Published November 17, 2021.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Learn the absolute best most flavorful way to prepare a turkey by making this delicious Brined Smoked Turkey Recipe.
I mean I’m cool with eating turkey on Thanksgiving and all, just as long as it’s this.
More often than not I preach to get out of the norm and make a big prime rib roast, or beef tenderloin, just anything other than turkey. Well, if you are making this, I will give you a pass because it is that delicious.
Seriously, it is the only way to make and eat turkey if you’re doing up a bird for the holidays. A few years ago, I decided to help out my mother-in-law by making these. Well, I made this recipe and at the end of the meal, my father-in-law asked to see a show of hands who thought I should do it every year.
Yeah, everyone raised their hands haha.
Why do You Brine a Turkey
The main reason to brine is for flavor and juiciness. The acid in the brine will tenderize the meat while the salt, sugar, and herbs will flavor it up to perfection. If you’re asking me, this is the only way it.
How to Make the Brine
Making this is actually really easy, all you need is a big huge stockpot or an extremely clean paint bucket. You choose! The brine that I’ve been making the last few years is apple cider.
It’s a simple solution that packs a serious punch. Meanwhile, the smoked part of this is tasty, it wouldn’t be anything without the brine I whipped up.
The ingredients for this are:
- Apple Cider
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar
- Peppercorns
- Bay Leaves
- Fresh Thyme Sprigs
- Onion
- Garlic Cloves
The Instructions are:
You start by bringing the water, cider, sugar, and salt to a boil to ensure all of those ingredients are dissolved and incorporated and then you let it chill.
Once the brine is chilled toss in the peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, onions, and garlic.
Yes, this recipe is easy to make, but it will require you to get prepped up a few days before you want to cook and serve it.
How to Brine It
1. Once the brine is chilled and the other ingredients have been put in it add in your trussed turkey making sure the giblets have been removed from the turkey, and completely submerge it. You can add in a little ice if you’d like to help make sure it stays really cold, and then I add a few of my plates over top to ensure the turkey stays submerged.
2. Place it in the refrigerator, yes you will probably need to make some room in there because the pot or bucket is pretty big.
3. Brine for 24 hours. I think this is ample time to bring out some really good flavor, but you can absolutely push it to 36 to 48 hours if you’d like, but I don’t think you need it.
Rinsing Off Turkey
One of the most important steps to this recipe is rinsing off the turkey once it’s done brining. Remove it from the brine and rinse it extremely well in your sink on all sides including the cavity.
You want to make sure it’s seasoned, not a salt lick so take the time to do this. Next, pat it dry and let it sit for 45 minutes at room temperature before smoking it. The cooking process can drag on if you through a really cold bird into your smoker, not to mention and can decrease the smoker’s temperature.
How Many Minutes Per Pound Does It Take to Smoke
A brined turkey will cook much faster than a non-brined turkey. Here are the basic rules of thumb for smoking:
- Smoking at 225° – 235° at 21-23 minutes per pound
- Smoking at 245° to 255° at 19-21 minutes per pound
- Smoking at 265° to 275° at 17-19 minutes per pound
This will also vary slightly depending upon how big your bird is and if you can hold your smoker’s temperature.
Smoking a Brined Turkey
Now it’s time to smoke. Since my in-laws aren’t keen on super smoky foods I do a light smoke and because it’s brined it actually cooks a bit quicker than if it wasn’t’.
Be sure that your smoker up to 275° before putting the turkey in it. I don’t care if you are smoking on the big green egg, a Traeger or in a digital smoker, just get it to 275°.
This recipe will require you to cook it for a total of 4 hours Now, if I were to smoke this turkey completely through it would take about 4 hours for this 14-pound bird but since I lightly smoke it I only keep it in there for 2 hours.
Transfer it to the oven and cook it at 275 for another 90 to 120 minutes or until the thighs read 165°.
Be sure to then cover it in foil and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Resting it allows for the juices to soak back into the turkey while ensuring the meat gets over that 165° internal temperature mark.
