Cherry-Smoked Maple Butter Turkey Breast

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A bone-in turkey breast smoked low and slow over cherry wood at 250°F until it hits 160°F, then finished with a maple-butter mop. It gives you the pink smoke ring and juicy, sliceable meat of a holiday bird with a fraction of the fuss — and the leftovers make the best sandwiches of the week.

Ingredients

• 6 lb bone-in, skin-on turkey breast
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp coarse black pepper
• 3 chunks cherry wood (or 2 cups cherry chips)

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Pat the turkey breast very dry with paper towels. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper, then rub it all over the breast and under the skin where you can loosen it. Set the breast on a rack or plate and refrigerate uncovered for 1 to 4 hours so the skin dries out.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect heat at 250°F and add the cherry wood. Keep the vents open enough to hold a thin blue smoke rather than thick white smoke.
3. Place the turkey breast skin side up on the grate, as far from the heat source as possible. Smoke at 250°F for about 2 hours, until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast (not touching bone) reads 145°F. Do not open the lid for the first hour.
4. While it smokes, melt the butter in a small saucepan or foil pan and stir in the maple syrup, cider vinegar and cayenne. Keep it warm on the edge of the smoker.
5. Brush the breast generously with the maple butter and continue smoking, brushing once more after 20 minutes, until the thickest part reads 160°F — usually another 30 to 45 minutes. If the skin is getting darker than you like, tent it loosely with foil.
6. Move the turkey to a board or platter, tent with foil and rest 20 minutes; carryover heat will bring it to a safe 165°F while the juices settle.
7. Carve the breast off the bone, slice against the grain about 1/2 inch thick, and spoon over any remaining maple butter and resting juices.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

One-Pot Chicken Creole

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem