Everyone loves smoked turkey, myself included. It’s a simple and near perfect way to enjoy wild turkey. This recipe incorporates a miso-butter-soy glaze that is rich, savory and packed with umami. 

If you’re not familiar with miso, it's a fermented soybean paste that is full of flavor. It's similar to grated parmesan in how it adds richness and umami to dishes. By itself, it's overly salty, but mixed with butter it becomes a savory, buttery, silky, umami bomb. Add some soy sauce and you get even richer flavors. Though the glaze adds a lot of flavor, it is not overly assertive, and this smoked turkey can be used from anything from spicy ramen to homestyle turkey and dumplings.

This recipe is straight forward: brine the breast(s), mix the glaze and smoke, basting often with the glaze. We recommend you wet brine the breasts before smoking them. This helps them retain moisture and keeps them from drying out before they are done cooking. We also feel that brined turkey has a firmer texture that we prefer. 

Slice across the grain and serve with, or on, anything you want. We like this turkey with spring greens, on sandwiches, or cubed up in noodle soups.

Miso Butter Soy Glazed Smoked Turkey

Cook time: 1 1/2 hours

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

1-2 turkey breast(s), wet brined (recommended)

½ cup butter, room temp

½ cup white miso, room temp

⅛ cup soy sauce

Method:

Remove turkey from brine and pat dry.

Combine butter, miso and soy sauce, whisk until evenly mixed. 

Preheat the smoker to 250F, medium smoke. Place the turkey in the smoker and close the lid. Flip and baste using a pastry brush with miso-butter mixture every 20-30 minutes. Smoke until internal temperature reaches 140F (60-90 minutes). Remove turkey from the smoker, keep covered.

Turn the smoker up to high heat (400F+). Once preheated, return turkey to smoker and baste with miso-butter mixture. Close the lid and cook for 2 minutes. Flip breasts and baste one more time. Cook for 2 minutes. The turkey should have a nice crust on the exterior but not be overcooked. Remove from the smoker and allow to rest, covered with a mixing bowl or foil, for 10 minutes before slicing.