Can I Brine If It’s Pre-Brined
You can definitely brine a pre-brined turkey but I highly recommend against doing so. It will be extremely salty and most likely the protein will overly break down due to all of the acid infusing into the meat.
I can promise you one thing though, if you love turkey then this is the recipe for yours!
Recipe Chef Notes + Tips
How to Reheat:to reheat it simply place it in a saucepan with a little bit of chicken or turkey stock, or gravy, cover it with foil, and heat it in the oven at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until warm. You can also simply heat it in the microwave until warm.
How to Store: It will hold in the refrigerator covered in plastic for up to 5 days. In addition, you can freeze it covered for up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator for a full day before reheating it.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of turkey to a saucepan along with ½ to 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until warm. You can also heat the turkey in the microwave on a plate until warm.
You may need to add plates or bowls to the turkey in the brine to ensure it is completely submerged.
Feel free to add whole black peppercorns as well to the brine.
If you do not have a smoker and can only cook it in the oven, you may do so at 350° for 10-13 minutes per pound.
Other ingredients you can add to the brine include fresh rosemary, sage, orange peel, lemon peel, or brown sugar.
After the brine is in the 5-gallon container and is whisked together and you find it still is not very cold, feel free to add in 2 cups of ice.
If the bones on the ends of the legs or the tips of the wings begin to turn dark brown too quickly, wrap them in a small amount of foil.
Other Holiday Recipes
- Roasted Beef Tenderloin
- Acorn Squash
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Cornbread Stuffing with Chorizo
- Bone-In Ribeye Roast
Be sure to follow me onFacebook,Youtube,Instagram,andPinterest,and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Save
Brined Smoked Turkey Recipe
5 from 23 votes
Learn the absolute best most flavorful way to prepare a turkey by making this Brined Smoked Turkey Recipe.
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours hours
Brining Time: 1 day day
Total Time: 1 day day 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 1 gallon apple cider
- 1 gallon water
- 1 ¼ cups salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 peeled and roughly chopped medium size onions
- 12-14 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 14-16 pound trussed turkey, giblets and neck removed
Instructions
Add 4 cups of the cider with all the salt and sugar to a medium-size pot and bring to a boil and cook until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Whisk occasionally.
Transfer the mixture to a large 5-gallon container along with the remaining amount of cider, water, onions, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme, and whisk to combine.
Add in the trussed turkey and ensure it is completely submerged.
Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 48 hours.
Remove the turkey and rinse very well with cold water on all sides.
Transfer the turkey to a roasting pan and pat it dry using paper towels.
Preheat the smoker to 250°.
Add the turkey to the smoker and cook for 4 hours to 4 ½ hours. The thigh meat should read 160° to 165° when it is finished, or the button in the breast should have popped out.
Wrap in foil and let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing and serving
Notes
Chef Notes:
How to Reheat: to reheat it simply place it in a saucepan with a little bit of chicken or turkey stock, or gravy, cover it with foil, and heat it in the oven at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until warm. You can also simply heat it in the microwave until warm.
How to Store: It will hold in the refrigerator covered in plastic for up to 5 days. In addition, you can freeze it covered for up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator for a full day before reheating it.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of turkey to a saucepan along with ½ to 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until warm. You can also heat the turkey in the microwave on a plate until warm.
You may need to add plates or bowls to the turkey in the brine to ensure it is completely submerged.
Feel free to add 1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorns as well to the brine.
If you do not have a smoker and can only cook it in the oven, you may do so at 350° for 10-13 minutes per pound.
Other ingredients you can add to the brine include fresh rosemary, sage, orange peel, lemon peel, or brown sugar.
After the brine is in the 5-gallon container and is whisked together and you find it still is not very cold, feel free to add in 2 cups of ice.
If the bones on the ends of the legs or the tips of the wings begin to turn dark brown too quickly, wrap them in a small amount of foil.
Nutrition
Calories: 334kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 49gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 162mgSodium: 1668mgPotassium: 519mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 126IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 2mg
Course: dinner, Main
Cuisine: American
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
Elevate Your Every Day Cooking
Get Chef Billy’s go-to tips that transform “blah” into “brilliant” plus weekly newsletter!
