Smoked Turkey Breast Roast with Honey Maple Glaze

Smoked turkey is excellent but you don't always have time to thaw, brine and go through all of the preparations for smoking a whole turkey. At those times, this recipe from Chris Lilly's Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book is ideal!

It doesn't take as long as a turkey but still gets the smoke flavor in there. It may seem a bit over spiced when you see how much rub I put on, but the sweet & sticky glaze counters that. Slicing it thin for sandwiches on home made bread makes it out of this world!

The book calls for a whole turkey breast but I am using a Honeysuckle White Turkey Breast Roast, which is about 1/2 of a turkey breast. Perfect for serving 4 people. Since I am using a smaller cut, I reduced the rubs and glazes proportionately.

Smoked Turkey Breast Roast with Honey Maple Glaze
reprinted with permission from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book

1 Boneless skinless turkey breast, about 4 lbs

Wet Rub
2 teaspoons brown mustard
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dry Rub
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp paprika (used my home made stuff)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (used my home made stuff)

Glaze
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 Tbsp Honey (I used creamed honey)

Get your fire going and set up your grill/cooker for indirect heat. Today I was using Wicked Good Weekend Warrior lump coal and a mix of hickory and cherry chunks. In the book, Chris recommends hickory, oak, or maple. Apple would also work.

While that is coming to temp, mix your dry rub ingredients together. In another bowl, mix your wet rub ingredients together. I like using a coarse ground mustard for this, it just adds to the texture.

Rub your wet rub all over your meat. Now sprinkle liberally with your dry rub mix, making sure to get all sides and edges.

If you are using a breast like Chris did in the book, smoke for 2 1/2 hours at 250f. During that time, combine the glaze ingredients over low heat until combined. Glaze the smoked turkey at the 2 1/2 hour mark and then cook another 15 minutes. Glaze again and then cook for another 15 minutes. That should put you at 3 hours and an internal temp of 165f.

Using the smaller breast roast, I had to adjust my times. Here's my log.

As you can see, I really had to cut back on my cooking times using the smaller cut of turkey. I glazed at 45 minutes and 1 hour.

When the internal temp hit 160f I pulled the turkey and let it rest on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes.

If I were a more patient and less hungry man, you'd have pictures of the sandwich too. But I just couldn't wait any longer! But the spiciness of the rub and the sweetness of the glaze were a bbq yin and yang. This is a definite repeat.

Once again, Chris Lilly and Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book delivered. I have several BBQ cookbooks that I really like (see my Library tab) but this is the only one that has delivered on every single recipe I have tried from it. It gets my top recommendation.

[Standard Review Disclaimer] applies as always but other than meeting Chris a few times, I have no affiliation with him or Big Bob Gibsons and I didn't get compensated for this post. I am just a big fan of this book.