresistible taste from your turkey BBQ.
Then, all you need is to have a perfect aromatic wood that can make your BBQ that you can enjoy at your Thanksgiving and Christmas with your family and loved ones. This lethal combination of wood and smoker is the only thing required for preparing a perfect family BBQ party that brings mouth-watering taste, aroma, and a historical BBQ event.
Preparing the turkey without drying or overcooking needs to have the perfect smoker that gives you the best results. And when you desire excellent results from your smoker, you need to use wood to make your BBQ memorable.
Top 5 Best Wood For Smoking Turkey 2021
We have analyzed and reviewed 05 of these best wood for smoking turkey for you that are elaborated below in detail for you to have a closer look at which suits your taste perfectly.
1. Traeger PEL319 Hickory Pellets – Best Seller Wood Pellets
“100% All-Natural Hardwood pellet, perfect for your grilling, smoking, roasting, and BBQ”
The first wood on our list is from Traeger. These hickory grilling chips are one of the most widely used woods for having a perfect BBQ experience. These hickory chips come with a strong aroma, and they have the ideal burning capacity for an extended period. Furthermore, it is to be said that you need to mix them with other woods so that the strong aroma of these woods won’t overshadow your BBQ.
- The item weight of these woods is 20 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 20 x 8.5 x 14 inches.
Preparing Turkey:
Preparing the ultimate tasty and aromatic turkey, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas, needs some special arrangements when it comes to smoking. These Traeger grilling chips for smokers bring in the perfect blend of aroma, taste, moisture, flavor to your turkey that, in the end, brings appraise from your family members.
Natural wood:
These Traeger Hickory woods are 100% natural wood pellets that are a perfect solution for all your grilling, smoking, roasting, braising, and preparing BBQ. With this single product, you can now achieve so many smoking features at once. Furthermore, there is no addition being made into this hardwood, such as agents or fillers.
Usage:
With this perfect wood for your smoking now, you never have to go for charcoal or gas to brew a perfectly smoked turkey for your family right at your home. These smoking woods bring in pure wooden taste, unmatched quality, and the perfect amalgamation of flavor and blue smoke to make your smoking turkey memorable.
Natural:
These wooden pallets are the perfect crafted natural hardwood that comes without any amalgamation of chemicals or filters that might harm your food item or you in terms of smoke generated by these smoking woods.
Formulation:
The perfect formula that Traeger formulates for making these pellets brings in the perfect combination of moisture, smoke, burn and clean aromatic food.
Smoking Food Type:
The food type you can now comfortably prepare with these best hickory wood from Traeger is beef, ham, poultry, vegetables, and especially wild game. Furthermore, these hardwood infuse some of the amazing pure taste into your food items, making them the professional-grade food item for your family and friends.
Additional Features:
- It comes with a nice-looking cover.
- This wood is perfect for any food.
- They are made in the USA.
- These woods brings in perfect smoke flavor.
Specifications:
- The item weight of these woods is 20 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 20 x 8.5 x 14 inches.
Pros
- Perfect food quality
- 100% original wood product
- Perfectly brewed flavor and smoke
- Great wood for cold-smoking cheese
- Perfect BBQ for beef, ham, poultry, and vegetables
Cons
- After some time, this wood becomes old and stale.
2. Western Premium BBQ Smoking Chip – Best Different Flavor Wood
“Ultimate wooden chips for charcoal, gas, and electric grills”
This distinctive peach flavor smoking chips from Western allows you to have a perfect BBQ party with everyone appraising your smoking skills. These heat-treated chips keep pests and molds away from your cooking area. Further, these 100% certified wooden chips offer a distinctive flavor and smoke to your food.
- The item weight of these woods is 1.34 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 2.95 x 8.53 x 12.59 inches.
Preparing Turkey:
This wooden chip for your smokers allows you to enjoy the mild aroma that comes with the perfect sweet flavor of your food. These two attributes bring in the adoration of your family. Furthermore, these chips provide you the best taste when it comes to smoking turkeys and lighter meats with vegetables.