Add a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
66 comments
- greta
this was the second year to brine and smoke the turkey, it will be our tradition from now on, and the turkey soup was so delicious. thanks Chef Parisi.
- Reply
- Julie
Love this recipe! Thank you so much Chef Billy! The turkey turned out perfect and looked beautiful! I’m not sure if I will ever roast another turkey in the oven again! My family loved it!
- Reply
- Cecilia
Thanks for sharing this recipe just in time for Thanksgiving! We tried your brined turkey and baked it upside down. It came out perfect ! My whole family loved it!!! Thanks!!
- Reply
excellent!
- Reply
- Jay Rogers
Just pulled the bird out of the brine! Do you smoke the whole four hours? For briskets I usually only have active smoke the first few hours…
- Reply
- Kendra
Brined and smoked one of our turkeys and i as skeptical it was feeding g 25 so it was great way to keep an oven open- OMG it blew me away the flavor an so tender and moist absolutely perfect!! A keeper!!
- Reply
- Gale Murphy
This is the 2nd year we used your recipe. In 2022 we were hosting Thanksgiving Dinner (I had never even baked a turkey) The Tuesday before Thanksgiving my oven went our so we decided to brine and smoke the Turkey I found your recipe and we gave it a go, everyone loved it. This year we hosted 22 for Thanksgiving and brined and smoked the Turkey everyone loved it with no left overs. Thank you for a great detailed recipe.
- Reply
- Denise
When you smoke this turkey what are you using just coals or ? Wood chips?
- Reply
chips, but you can also use coals.
- Reply
- Crystal
I did this year, but I spatchco*cked my bird and stuffed the skin with a compound butter. It was delicious! Juicy, tender and the skin was perfectly crispy. Everyone loved it! This year the turkey is about twice the size of last year’s, hoping it will turn out just as good. Thank you for the continued guidance and direction and tips along the way. You are a gem my friend.
- Reply
- Joan LeJeal
I took this recipe last TG and combined it with your bacon coverded breast-down roasted recipe by brining the turkey and roasting it breast-down. It was incredibly moist and delicious.
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
Thanks!
- Reply
- Kathleen Heuck
This Smoked Turkey is the BOMB! My family loved it. Thank you Chef Billy… 🙂 ~Katt~
- Reply
- sue 👋
Thankyou Chef Billy fab tasty recipe in time for Christmas 😁🤩😋🤗
- Reply
- sue 👋
Thankyou Chef Billy fab recipe in time for Christmas 😁🤩😋🤗
- Reply
- Chad Johnson
I made this last year and it was the star of the show! Making again this year, and I can’t remember what kind of salt I used for the brine. Kosher or Sea salt?
- Reply
either
- Reply
- Megan
Do you baste the Turkey while it smokes?
- Reply
no
- Reply
- Chad Johnson
I made this last year and it was the best turkey I’ve ever had! The only thing I can’t remember is if I used kosher salt or sea salt for the brine. Can you please refresh my memory?
- Reply
either works
- Reply
- Lea
Yes it’s early. Making this now. Thank you for this recipe chef
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
thank you for trying this!
- Reply
- Sawsan S
The best turkey recipe!!
- Reply
Thank you!
- Reply
excellent
- Reply
- Maria
The most delicious turkey I ever have eaten before!! For real , every body at the Christmas party asked me for the recipe
- Reply
- Brian Webb
Can I spatchco*ck the turkey prior to smoking it? If so, how would you adjust your cooking times? I have a very heavy duty RF Smoker I call FrankenSmoker and I like to cook low and slow if that makes a difference.
I really want to use your recipe, but I prefer to spatchco*ck a bird.
Sir, I could use any information you want to provide me, I just love to smoke meats.
Thank you for your time and I pray you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Blessed New Year!!- Reply
Yes you can. It’s not so much about time as it is getting to the internal temperature of 165. That could take 4 hours and it could also take 2.
