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Flame & Feast

Smoking times

How long to smoke an 18 lb turkey at 325°F

Mike Ross · How we research · Updated 2026-08-30

At the grate

6h 18m – 9h

Rest

21m – 45m

Cook plus rest

6h 39m – 9h 45m

Plan for

9h 45m

The long end, always

When to light it

Work backwards from the long end. To serve an 18 lb turkey at 6pm on a Saturday, light the smoker around Saturday 8:15am — 9h 45m earlier.

That asymmetry is deliberate. Finished barbecue sits in a cooler for hours and arguably improves; an unfinished one at dinner time is not a problem you can solve. Being early is recoverable, being late is not.

The smoker calculator turns your own serve time into a clock time, and handles weights and temperatures between the ones charted here.

Why this is a range and not a time

The same turkey can finish hours apart between cooks. Grade, fat, airflow, ambient temperature and how often the lid comes off all move the number, and a calculator can see none of them.

So the figures above are a window, not a prediction. A page that told you “9h exactly” would feel more precise and be less true.

USDA FSIS — Turkey: Alternate Routes to the Table publishes one rate for the whole 225–300°F smoker band: “Estimate 20 to 30 minutes per pound if using a smoker.” 325°F is hotter than that band, so USDA's rate does not cover this page. The figure here is barbecue convention, not a published number. Read it.

What temperature to pull it at

Pull between 165–175°F internal. The USDA safe minimum for this cut is 165°F, which is a food-safety floor rather than a target.

Below 275°F the skin does not render properly. Breast to 165°F, thigh to 175°F.

That window is an internal temperature, and it is not what the lid gauge shows — a dome thermometer reads the air under the lid, not the centre of the meat. Hitting a 10°F window means measuring the meat itself, which is what an instant-read probe is for.

Safe minimums from the USDA FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.

How much fuel it takes

On a pellet grill at 325°F, this cook burns roughly 11–22.5 lb of pellets — so have two 20 lb bags on hand. Cold and windy days push that higher.

For an offset or a charcoal cooker there is no figure here, and that is on purpose. Consumption depends on firebox size, wood species, split moisture and how the pit is run, and a number would be a guess wearing an estimate’s clothes.

At the long end that is more than the smallest hopper on the grills we compare, which publish 13.5 lb upwards — so this cook can outrun a single load. The pellet grill comparison has the capacities.

The same cut at other temperatures

We chart turkey from 275–325°F. Outside that range we have nothing to work from and will not extrapolate one.

Cook window for an 18 lb turkey at each charted smoker temperature
Smoker tempCookPlan, with rest
275°F9h – 11h 42m12h 27m
300°F7h 12m – 9h 54m10h 39m
325°F — this page6h 18m – 9h9h 45m

Not working to a set weight? How Long to Smoke Turkey at 325°F gives the hours per pound instead, for any weight.

Other weights at 325°F

What this cook actually needs

Every figure on this page is a range, and the only thing that closes it is measuring the internal temperature — more so on a cut this quick, where the window between done and dry is narrow.

Common questions

How long to smoke an 18 lb turkey at 325°F?
6h 18m – 9h at the grate, plus 21m–45m of rest. Plan 9h 45m in total and hold it if it finishes early — finished barbecue keeps, unfinished barbecue cannot be hurried.
What internal temperature should an 18 lb turkey be pulled at?
165–175°F. The USDA safe minimum for this cut is 165°F, which is a food-safety floor rather than a target. Below 275°F the skin does not render properly. Breast to 165°F, thigh to 175°F.
Can you smoke an 18 lb turkey faster than 325°F?
Yes, within limits. We chart this cut from 275–325°F, and the hottest of those brings the cook down to 9h at the long end. Past that range we have nothing to work from and will not guess.

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