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Smoked Turkey Breast sliced thin on a red and white checkerboard deli paper with the whole turkey roast behind it and bread, lettuce, tomato slices to the right.
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5 from 2 votes

Smoked Boneless Turkey Breast Recipe

Easy & Delicious Smoked Turkey Breast that you can serve in thick slices for a turkey dinner OR slice it thin for sandwiches.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Sandwich
Cuisine: American
Difficulty Level: Easy
Servings: 8 People
Calories: 115kcal
Author: Louise

Equipment

  • Ninja Woodfire Grill and Smoker

Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds boneless turkey breast Can be a turkey roast in netting or two turkey breasts that you remove from the bone and rib cage.
  • 1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt
  • ½ Tablespoon coarsely ground pepper sometimes called restaurant pepper

Smoking Pellets

  • ½-¾ cup apple wood pellets or your pellets of choice
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Starting the NInja Woodfire Grill & Smoker

  • Install the grill grate or griddle plate.
    Install the drip pan in the back of the smoker.
    Fill the pellet box with pellets.
    Turn the Woodfire on and select the Smoker Function.
    Set the smoking temperature to 175℉/70℃ and the time for 5 hours and 15 minutes (It will only take between 3-4 hours for most turkey breasts)
    Hit start and let the smoker go through the ignition process. You should see the flame icon flashing. You do not need to press the Woodfire Flavor button when on the smoker function.
    Once the ignition process is complete, let the smoker run for 15 minutes prior to adding food. This will burn off the heavy white smoke that can leave a bitter/acrid flavor on your food.
    ½-¾ cup apple wood pellets

Bone-In Turkey Breast

  • Make sure your turkey breast is completely thawed before smoking.
    Remove the turkey breasts from the rib cage and breastbone. Season with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning blend. Stack the two breasts on top of each other and secure in 3- 4 places with butcher's twine.
    You can use some of the skin to cover the breast for the first 1-2 hours of the smoking process if desired. I have done it both ways (with and without skin) and both work great.
    2-3 pounds boneless turkey breast, 1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt, ½ Tablespoon coarsely ground pepper

Boneless Turkey Roast

  • Make sure your turkey breast is completely thawed before smoking.
    Leave the turkey breast in the netting and season the outside with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning blend.
    *if you see any skin, you can remove it by pulling back the netting. On the turkey roasts, there will be varying amounts of skin left on the breast meat. It is also fine if you leave it on; it won't hurt anything.
    2-3 pounds boneless turkey breast, 1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt, ½ Tablespoon coarsely ground pepper

Smoking the Turkey Breast on the Ninja Woodfire

  • The instructions are the same for either type of turkey breast, but the turkey breast roast usually takes about 3 hours to smoke, while the double-stacked turkey breast takes about 4 hours.
    Place a thermometer probe (if using) into the thickest part of the turkey breast.
  • Place the seasoned turkey breast on a rack on the grill or griddle plate or you place it directly on the grill or griddle plate. Elevating it a bit does allow the smoke to flow around the meat better, but it is not necessary.
  • Check the pellet box and top off with pellets if needed. You want to keep the pellets burning and smoking the entire time the turkey breast is smoking for the best smoked flavor.
  • Periodically check the internal temperature and when the temperature reaches 155℉/69℃ (make sure to check the internal temperature in several spots), keep the Woodfire on and let the turkey cook an additional 8 minutes.
    It is fine if the temperature increases a bit, but it should not decrease. If it decreases for some reason, bring it back up to 155℉/69℃ and start the 8-minute period again. This is important for food safety, and you can read all about it in the article above this recipe.
  • Remove the turkey breast and set it on a cutting board or cooling rack. While it is warm, remove the twine or netting for easier removal.
    Let it sit about 20 minutes,wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge IF you are going to use it for sandwiches. This will soften the outside "crust" and make it much easier to slice thinly for sandwiches.
    If you want to serve it warm and in thick slices, you can do that 10 minutes after the turkey comes off the smoker.
    Enjoy!

Notes

Due to the low cooking temperatures, there will not be much carryover cooking when you remove the turkey breast from the smoker. Only expect it to go up in temperature by 2-3 degrees. 
This recipe was created after much research into food safety and low temperature cooking, and adheres to the guidelines in the USDA chart for time/temp pasteurization chart, which is linked in the article above. 
If you are not comfortable with cooking your turkey breast to an internal temperature of 155℉/69℃ it is perfectly fine to leave it on the smoker until it reaches 165℉/74℃ however the texture will be different and the turkey will be a bit drier. 

Nutrition

Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.2g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 1106mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg