My husband complains that Thanksgiving turkey always ends up being a dry cut of meat, inedible without tons of gravy.

I’ve challenged him to come up with a recipe that will change his mind, so we put our heads together and came up with this one. We experimented with it last weekend and it was AMAZING. The weather wasn’t too bad, and hopefully that’s the case where you live so you can have an awesome smoked turkey breast this Thanksgiving!

Pomegranate molasses is used in many Middle Eastern dishes, and I thought a sweet flavor goes perfectly well with Thanksgiving meals. Where to buy it? Try an ethnic store, Middle Eastern aisle in regular grocers, or buy it online. This is the brand I have at home, and if you buy it through this link in Amazon.com you will help support Practical Nutrition.

The smoking took 3 hours for the 3-pound breast with bone, about 5 servings. If you are making more than one breast, a larger one, or a whole turkey, make more glaze and smoke it for longer.

We have a gas grill that my husband turned into a smoker using instructions on this website. You will need wood chips–we got hickory chips from Home Depot. If your grill/smoker doesn’t have a thermometer, you can buy one at Target.

Would it be too much to have pomegranates in the stuffing as well? We didn’t think so! We made an amazing pomegranate herb stuffing and the recipe is featured on “me” movement website (which I highly encourage you to visit this holiday season).

Ingredients:

• 3-lb turkey breast, brined in honey
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, about 2 sprigs
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Combine the oil, pomegranate molasses, herbs, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Glaze the turkey using a brush. We let it marinade for an hour in the fridge.

Heat the smoker to 350 F. Smoke the turkey for 3 hours, checking it every 30 minutes. Our smoker was providing heat from one side only, so we rotated the turkey breast every 30 minutes. Do what is appropriate to your setup.

Insert a meat thermometer in several thick spots in the turkey without touching the bone. Pull it when it reaches 160 F. Cover tightly in foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

We had gravy on the side in case the turkey was dry but we really didn’t use it.

If you have any questions about smoking, write a comment or shoot me an email. We’ll try our best to give you an answer.

Now… are you ready for grocery shopping?