Natural wood:
These peach smoking chips bring in the next level of smoking to your meat. Apart from the smoking comes a layer that is bold in color and a fantastic peach flavor to it. Additionally, the flavor and taste that comes out of the smoker make your pro BBQ enthusiast. Furthermore, these peach smoking chips come with some of the convenient methods of using them in smokers.
Operations:
Western chips cover all smoking grills and provide you with the same great taste. Now you can have them working seamlessly on gas, charcoal, grill, and best electric smokers. With build-in attributes of real heating treated chips are capable of providing you the perfect taste to your family meal.
Smoking Food types:
There is a large number of food items that you can prepare with the help of these perfectly crafted 100% natural wooden chips. Now you can have a lump of perfect meat that is delicious in taste. Further, you can prepare Beef Sirloin, fish filets, salmon, or even trout.
Furthermore, these chips can make you American favorites such as whole chicken, smoked BBQ, hamburgers, wings, or even ribs, and not to forge the steak house grade steaks.
Additional Features:
- It comes with a large-sized packaging.
- Works seamlessly with gas, electric, and charcoal grills
- A reliable smoking chip for Turkey
- For perfect results, soak them in cool water
- They are made in the USA.
Specifications:
- The item weight of these woods is 1.34 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 2.95 x 8.53 x 12.59 inches.
Pros
- It offers a smooth, smoky aroma.
- Reduces smoking time to half
- Reliable peach flavor
- Best wooden smoking chips
Cons
- It starts off giving an odor
3. Weber 17139 Wood Chunks – Best Subtle Sweet Flavor
“Perfect wooden chunks for Turkey and Hams”
Do you like to have a sweet, soft, and fruity scent of smoke coming out of your smoker? Then here is an ultimate product that comes from the house of Weber. These apple wood chunks allow you to have large pieces of lumber that are equipped with perfect ingredients to give you the best results, either on charcoal or your smoker.
- It is available in Apple, Cherry, Hickory, Pecan, & Mesquite
- This wood is best for different food to smoke.
Smoking Food Types:
These weber chunks are a perfect match for preparing food such as ham, bacon, lamb, poultry, and not to forget Turkeys. These chunks are a perfect match for smokers while preparing the ultimate food for your family and friends outside the house.
Natural Wood:
These chunks are prepared with 100% authentic and natural wood, such as applewood. This wood brings in the additional features of a slow burner that allows you to use these chunks in lesser quantities. Furthermore, now with these chunks, you can have temperature and environment concentration for an extended period of smoking.
Soaking:
Weber chunks are best known for their perfect aroma and slow-burning features. in addition, you need to soak these chunks in cold water and let these chunks remain there for approx. 30 minutes to enjoy the perfect taste and moisture in your food. Furthermore, after this time, you would enjoy more smoke and lesser flames during your BBQ.
Aroma:
The aroma that comes out of the BBQ is sweet, soft, and long-lasting, giving you the best BBQ experience that you never had. Apple is a fruit, so the smoke that it generates is fruity and sweet, making your meals special and tasteful.
Additional Features:
- It is available in Apple, Cherry, Hickory, Pecan, & Mesquite
- This wood is best for different food to smoke.
- They are made in the USA.
- It brings the perfect smoke flavor.
Specifications:
- The item weight of these woods is 4 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 16 x 12 x 4 inches.
Pros
- Maintains flavor
- Give mild smoke flavor
- Perfect for turkey and chicken
- Perfect size and quality
- Easy to use
Cons
- The price tag is high as compared to others
- Few customers report it has large chips not chunks
4. GrillPro 00220 Hickory Wood Chips – Best Natural Wood
“Perfect for turkeys, Beef, Burgers, Poultry, and Fish”
GrillPro hickory aroma wood chips are a perfect tool for making turkey for your smokers. Now you can have the best and strong features of hickory in your meal. This hickory is a 100% natural wood that brings a perfect aroma, flavor, and taste to your meal.
