I’ve eaten a lot of Thanksgiving turkeys, and roasted my fair share. I’ve brined and rubbed the bird, buttered and salt- scrubbed it better than any spa could do. I like roasted turkey, but never could I have predicted how much a smoked turkey would change my life. I hosted Friendsgiving this year with a Diestel pecan smoked turkey, and it not only made my meal prep easier but absolutely threw my crowd of friends into turkey euphoria. It’s not too late for you to order one.
In all my years of roast turkey enjoyment, this is the year it ends. Sorry, but I’ll be switching over to a smoked bird forever. This is coming from a woman who can’t deal with mezcal margaritas because they’re too smoky—but on meat, it works. The turkey was juicy, rich, ultra tender, and the skin was crisp. Try as I might, I can’t imagine going back to a regular turkey next year. I miss the smoked one already.
The Diestel Family Ranch has plenty of options for your holiday bird:
Take work off your plate
I’d like to be upfront with you all: I barely had to do anything to make this centerpiece sing. The Diestel smoked turkey is fully prepared. It’s trussed, fully cooked, and fully seasoned. They ship it to your door frozen, so you do need to take care of thawing, but once that’s taken care of, you’re just reheating the turkey. This left me time to focus on prepping stuffing, baking pies, and organizing a charcuterie platter. Not to mention that reheating a turkey is much faster than cooking it all the way through the first time. Not sure how to reheat it? The directions are right there on the bird, including the temperature and length of time according to the size you ordered.
My turkey was a 10-pound bird, so three days prior I set it up in the fridge on a wire rack over a sheet pan just in case any bird juices dripped out. None did, but it’s better to be prepared for such things. The packaging directions instructed me to heat the turkey at 325°F for an hour and 15 minutes. I had barely cracked open the packaging when the smoky, savory aromas wafted around me. Any worries I had about this turkey were dismissed at that moment. I put the turkey on the roasting rack and gave it a rub with a neutral oil and some regular table salt. This was not part of the instructions, but I wanted to make sure the skin became crispy. (And maybe I wanted to feel involved in some small way.)
The short cook time allowed me to focus on all of my other side dishes beforehand, and I was able to pop the turkey in the oven about 45 minutes before my guests arrived. That’s usually when I change out of my “cooking clothes” and make myself presentable anyway, so it was the perfect time for hands-off cooking.
The turkey was perfect. Every guest commented on the smell and the gorgeous color of the skin when it came out of the oven. There were still plenty of smoky, mahogany brown drippings for gravy. Carving it was actually a pleasure. The skin crackled as I cut through it, and the meat and connective tissue was so tender that my knife and a little bit of pressure took care of the rest. The resulting bird tasted like the best aspects of a smoked ham and a juicy brined turkey, complete with crisp, flavorful skin.
How to buy one
You can absolutely make your own smoked turkey on a charcoal grill, or turn your oven into a smoker, but if that sounds like more trouble than you’d like, please navigate the Diestel Turkey Farm website and grab a bird today. If you order today they’ll still have time to get it to you on Wednesday. Naturally after all this, I suggest you get the pecan smoked turkey, but they have a hickory wood smoked turkey too. If smoked turkey isn’t your thing but taking the pressure off of cooking a raw turkey from scratch speaks to you, try their oven-roasted whole turkey.
Whether you haven’t figured out your turkey plan for Thanksgiving, or you just want to get ahead on Christmas dinner planning, get this turkey shipped to you. It might just change your holidays forever.