Using a smoked turkey rub for your whole turkey, turkey breasts, or turkey legs can add a really unique flavor to your finished turkey. I’m all about experimenting with different spices to see what sort of unique flavors I can come up with. I’m going to share with you several really good turkey dry rubs that will work great for both whole smoked turkeys or smoked turkey breast. Try them all out and see which you think is the best smoked turkey rub.
Check Out One of My Favorite Poultry Rubs Here
The first thing I’m going to mention is just rubbing the turkey with some olive or canola oil then rubbing it with a bit of cracked black pepper and kosher salt. I know it sounds pretty simple and boring, but just a bit of oil, salt and pepper adds a ton of flavor to your turkey. Sometimes simple can be better.
Alright let’s get on to some more smoked turkey rubs.
Rub #1
1/2 cup paprika3 tbsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
6 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
6 tbsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
2 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. This will make about 2 cups of rub, so you will have some left over. Just store in an airtight container. Rub liberally into the turkey. If you are smoking a whole turkey I like to let the rub sit on it for up to 24hours, with turkey breasts, a few hours of contact will do.
Rub #2
Another simple rub that I like to use is just crushed fresh garlic, seasoned salt, and cracked black pepper.
4 Garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp Seasoned Salt 1 tbsp Cracked Black PepperCombine all ingredients into a small bowl and rub into your turkey prior to smoking.
Rub #3
This one is a good bbq rub than can be used on more than just turkey.
1 ¼ cups Brown Sugar ¼ cup Kosher Salt ½ cup Paprika 3 tbsp dried parsley 2 tbsp dried basil 2 tbsp dried thyme 2 tbsp dried onion flakes 1 ½ tbsp lemon pepper 1 tbsp garlic powder 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cinnamonCombine all ingredients in a bowl. This will make approximately 2 cups, so you will have extra. Store in an airtight container.
These are just a few simple smoked turkey rub recipes, feel free to experiment and come up with your own. If you are now looking for the best way to smoke your turkey be sure to check out my post on How to Smoke a Turkey.
If you just want to get yourself a pre-made turkey rub, you have to try out this poultry rub, it adds a really great flavor to turkey. Another thing that is nice about this rub is that it goes really good on chicken, and even burgers.