Smoked Coca Cola Turkey Brine Recipe
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This Smoked Coca-Cola Turkey Brine Recipe is made with my favorite Coca-Cola Brine. This may have been the first time Coca-Cola that I brine a turkey with Coca-Cola, but it won’t be the last time. Trust me when I say this coca cola turkey recipe will change how you brine your turkey.
I love smoking my holiday meals! I made this on my Pit Boss Pro 1100. I picked mine up from Lowe’s, but Walmart and Amazon carry other Pit Boss options or websites. This can be done on any smoker, but you must know how your smoker cooks.
Coca-Cola Brine Recipe Ingredients:
- Turkey
- Coca-Cola– You can change this with any dark soca, Diet Coke, Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, or Coke Zero. The soda flavor will alter the taste a bit, but it will work.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Minced Garlic
- Salt
- Ice
Turkey Butter Injection Ingredients:
Safely thaw your turkey and remove the innards.
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How To Make Smoked Coca-Cola Turkey Brine:
In a bowl, start to mix the Coca-Cola brine ingredients; I started with two cans of Coca-Cola and added in the seasonings.
Pour the Coca-Cola mixture into the bowl over the turkey in the cooler.
After adding the first Coca-Cola mixture, pour more Coca-Cola into the cooler and ice until your turkey is submerged. If you don’t submerge the turkey fully, you will also need to flip the turkey often.
Make sure while your turkey is brining to store, it is in the fridge or covered with ice water. You don’t want the temperature to rise and grow bacteria.
When you are ready to start to smoke your turkey, remove it 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 Butter injection for Coca-Cola Turkey:
In a bowl, melt one stick of butter and your minced garlic together for the butter injection.
I used the large injector as well again, the minced garlic did clog some, but it was workable through the injector into the turkey.
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.
How To Smoke A Coca Cola Brine Turkey:
After you are done injecting the butter, sprinkle your turkey with seasoning. I used a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning, Johnny’s Original Seasoning Salt, and Lawry’s Garlic Salt for this turkey. You can use whatever seasoning blend you want.
Next, I placed a stick of butter in the turkey cavity; this will help keep the inside moist and flavor the turkey more.
Start your smoker up; I used Mesquite Pellets with Pitboss Fruit Blend Pellets in my 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)
Set your smoker at 255 and allow the turkey to cook slowly. I cooked mine at 225 for about 5 hours and then turned it up to 250 for another hour.
Remove and serve!
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 Coca Cola Turkey Brine Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 Turkey
Smoked Coca Cola Turkey Brine Ingredients
- 192 Ounces Coca Cola
- 4 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 8 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 8 Tablespoon Salt
- Ice
Turkey Butter Injection Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Butter
- Minced Garlic
Instructions
How To Make Smoked Coca Cola Turkey Brine
- Safely thaw your turkey and remove the innards.
- If you chose to rinse off your turkey pat dry before injecting.
How To Mix Coca Cola Turkey Brine
- Place your turkey in a cooler or container.
- In a bowl start to mix together the Coca-Cola brine ingredients, I started with two cans of Coca-Cola and add in the seasonings.
- Pour the Coca-Cola mixture in the bowl into the cooler over the turkey.
- After adding the first Coca-Cola mixture, pour more Coca-Cola into the cooler and ice until your turkey is submerged. If you don’t submerge the turkey fully you will need to flip the turkey often as well.
- 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
- In a bowl melt 1 stick of butter and your minced garlic together for the butter injection.
- I used the large injector as well again, the minced garlic did clog some but it was workable through the injector into the turkey.
How To Smoke A Coca Cola Brine Turkey Recipe
- After you are done injecting the butter sprinkle your turkey with seasoning. For this turkey, I used a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning, Johnny’s Original Seasoning Salt, and Lawrys Garlic Salt. You can use whatever seasoning blend you want.
- 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 with Pitboss Fruit Blend Pellets in my hopper.
- Set your smoker at 255 and allow the turkey to slowly cook. I cooked mine at 225 for about 5 hours and then turned it up to 250 for another hour.
- Remove and serve!