- Reply
- Philip S Hoekstra
Amazing! Everyone said best turkey ever. We were hoping to phase out turkey not anymore!
- Reply
- Christy Hoover
I have been making turkeys for over 30 years. And they usually come out well. I followed your recipe but cooked it on the smoker the whole time. It was outstanding! My family raved about it being the best turkey they have ever eaten. I agree. I will never try another recipe. Perfection achieved. Well done and thank you!
- Reply
- brian
Can you please give the amount of each ingredient?
- Reply
not sure what you mean? All the ingredients are in the recipe card at the bottom.
- Reply
- Angi
My husband is set on filling the rest of the roasting pan with potatoes. Will overfilling the pan have an effect on the turkey?
- Reply
Should be ok.
- Reply
- Brandi Shockley
And all the people said…amen! 16 lb bird, 36 hour brine, smoke took closer to 5 hours but it was 26 degrees yesterday morning when I started. Flavorful, tender, crispy skin but the meat didn’t dry out at all. I have also been elected to make this every year now and I don’t even mind!
- Reply
- Hannah
Is it apple cider vinegar or juice?
- Reply
just apple cider
- Reply
- Denise
What kind of apple cider? There is vinegar or juice?
- Reply
apple cider. if it was vinegar it would say apple cider vinegar 🙂
- Reply
- Tad
Can you dry brine the bird?
- Reply
If you want, sure.
- Reply
- Heather
Hi Chef,
In the blog post, you give guidance on length of cook at various temperatures, but you also mention to get the smoker up to 275 °, regardless of the smoker/device being used. Does.this mean one should not use one of the lower temperatures noted in your blog post? ( it looked like it gave a range from 225 to 275). Thanks for the guidance!- Reply
That is just what I smoke it at, but you are welcome to use one of those other temps.
- Reply
- Heather
Thanks a million, Chef Billy. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
- Reply
- Rehab
Thank you, Chef Billy!
I love this.- Reply
- Paul Egger
Can we smoke the turkey the whole time and skip the oven?
- Reply
you sure can, just keep rolling till it’s done.
- Reply
- Amanda
Hi Billy, if I don’t have a smoker and want to cook this turkey in the oven instead, what are the instructions? Thank you!
- Reply
Obviously, the flavor will be different, but 350° at 13 mins per pound unstuffed and 15 mins per pound stuffed.
- Reply
- Eric
So this may seem like a silly question but here goes. Do I smoke the turkey directly on the grill rack? And when I transfer it to the oven should it go in a turkey broaster or directly on the rack again with a little foil under it?
- Reply
It’s great question. You can smoke it in a toaster or bout the toaster underneath the rack and collect all those drippings so you can make a gravy!
- Reply
- Eric
I’m an amature. I’m not sure what a toaster pan is? I’m cooking in the Traeger and thought maybe a cake pan should work? Thanks for the help.
- Reply
I use the throw away pans
- Reply
- Duane
Sounds awesome! Do you have a favorite smoker wood chip, or mixture of wood chips, that you use for this recipe?
- Reply
I like apple and hickory for turkey.
- Reply
- Duane
Thanks! Your recipe is FANTASTIC!
- Reply
Awesome! So glad it worked out for you!
- Reply
- Jen
You’re using apple cider or apple cider vinegar?
- Reply
Cider, it doesn’t say vinegar?
- Reply
- Jen
Well the review mentioned cider vinegar which made me question. Thx
- Reply
Gotcha! You had me confused for a second lol. I was like did I use cider vinegar hah.
- Reply
- Janet Barton
I made this for Christmas Eve. It was delicious. Everyone raves. I smoked it on a BGE for 2.5 hours then finished it in the oven. I loved the sweetness from the apple cider vinegar in the brine. We will make this again and again. I served it with a winter spiced cranberry sauce that I had simmered last minute. Great recipe. Thank you so much.
- Reply
Oh amazing, so happy this worked out for you!!
- Reply
- Drew
Already planing for Thanksgiving it thus sounds amazing.
Does the skin get crispy being that the cooking temp never gets above 275?- Reply
