How Long to Smoke a Turkey: Time by Weight and Temp

How long to smoke a turkey comes down to weight and heat: 30 to 35 minutes a pound at 225°F or 20 to 25 at 275°F, done at 165°F.

Originally published: November 4, 2026

Smoking a turkey is one of the most rewarding ways to prepare this classic centerpiece, especially for holidays and special gatherings. Instead of relying on a conventional oven, the process uses a smoker to cook the bird low and slow over indirect heat while wood smoke gently infuses the meat. The result is a turkey that stays remarkably juicy, develops a savory, woodsy flavor that regular roasting simply can’t match, and often emerges with beautifully bronzed, crispy skin. For many home cooks, it’s become a favorite alternative to the traditional method because it delivers restaurant-quality results with relatively simple equipment and a bit of patience.

Whether you’re using a pellet smoker, offset, or even a charcoal setup, the basic idea remains the same: maintain a steady temperature (commonly between 225°F and 325°F), choose a complementary wood like apple, cherry, hickory, or pecan, and cook until the thickest parts of the breast and thigh reach a safe internal temperature of 165°F. The exact time depends mainly on the turkey’s weight and the smoking temperature you choose, remember lighter birds finish faster, while larger ones need more hours on the smoker. What you end up with is far more than just cooked poultry: a tender, flavorful turkey with a deep smoky aroma that impresses guests and makes leftovers just as desirable as the main meal.

How Long to Smoke a Turkey by Weight

When estimating how long to smoke a turkey by weight, most cooks find that a whole bird takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes per pound when smoked at a steady 225°F to 250°F. A 10- to 12-pound turkey typically needs 5 to 7 hours, a 12- to 14-pound bird often lands between 6 and 8 hours, and larger 14- to 16-pound turkeys can require 7 to 9 hours or more. These times are only a general guide, however. The actual cook time can shift based on your exact smoker temperature, whether the turkey is spatchcocked or left whole, if it was brined, the weather outside, and how often you open the lid. Always treat the clock as a rough planning tool rather than a finish line. The only reliable way to know when the turkey is done is by checking its internal temperature with a meat thermometer, pull it when the thickest part of the breast and the deepest part of the thigh both reach 165°F. Our chart assumes a whole, fully thawed, unstuffed turkey going onto a smoker that is already holding its temperature.

Each cell is the bird’s weight multiplied by a per-pound rate. The 225°F, 250°F and 275°F rates are the smoker rates on our how long to cook a turkey page. The 250°F, 275°F and 300°F rates match the Pit Boss turkey chart, and Pit Boss’s own recipe uses 30 minutes a pound at 225°F. Done means 165°F in the breast, thigh and wing, per USDA, followed by a 20-minute rest that is not counted in the table. Rows over 12 pounds are bigger than the smoking size USDA lists, so read the size section before you light the fire.

A 12-pound bird at 250°F lands at 5 to 6 hours. A 20-pound bird at 250°F needs 8 hours 20 minutes to 10 hours, which is a long day for the bird and a longer one for the cook.

What Temp to Smoke a Turkey At?

I would smoke most turkeys at 275°F. It is inside the 225°F to 300°F window USDA sets for smoker air, it is the top of the 225°F to 275°F range Pit Boss tells its owners to set for a turkey, and it gets a 14-pound bird done in 4 hours 40 minutes to 5 hours 50 minutes instead of the 7 to 8 hours 10 minutes it takes at 225°F.

The slow end has a real cost on a big bird. USDA’s general guidance says smoking meat or poultry can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, and at 225°F our table runs 8 hours or more for every bird from 16 pounds up. Our year-round smoked turkey guide says the same thing in plainer words: for a whole turkey, skip the low-and-slow 225°F approach. Save 225°F for a 10- or 12-pound bird on a day when you have the whole morning.

At 300°F you are at the top of USDA’s range, which is the fastest lane inside the range. Pit Boss lists 15 to 20 minutes a pound there. It works, but a pit that runs hot drifts out of the range with no room to spare, and a 275°F setting gives you that room in both directions.

Is Your Turkey Too Big to Smoke?

Most home smokers handle turkeys in the 10- to 14-pound range without trouble, and that’s the size range many pitmasters prefer. Once a bird climbs past 16 pounds, it starts to create real challenges. A very large turkey may not fit comfortably in a smaller smoker with enough clearance for air and smoke to circulate, and its thickest sections can take so long to reach temperature that the outer meat risks drying out. Even in a spacious smoker, the longer cook time increases the chance of uneven doneness, breast meat finishing well before the dark meat near the bone is safe.

If you have your heart set on a bigger bird, you still have good options. Spatchcocking (removing the backbone and flattening the turkey) lets a larger bird cook more evenly and often shaves an hour or more off the total time. You can also break the turkey down and smoke the breast separately from the legs and thighs, or simply buy two smaller turkeys instead of one oversized one. Either approach keeps the meat juicier and more consistent while still delivering that signature smoked flavor. As always, size is secondary to internal temperature, confirm the thickest parts of the breast and thigh have reached 165°F before you pull it off the smoker.

