Smoked Cajun Turkey Breast

Last Updated on September 8, 2023 by What’s Smoking

Smoked turkey breasts is a great smoked meal but smoked Cajun turkey breast is at another level. It is just as easy as your basic turkey breast but add in a kick of flavor with a homemade Cajun seasoning and you have yourself a hit.

Cajun Turkey Breast Rub Recipe

Before diving into the rub, I will briefly cover the turkey. I used a basic Butterball boneless breast, usually coming at 3 lbs. This are easy to find, already boneless and taste great on the smoker. Now onto the Cajun rub.

This makes for a great Cajun style turkey breast. The ingredients are pretty basic and you should have most already in the pantry. Of course if you don’t have these and do already have a store bought Cajun rub, you can use that too.

Cajun Rub Ingredient list:

• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• paprika
• cayenne pepper
• black pepper
• oregano
• ground thyme

Because we are using this rub recipe in the injection I took the pepper and oregano and ground them up in a molcajete or a mortar and pestle set. By grinding them, it keeps our injector from getting clogged when injecting the breasts.

You can mix these ingredients together and set to the side once done. We will then start prepping the turkey and smoker.

Smoker and Turkey Prep

Before we start getting the turkey ready, we need to prep the smoker and get that up and running. For this smoke, I used my Weber Kettle and got it up and running for a temperature of 275 – 300. Turkey is a meat that does better with a hot and fast method, as opposed to low and slow. The injection does an incredible job of keeping the turkey nice and moist. For a wood, I used apple.

While the smoker is getting up to 275, we can start working on the turkey. The rub is made, so we can first work on the injection. You will need the following ingredients for the injection:

• chicken broth
• butter
• Cajun rub

You are going to take the butter and broth and let simmer in a pot until the butter melts. Once melted add the dry rub and stir it in until it has dissolved. After you have the injection ready you can start to inject the turkey breast. Use the injection liberally as it will provide an incredibly flavorful turkey breast and keep it juicy when serving.

Following up the injection you will take the remaining rub and rub the turkey down. Make sure you are getting the top, bottom and inside and cuts made into the breast. I did not use any binder as the skin and turkey were moist enough from the injection to hold the rub. Save just a little bit of the rub after placing the turkey on the smoker and fix any spots that you may have rubbed off during handling it.

For a probe on this smoke, I used my ThermoPro TP20. Its a quality unit that won’t break the bank.

After you have placed the turkey on the smoker, close it up and let it ride for a bit. While the breast is moving up in temperature, you will want about a stick of butter, that we will use to baste. When the breast gets to an IT of 115 and then 135, you will baste with the melted butter. This will add a little bit more flavor and help tighten up the skin, making it a little crispier.

We are always looking for poultry to get to an IT of 165 degrees. In this case, we are going to pull it from the smoker at 160 and let it rest, tented for about 20-30 minutes. It will give it time to reach that ideal 165 IT and give the meat a chance to rest before slicing.

Wrapping Up Smoked Cajun Turkey Breast Recipe

This is a great meal, whether you are doing it at any point during the year or using it for a formal Thanksgiving dinner. It is quick and easy and an incredible way to enjoy a boneless Cajun turkey breast.

Thanks for being here and checking out this Cajun Smoked Turkey Breast recipe. I hope you enjoy it! We always appreciate comments, 5 star recipe rating and social media shares. As always, keep that smoke rolling!

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Looking for some other turkey recipes and more, here are a few suggestions:

• Smoked Turkey Sandwich
• Grilled Turkey Recipe
• Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey
• Smoked Turkey Jerky
• Smoked Pulled Chicken Breasts