Brine Bomb Smoked Turkey
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Want to make a turkey that is juicy, perfectly flavored, and visually impressive? This Smoked Turkey with Brine Bomb is your ticket. The brine bomb with the rub infuses the turkey with a flavorful blend of salt, aromatics, and spices, and you don’t have to measure a single thing. Pair in the smoky flavor, and it’s the perfect bird for holiday dinners or a just-because turkey feast!
This turkey recipe is built for both flavor and convenience. The brine bomb essentially concentrates all of your brining ingredients into a single unit, so you don’t have to measure out dozens of individual items. (Ya fewer dishes) Once brined, the turkey is rubbed, dried, and smoked at controlled temperatures to ensure even cooking. Add butter to help with moisture during the smoke for the perfect moist turkey.
What Is An EZ Bombs Brine Bomb?
It’s a juicy turkey miracle in a pouch! If you love juicy turkeys and hate measuring spices and ingredients, you will want to try this! Each pack comes with a brine ball and a pouch of rub. This makes for less prep work before the holiday! (See more -> here about Ez bombs. )
Why You’ll Love Brine Bombs
- Has a delicious seasoning blend for poultry taste
- Perfect for busy holidays
- Easy clean up
- Juicy flavored turkey
Brine Bomb Turkey Ingredients
- Turkey
- Brine Bomb
- Butter
- Water
Supplies For Brining Over Night
- Cooler or bucket
- Ice
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How Long To Cook A Turkey For
Now this will vary some smoker to smoker. The most common practice is to smoke for a couple of hours at 225 and then turn the temperature up to 350 to decrease the remaining cooking time. When turning the temperature up, you can cover the turkey with foil if you like.
- You can start smoking on a smoke setting for an hour or two before increasing the temperature.
- 225 degrees Fahrenheit for ~30 minutes per pound of meat.
- 250 degrees Fahrenheit for ~25 minutes per pound of meat.
- 325 degrees Fahrenheit for ~12 minutes per pound of meat.
For Example, a 15-pound turkey at 225 degrees would be about 450 minutes. Divide that by 30 to get 7.5 hours of cook time.
The most important part is not to smoke for time but for temperature. You will want to use a meat thermometer to ensure your bird reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees before serving. I use a Thermoworks Thermapen for all my temping of meat, it reads instantly. (You can see it -> here!)
How To Thaw A Turkey
How long your turkey takes to thaw will vary based on the site. The graphic below is a general guide to thawing a turkey based on size. Be sure to always keep your turkey in food safety guidelines.
Brining The Turkey With Brine Bombs
Fill a pot with 8 cups of water and bring it to a boil on the stove.
Once at a rolling boil, drop in your brine ball and allow it to boil for 10 more minutes.
Turn the heat off the burner and remove the pan from the burner.
Allow the seasoned pot of water to cool to room temperature. I did stir mine occasionally to help keep the seasonings moving.
Once the water is cooled, pour it into your bucket or cooler. This container will need to be big enough to hold your bird.
Remove the innards of your turkey; typically, this is the neck and a bag of other parts. You can rinse off your turkey if you want. I only do this if there is a lot of blood in the cavity for some reason.
Place your turkey in the container with the brine water.
If you’re not refrigerating it, add enough ice to keep the brine cold.
Allow to soak in the brine for 24 hours. I did flip my turkey a couple of times to make sure all got covered in the brine, and added more ice as needed to keep the meat at a safe temperature.
Directions For Smoking A Brined Turkey
About an hour before you are ready to start cooking, pull your turkey from the brine and place it on a roasting pan rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow the turkey to dry and keep the seasonings on it. (I did tip my turkey at the 30-minute mark to make sure the cavity wasn’t retaining water.)
Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel.
Open the rub packet from the Brine Bomb and rub the turkey with the seasoning inside.|
*Note originally, I did my turkey upside down at first; you will want the cavity hole facing up with the drumsticks showing. I fixed mine after a smoke cycle when I went to stick in a stick of butter and couldn’t get to the cavity*
Move the roasting rack into a roasting pan; this will keep the juices contained and lower the likelihood of a smoker fire.
The next step is to fire up your smoker and get it rolling with smoke
If your smoker has a smoke setting, smoke at this setting for an hour. I did rotate my turkey at the halfway mark.
Turn your smoker up to 250 and stick a stick of butter into the cavity of the turkey. This will help keep the turkey moist and add in more flavor as well.
Allow the turkey to smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees or higher. (I use a Thermapen from Thermoworks for temping my meat; it reads instantly, so I don’t have to have the smoker open long.)
My cook time was six hours for mine, your total cook time may vary based on weather conditions and how yoru smoker is at maintaining temperature. Make sure to monitor the level of pellets as well in your hopper.