- It comes in a 170 cubic inches bag.
- The item weight of these woods is 1.98 pounds.
Operations:
Moreover, the operations of these chunks are very simple and easy to operate. All you need is to have a bag of these chunks that comes in a 170 Cu In Re-Sealable Bag. This bag can come with an additional feature that won’t get exposure to moisture as it is a sealable bag. This means that if they are not in your use, you can seal them again and put them aside for further usage.
Smoking Food Types:
These hickory chips from GrillPro bring you the unconditional and unwavering taste for all your meat. Now you have the best-featured turkeys from your smokers or grills for having a perfect thanksgiving with your family and friends. Further, now you can a great taste beef, ham, burgers, lamb, fish, poultry, veggies.
Flavor:
The flavor that comes with these chunks is hickory. This flavor is considered to be the most robust, strong, and long-lasting flavor for your meat. For that, you have to add some other chunks into these so that the taste of your turkey won’t get too much strong. Furthermore, these chunks bring in the perfect brown outer color to your meat every time.
Soaking:
These hickory chunks do not require any soaking into the water. This is because these are natural woods that require no more artificial moisture for adding flavor to your food. In addition, it is highly recommended that these chunks are added with some soft chips so that the flavor of your meat won’t get overshadowed.
Additional Features:
- It comes in Alder, Cherry, Apple, Hickory, Pecan, Maple, Mesquite flavor.
- The bag is re-sealable that keeps the chunks fresh.s
- No assembly needed.
Specifications:
- It comes in a 170 cubic inches bag.
- The item weight of these woods is 1.98 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 8 x 2 x 13.5 inches.
Pros
- Versatile
- Available in multiple flavors
- It gives perfect classic smoke
- Reasonable price tag
Cons
- Few customers report an issue with the bag
5. Oklahoma Joe’s Hickory Wood Smoker Chips – Best Budget-Friendly
“Perfect for turkeys, meat, vegetables, and fish”
These Oklahoma chips have the perfect combination of flavor and smoke. Further, these chips are known to be the best budget-friendly chips that are currently available in the market. In addition, to being budget-friendly, these chips have the features of slow-burning chips that allow you to have a perfect BBQ.
- It comes in a 179 cubic inches bag.
- The item weight of these woods is 1.74 pounds.
Longevity:
These chips from Oklahoma bring in the additional features of being long-lasting chips that allow the users to have an extended period of BBQ experience. With this long timing comes the ultimate taste for your food that everyone adores.
Operations:
These wooden chips allow the users to use these chips with smokers. These smokers can either be electric, or gas grills, or even charcoal grills. Further, additional richness and the perfect smokey flavor are added to your food with these Oklahoma joe’s hickory wooden chips.
Flavor:
The flavor that comes with these chips is strong, long-lasting, and enchanting. Along with the flavor comes the smoke that allows the users to have a perfect BBQ experience.
Smoking Food types:
Also, this chip allows the users to have the perfect smoking meats, ham, poultry, turkeys, vegetables, and fish. These are the few items that are being mentioned for making a perfect BBQ.
Additional Features:
- It has a strong and sweet flavor.
- Infuses perfect taste in your food.
- It is easy to use; just put it directly on the grill.
Specifications:
- It comes in a 179 cubic inches bag.
- The item weight of these woods is 1.74 pounds.
- The product dimensions of these woods are 12.6 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches.
Pros
- Low price
- Perfect chip size
- Give balanced flavor
- Easy to use
Cons
- One customer report it gives little smoke
Best Wood for Smoking Turkey Buying Guide:
You have managed to have a perfect buying guide for you to select the best wood for smoking turkey at your poolside or patio. Let us start and elaborate on a few points to consider while purchasing the wood that gives you the perfect, tasty, aromatic BBQ experience.
Furthermore, some of the woods are available in the market that is harmful and cause irritation to the skin and coughing. So we tried our best to bring you the best wood that rules the market for quite some time.