Where the Smoker Manufacturers Disagree

Ask USDA and four turkey and smoker companies how long a turkey takes and you get five answers, and every one of them still ends at 165°F. Here is what each one publishes on its own pages:

• USDA: 20 to 30 minutes a pound for an 8- to 12-pound bird, smoker air held at 225°F to 300°F.
• Pit Boss: 25 to 30 minutes a pound at 250°F, 20 to 25 at 275°F and 15 to 20 at 300°F; 30 minutes a pound at 225°F in its Thanksgiving recipe, and 7 to 8 hours for a 14-pound bird at 225°F.
• Traeger: about 30 to 40 minutes a pound at 225°F to 250°F, or 6 to 8 hours for a 12-pound turkey.
• Honeysuckle White: 30 to 45 minutes a pound at 225°F, about 25 at 250°F and about 20 at 275°F.
• Masterbuilt: about 18 minutes a pound at 275°F for a bird of about 19 pounds.

Our table sits in the middle of that spread. Traeger and Honeysuckle White run slower at the low end, and Masterbuilt runs faster at 275°F. Plan on the slow end of your row, because the spread between sources is wider than the spread between most rows in our table.

Smoked Turkey Internal Temp: Where to Check

USDA’s number is 165°F, checked in three places: the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh and the innermost part of the wing. All three have to get there. Pit Boss and Traeger both put the probe in the thickest part of the breast, and Pit Boss also wants the thigh at 165°F before the bird comes off. Check the wing too, with a second thermometer.

Traeger tells its readers they can pull the breast at 160°F and let it climb 5°F to 10°F while it rests, and our year-round guide says the same. I would wait for the thermometer to show 165°F, because that is the number USDA puts on the record and the rest is a forecast. The 170°F to 175°F thigh target you will see on our cook-time page is a doneness preference for texture, not a safety number.

USDA also wants two thermometers going: one for the air in the smoker and one for the meat. An oven-safe probe can stay in the bird the whole time, and an instant-read thermometer is for spot checks once it is off the heat. A lid gauge alone tells you nothing about the turkey.

What Changes the Time

USDA lists four things: the size and shape of the bird, how far it sits from the heat, the temperature of the coals and the outside air temperature. A bird sitting closer to the heat cooks faster than one farther away, and USDA tells you to set the smoker out of the wind so it holds a safe cooking temperature.

Brining is its own step a day ahead, and our turkey brine for smoking walks through the salt by weight and the cooler method. Only smoking a breast? That is a different cook, and our smoked turkey breast guide has the times for it.

Plan Backward From Dinner

Thanksgiving lands on the fourth Thursday of November, and the turkey math runs backward from the minute you want to carve. Take a 14-pound bird at 275°F. The slow end of its row is 5 hours 50 minutes, plus a 20-minute rest, so carving at 3:00 PM means the bird goes on by 8:50 AM with the smoker already holding temperature.

The thaw comes before all of that, and it takes days, not hours, for a big bird in the fridge. Our turkey thaw and cook planner counts back from dinner to the hour the bird leaves the freezer, and the Thanksgiving dinner planner slots the sides around the smoker so nothing fights for the oven. Every other turkey guide on the site lives on our smoked turkey guides page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long to smoke a 20 lb turkey at 250°F?

Our table puts it at 8 hours 20 minutes to 10 hours, and Pit Boss lists 7.5 to 10 hours for an 18- to 20-pound bird at 250°F. That is well past the 4 to 8 hours USDA gives for smoking meat and poultry in general, which is one more reason to run a bird that size at 275°F or split it into two smaller birds.

Why is my smoked turkey pink inside?

USDA says the meat of smoked turkey is always pink, and outdoor smoking leaves a pink rim about one-half inch wide around the outside of the meat. Pink can show up even at 165°F, and color does not prove a turkey is safe either way. Only a food thermometer does.

Can you smoke a turkey that is still partly frozen?

No. USDA says to thaw meat and poultry completely before smoking, because a frozen bird takes too long to thaw in the smoker and lingers between 40°F and 140°F, the range where bacteria multiply. Thaw it in the fridge, and never at room temperature.

Can you stuff a turkey on the smoker?

No. USDA’s turkey table says do not stuff a turkey you are smoking. Bake the stuffing in a casserole dish instead, and it still has to reach 165°F.

Does altitude change how long a turkey takes to smoke?

Yes. Traeger tells cooks above 5,000 feet to allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes a pound. Add that to your row and go by the thermometer, which still has to read 165°F in all three spots.

Weigh the bird, find your row, light the fire early and let the thermometer have the last word. An early turkey rests while the sides catch up. A late one gets carved in front of a hungry crowd staring at the clock, and nobody wants a ticket to that show.

Sources: USDA FSIS, “Smoking Meat and Poultry”; USDA FSIS, “Turkey: Alternate Routes to the Table”; USDA FSIS, “Let’s Talk Turkey Roasting”; USDA FSIS, “Is Pink Turkey Meat Safe?”; Pit Boss, “How to Smoke a Turkey”; Pit Boss, “Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey”; Traeger, “Best Smoked Turkey Guide”; Honeysuckle White, “How to Smoke a Turkey”; Masterbuilt, “Smoked Whole Turkey, Gravity Series”; Butterball, “How to Smoke a Turkey”.

James Nicholas

NFA Firearms Manufacturer & Professional Gunsmith The XDMAN has a talent for taking complex firearms subject matter and breaking it down into an easy-to-understand format that all experience levels can relate to. James is an 07/02 NFA Firearms Manufacturer, a Professional Gunsmith with over 20 years of experience, and a Firearms Writer, Photographer and Firearms Expert. Connect with him on Instagram, X, and Facebook as @therealxdman.

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