Money and time-saving tips from the old lady. If you order pellets online from Walmart and spend $35, they will drop them off at your door for free!! Their everyday price on pit boss pellets is amazing, plus the expert grill brand has a great price. (see them ->here)
You can rotate the turkey around during the smoking period as well. The reason I do this is that the smoke comes out of one side, but also my smoker gets hotter on the right side than the left, so it helps with a more even cook.
Allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
Where To Buy Brine Bombs
Amazon offers other brine kits if the Turkey brine bomb isn’t the seasoning you want. You can see them ->here!
Alternate Ingredients
- Turkey Breasts
- Turkey Legs
- Whole Chickens
- Cornish Game Hens
- Apple Juice or Apple Cider
- Garlic cloves
How To Store Leftover Turkey
Once the leftover turkey is cooled, store it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the fridge for up to five days. You can freeze leftover turkey for up to three months in an airtight container to freezer bag.
Storing leftovers properly requires the right tools! My preferred storage method is if the leftovers can be sealed in a food saver. If not, then an air-tight container or Ziploc bag for the fridge is the way I go. The air-tight container and a freezer Ziploc bag are the next best bet for freezing the leftovers. I also use a food scale to measure portions and divide them into serving sizes.
What To Serve With Smoked Turkey:
Any of the classic turkey dishes will go with smoked turkey. I love to smoke versions of classics as well. You can see my full list of side dishes for smoked turkey -> here that go with smoked turkey.
Bread: Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread, Garlic Parmesan Biscuit Pull Part Bread, English Muffin Garlic Cheese Bread, Easy Cheesy Monkey Bread, Honey Wheat Dinner Rolls, Honey Rolls
Smoked Appetizers: Smoked Cream Cheese, Easy Smoked Queso Dip, Easy Smoked Refried Bean Dip
Smoked Side Dishes: Smoked Baked Potatoes, Smoked Green Bean Casserole, Smoked Sweet Potato Casserole, Smoked Baked Potatoes, Smoked Loaded Cheesy Potatoes, Smoked Deviled Eggs, Smoked Loaded Baked Beans, Creamy Smoked Macaroni And Cheese, Smoked Loaded Cheesy Potatoes
Grilled Side Dishes: Cheesy Grilled Asparagus, Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Grilled Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes, Grilled Corn On The Cob,
Desserts: How To Smoke A Pie, Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake, Crescent Roll Peach Dumplings, Pumpkin Bars
The Best Leftover Smoked Turkey Recipes:
I love to use leftover smoked turkey in other recipes! From Pot Pies to soup to a casserole, there are no limits. I even use my Pit Boss Grills and Blackstone griddle to make leftover dishes too!! Check out all my tried and true leftover turkey recipes ->HERE.
Smoked Turkey Recipes:
A dry rub works amazingly well on turkey, but doing a brine with the dry rub adds more flavor. There is no wrong way to smoke a turkey. Now, I buy extras during the holidays, so I have extra turkeys to smoke later in the year!
Smoked Turkey With Brine Bomb
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Equipment
- Cooler Or bucket
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey
- Brine Bomb
- 1/2 Cup Butter
Instructions
How To Brine The Turkey
- Fill a pot with about 8 cups of water and bring it to a boil on the stove.
- Once at a rolling boil, drop in your brine ball and allow it to boil for 10 more minutes.
- Turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner.
- Allow to cool to room temperature. I did stir mine occasionally.
- Once the water is cooled, pour it into your bucket or cooler.
- Remove the innards of your turkey; typically, this is the neck and a bag of other parts.
- You can rinse off your turkey if you want. I only do this if there is a lot of blood in the cavity for some reason.
- Place your turkey in the container with the brine water.
- If you’re not refrigerating it, add enough ice to keep the brine cold.
- Allow to soak for 24 hours, flip in cooler if needed.
Directions For Rubbing The Turkey
- About an hour before you are ready to start cooking, pull your turkey from the brine and place it on a roasting pan rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow the turkey to dry and keep the seasonings on it.
- Open the rub packet from the Brine Bomb and rub the turkey with the seasoning inside.
- Move the roasting rack into a roasting pan, this will keep the juices contained and lower the likelihood of a smoker fire.
- Next step is to fire up your smoker and get it rolling smoke
How To Smoke The Turkey
- If your smoker has a smoke setting smoke at this setting for an hour. I did rotate my turkey at the half way mark.
- Turn your smoker up to 250 and stick a stick of butter into the cavity of the turkey.
- Allow it to smoke until an internal temperature of 165 degrees or higher on the turkey. My cook time was six hours; your total cook time may vary based on weather conditions and how well your smoker maintains temperature. Make sure ot monitor the level of pellets as well.
- You can rotate the turkey around during the smoking period as well. The reason I do this is that the smoke comes out of one side, but also my smoker gets hotter on the right side than the left, so it helps with a more even cook.
- Allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
Your turkey looks perfect!