Smoked turkey is turkey that has been cured and smoked over wood, giving it a deep, savory flavor and helping preserve the meat. Indigenous peoples of North America, where the turkey is native, smoked wild turkey long before European contact, and the practice carried into the commercial turkey industry now centered in the American Midwest and South. It shows up across American cooking: in Southern dishes like gumbo and jambalaya, in various chowders, in New England-style split pea soup, and alongside collard greens and black-eyed peas. The flavor is rich and smoky with a hint of sweetness; it pairs well with herbs like thyme and rosemary, black pepper, acidic ingredients such as lemon, vinegar, and tomatoes, and other smoked or cured proteins like ham, bacon, and sausage. As a leaner alternative to some smoked meats, it's popular with health-conscious cooks.