This Bourbon Turkey Brine For Smoking Turkey mixes the flavor of the fruit in the brine with the flavor of Jim Beam Apple Bourbon perfectly!! Now I fell in love with Jim Beam Apple in my Jim Beam Bourbon Smoked Pork Shoulder. (Grab the recipe ->here) (I have included affiliate links to products I love. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. ) In addition, this post contains affiliate links that will make me a small commission when used to order online.
This Bourbon Turkey Brine paired with a butter injection is amazing! The turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, holiday dinner, or weekend meal! I made this on my Pit Boss Pro 1100. Now I picked mine up Lowes, but Walmart and Amazon carry other Pit Boss options or Pit Boss website themselves.
Pit Boss Austin XL 1000 sq. in. Pellet Grill w/ Flame Broiler & Cooking Probe
Z GRILLS Wood Pellet Grill Holiday 8-in-1 BBQ SmokerCamp Chef 24 in. WiFi Woodwind Pellet Grill & Smoker with Sidekick
Bourbon Turkey Brine Ingredients:
-
- Water
- Ice
- 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Jim Beam Apple Bourbon
- 2 Oranges Cut Into Quarters
- 1 Lemon Cut Into Quarters
- 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cloves
- 1/3 Cup Whole Pepper Corns
- 2 Dried Bay Leaves
Bourbon Turkey Brine Butter Injection Ingredients:
- 1 Stick Of Butter
- Minced Garlic
- Metal Injector
Bourbon Turkey Brine Rub Ingredients:
Plus have one stick of butter on hand to stick inside of the turkey while it is smoking.
How To Make Bourbon Turkey Brine For Smoking Turkey:
Safely thaw your turkey and remove the innards.
If you chose to rinse off your turkey and set it aside while you prepare the brine.
Gather up your brine ingredients and cut up your lemons and oranges into quarters.
Clean a cooler or large container to fill with water, and make sure the plug is in so it doesn’t leak.
Add your brine ingredients to the cooler full of water.
Submerge your turkey, and add more water if necessary.
Make sure while your turkey is brining to store it in the fridge or in ice water. You don’t want the temperature to rise and grow bacteria.
The day you are ready to smoke your turkey remove your turkey from the brine, I set mine in a pan to allow it to dry off a bit while I prepare the rest.
How To Make A Butter Injection For Smoking Turkey:
Your smoking tools are just as crucial as a good smoker, I have gone thru several plastic injectors over the years! Now when we made the Beef Brisket With A Whiskey Injection we broke another! This time around the old lady had enough and order a Metal Injector off Amazon!
I loved the different sizes of the attachments, the finer point is going to be amazing on some smoked cornish game hens!! The extra gaskets are going to make the injector last even longer since upkeep will be easier. This time I used the big tip for the metal injector, I knew the turkey skin would be tougher. Plus larger areas of meat to inject as well.
Place your turkey on a large cookie sheet, this will catch butter or rub plus make carrying the turkey to the smoker a breeze!
In a bowl place your stick of butter and your minced garlic.
Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave until the butter is melted.
Use your injector to suck up the butter and to inject the turkey with the melted butter.
Repeat all over the turkey until the butter is gone.
How To Smoke bourbon brined smoked turkey:
After you are done injecting the butter rub your turkey with a bit of olive oil.
Sprinkle your turkey with a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning, Johnny’s Original Seasoning Salt, Thyme, and Lawrys Garlic Salt.
Next, I placed a stick of butter in the turkey cavity, this will help to keep the inside moist and flavor the turkey more as well.
Start your smoker up, I used Mesquite Pellets in my hopper. Walmart is one of my favorite places to pick up Pitboss pellets, plus ordering online they ship to home for free with $35 orders!
Set your smoker at smoke setting and place in the turkey once you are rolling smoke.
Place your turkey on your cooler side of the smoker, mine is the left side of the smoker.
Allow to smoke for 3 1/2 hours on the smoke setting.
