If you’re entrusted with cooking the bird on Thanksgiving, you’re probably looking for a risk-free, no-fuss tried and true recipe. Have a reoccurring nightmare about dry turkey, or sweet dreams about crispy, herb-crusted turkey legs?

If you’re on a wood pellet grill, this Traeger Turkey Pellets Blend might be for you:

We did a 20-pound test bird this weekend, and were cooking for 16 people. It was your typical friends-giving feast (with no less than 4 other Traeger-owners coming, NO PRESSURE!).

Again, we were looking for an easy, but proven, method and recipe. After skimming a dozen articles on spatchcocking, brining, injecting, rubbing, etc — we said: “Meh, nothing exotic.”

That’s when we turned to the wisdom of the Traeger Grills family. We had two bags delivered from a Traeger Instagram contest (“BBQ Hero of the Week”) over the summer.

The results were nothing short of amazing. “Best turkey I’ve ever had,” raved one friend. “OMG, moist, zesty, and great smoke flavor,” commented another. “Got to try that for our family Thanksgiving now, ” said one of our Traeger brethren.

Now, most everything that comes off the Traeger at our house is good. But that’s “most” not all. Not ashamed to admit we have a few hiccups every now and again. So these were pretty strong endorsements. What’s the secret? We followed Traeger’s included Smoked Bourbon & Orange Brined Turkey recipe to a T. Here are the basics (minus the booze):

Brine overnight (bag comes inside the pellets bag, fish it out!)

Pat dry, apply rub (again, included in the bag)

Put turkey directly on the grate (we put in a disposable roasting pan)

Set Traeger to smoke for 2 hours (for us, 180F)

Turn up to 350F for 2-3 hours (or until internal temp reaches 165F)

WHERE TO BUY?

You can pick up the Traeger Turkey Pellets Blend at your local dealer, or order from Amazon. If you HURRY, you select one-day or two-day shipping for Prime members, to still get in time for Thanksgiving.

Watch our mid-cook Facebook LIVE video from TraegerFanatics.com for some laughs:

Editor’s Note: This post contains affiliate links.