The first question that comes to our mind is which wood works seamlessly for smoking turkey.
Cherry wood for smoking
Cherry comes to the top place when it comes to having a pleasant turkey BBQ. It comes with a perfect blend of flavor that adds to your turkey, giving the best results. Further, it burns very slowly, so you don’t need an ample amount of those for a single event. If you wanted to have the best aromatic results for your turkey, try mixing your cherry wood with some hickory and oak wood.
Furthermore, this combination of woods brings in the sweet, fruity flavor with a perfectly crafted brown color that makes your BBQ memorable. This cherry wood produces more smoke during BBQ.
Apple wood for smoking
On our list comes apple wood for smoking turkey. This is another fruity wood, as the name indicates. Most of its features are the same as cherry wood. This wood, too, is a slow burner and lasts for longer times. Further, when it comes to the flavor, this applewood brings in the versatile, strong but not brut aroma and enhances your turkey’s natural flavor, making it a perfect combination for having a perfectly crafted BBQ party with taste and aroma.
Moreover, the smoke making capacity of these apple woods is enormous compared with other woods currently available in the market.
Hickory wood for smoking
This hickory wood is one of the most prominent and widely acclaimed pieces of wood for a perfect BBQ. This hickory wood considered the best wood for preparing your vegetables, seafood, beef, and turkeys. Furthermore, there is a suggestion that you need to consider while smoking your turkey with hickory wood is to mix it with chips.
This is because the strong aroma of hickory wood might overshadow the natural flavor of your turkey when served.
Mesquite wood for smoking
This Mesquite has got features of fast burner wood that brings in the robust flavor to your turkeys. The wood from Mesquite is capable of brewing at very high temperatures. Furthermore, it would be best if you had them mixed with other chips. Otherwise, you may end up having a bitter taste turkey that might ruin your day.
Maple wood for smoking
Maple is considered to be a lighter wood when compared to Hickory or Mesquite woods for smoking. The aroma that this maple wood brings to your BBQ turkey is sweet and light. The smoke generating capacity of these woods is lighter as compared to the apple and cherry wood.
Furthermore, maple woods are known for adding a sweet flavor to your meat. In addition, when you mix these woods with heavier oak and hickory woods, they tend to enhance the taste, flavor, and aroma of your BBQ.
Oakwood for smoking
Oakwood is the most favorite and favored wood when it comes to preparing the perfect turkey while smoking. They tend to have the most audacious appeal with BBQ enthusiasts. In addition, to the audacity comes the flavor that is being added to the meat is termed as the most distinct flavor.
Furthermore, oakwood is an earthy smoking flavor that gives your turkey the best aroma. Further, this wood is considered to have the best possible outcome when preparing a perfectly elaborated BBQ for your family and friends.
Alder
Suppose you are an enthusiast who loves to have a light and soft aroma for your meat or BBQ turkey. Then alder wood is the perfect solution for you. This soft aroma wood is considered a perfect solution for all the beginners in the field of making a delicious BBQ, as they tend to burn slowly, so there are minimal chances for the persons to have cooking issues.
In addition, to making turkey, seafood, and poultry food items also have the best taste when prepared with these alder wood in your smokers.
Wooden chips or chunks
Before going to the closing section of this buying guide, we would like to add something of more importance. This is a major issue among professional smokers and beginners that gives you the perfect result of smoking your turkey at your poolside or patio.
With so many valid points and features, let us discuss a few here that give you a clear idea of which one to prefer while smoking a perfect turkey for your family and friends for Thanksgiving.
In addition, Wood chips have the tendency to burn quickly, as they possess natural ingredients that helps them to caught fire and exhumes rapidly. For this, you have to soak them in hot water that allows the process of quick-burning and let them have the perfect heat and fire for your smoking turkey.
One more thing to add is that these wooden chips, when soaked in with hot water, bring in extra saturations for your meat that greatly helps in achieving the perfect juicy turkey BBQ in the end.