Turn your smoker up to 225 for about another 3 1/2 hours and remove when the internal temperate of at least 165 degrees.
Remove and serve!
What To Serve With Smoked Bourbon Turkey:
- Smoked Baked Potatoes
- Smoked Loaded Cheesy Potatoes
- How To Make Smoked Deviled Eggs
- Smoked Mashed Potatoes
- Pellet Grilled Dinner Rolls
- Smoked Loaded Baked Beans
- Cheesy Potatoes
- Smoked Sweet Potato Casserole
- Creamy Smoked Macaroni And Cheese
- Smoked Cream Cheese
The Best Leftover Turkey Recipes:
Leftover Turkey makes the best meals, leftover smoked turkey recipes make for even better meals!!
- Dutch Oven Smoked Turkey Chili Recipe
- Smoked Turkey Noodle Soup
- Homemade Smoked Turkey Pot Pie
- Crockpot Turkey Taco Soup
Other Liquors To Use For Whiskey Injected Turkey:
-
- Makers Mark
- Jack Daniels Honey
- Bird Dog Peach Whiskey
- Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey
- Jim Beam Peach Bourbon
- Crown Royal Apple
Bourbon Turkey Brine For Smoking Turkey!
Ingredients
BOURBON TURKEY BRINE INGREDIENTS
- Water
- Ice
- 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Jim Beam Apple Bourbon
- 2 Oranges Cut Into Quarters
- 1 Lemon Cut Into Quarters
- 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cloves
- 1/3 Cup Whole Pepper Corns
- 2 Dried Bay Leaves
BOURBON TURKEY BRINE BUTTER INJECTION INGREDIENTS
- 1 Stick Butter
- Minced Garlic
- Metal Injector
BOURBON TURKEY BRINE BUTTER INJECTION INGREDIENTS
- Olive Oil
- Johny's Seasoning Salt
- Montreal Steak Seasoning
- Lawry's Garlic Salt
- Thyme
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE BOURBON TURKEY BRINE FOR SMOKING TURKEY
- Safely thaw your turkey and remove the innards.
- If you chose to rinse off your turkey and set it aside while you prepare the brine.
- Gather up your brine ingredients and cut up your lemons and oranges into quarters.
- Clean a cooler or large container to fill with water, make sure the plug is in so it doesn't leak.
- Add in your brine ingredients to the cooler full of water.
- Submerge your turkey, add more water if necessary.
- Make sure while your turkey is brining to store it in the fridge or in ice water. You don't want the temperature to rise and grow bacteria.
- The day you are ready to smoke your turkey remove your turkey from the brine, I set mine in a pan to allow it to dry off a bit while I prepare the rest.
HOW TO MAKE A BUTTER INJECTION FOR SMOKING TURKEY
- Place your turkey on a large cookie sheet, this will catch butter or rub plus makes carrying the turkey to the smoker a breeze!
- In a bowl place your stick of butter and your minced garlic.
- Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave until the butter is melted.
- Use your injector to suck up the butter and to inject the turkey with the melted butter.
- Repeat all over the turkey until the butter is gone.
HOW TO SMOKE BOURBON BRINED SMOKED TURKEY:
- After you are done injecting the butter rub your turkey with a bit of olive oil.
- Sprinkle your turkey with with a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning, Johnny's Original Seasoning Salt, Thyme, and Lawrys Garlic Salt.
- Next, I placed a stick of butter in the turkey cavity, this will help to keep the inside moist and flavor the turkey more as well.
- Start your smoker up, I used Mesquite Pellets in my hopper. v
- Set your smoker at smoke setting and place in the turkey once you are rolling smoke.
- Place your turkey on your cooler side of the smoker, mine is the left side of the smoker.
- Allow to smoke for 3 1/2 hours on the smoke setting.
- Turn your smoker up to 225 for about another 3 1/2 hours and remove when the internal temperate of at least 165 degrees.
- Remove and serve!
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