On the other hand, the wooded chunks do not require soaking in hot water before placing them in your smokers. The extended burning capacity of these chunks brings in the additional features of longevity and less utilization of these chunks during BBQ.
Furthermore, providing seamless heating to your food using these chunks allows you to check on these chunks from time to time, leaving behind the heat, temperature, and moisture out. This eventually leads to extended hours of smoking. But the fact remains the same the taste and the flavor of your meat remain the same as you have required to form these chunks.
Pecan
The last on the list is pecan wood, and this wood brings a unique aroma to your turkey during smoking. The aroma of these woods is slightly sharp when compared to other woods, especially apple wood and cherry wood in particular. In addition, to aroma the flavor that you want to enjoy, you need to test them right before smoking the whole of your turkey in the first place.
Furthermore, the flavor of these woods is slightly inclined to earthy and has a strong aroma. It is recommended that you need to test it. As it is said, these woods themselves have a strong flavor and aroma, so there is no need to add other flavor chips or wood.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the best wood to use when smoking a turkey?
The best wood for smoking turkey is Hickory wood. This wood is among the classic hardwood choices for smoking you the perfect aromatic turkey.
Is pecan wood good for smoking turkey?
This Pecan wood is best for smoking poultry. This is because the aroma of this wood makes it a perfect choice due to its strong flavor. When comparing this with other fruitwood, it comes out to be an ideal match for smoking poultry.
Do you wrap a turkey in foil when smoking?
Yes, you wrap your turkey in the foil during smoking. But all you need to make sure that the temperature inside the turkey reaches 165 degrees so that it becomes a perfect BBQ meal. Furthermore, you need to leave the turkey for 40-60 minutes.
Should you soak wood chips before smoking?
No, there is no reason that you need to soak your wood chips in your smoker. This might brings moisture so that you have a perfect BBQ-producing smoker.
How long do you smoke a 12-pound turkey?
For a 12 pounds turkey, you usually need 06 hours at 250 degrees to taste the best turkey from your smoker.
Should you brine a turkey before smoking?
Yes, considered the best possible way to bring moisture into your turkey while smoking. It would be best if you brined your turkey that turns your turkey into mouth-watering and tasty food.
What is the best temperature to smoke a turkey?
The best temperature to smoke your turkey is 225 degrees. It would be best for you to smoke your turkey at this temperature. Further, at this temperature level, the time required for a perfectly smoked turkey reduces to half.
Conclusion:
Now coming to the conclusion section of this article. We have tried our best to bring you the best wood for smoking turkey. Here are the top 05 kinds of woods that we have reviewed over the course of months. In the review, we had a few points that are the common concerns of the BBQ enthusiast and professionals.
These points are flavor, aroma, taste, smoke, and the timing these chips take to burn, and the time they take to last. It doesn’t matter whether you are using smokers or grills. And these smokers might be gas, charcoal, and electric in nature with which they come.
Now with this perfect wood that we have mentioned above, you can have the ultimate experience with your favorite meat. It can be turkeys, hams, poultry, veggies, fruits, and meat of all kinds. The aroma that comes with these wood allows you to have the perfect smoking meat that you surely love.
The best features of the woods are that they are easy to operate, and only a few require additional tasks to be performed before being used in your smokers.
Our Recommendations:
It is quite difficult to choose the best wood for turkey, but after a detailed buying guide, we are here to recommend you the best among the best. Our 1st recommendation is GrillPro 00220 Hickory Wood Chips, and it is natural wood that provides a balanced and mouth-watering taste to your turkeys. It is suitable for beef, burgers, poultry, and fish as well. Moreover, it comes in a re-sealable bag that keeps the wood chunks clean and fresh.
However, our 2nd recommendation is a USA-made Weber 17139 Wood Chunks. It gives the perfect sweet and subtle flavor to your turkeys, ham, pork, poultry, and other food. Furthermore, it comes in apple, cherry, hickory, pecan, & mesquite flavor.