Smoked Jack Daniels Turkey Brine Recipe

This Jack Daniels Turkey Brine Recipe paired with a butter injection is amazing! The turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, holiday dinner, or weekend meals! We all know that the holiday inner relies on having a juicy bird!

I love smoking holiday meat! I made this on my Pit Boss Pro 1100.  NowI picked mine up from Lowes, but Walmart and Amazon carry other Pit Boss options or the Pit Boss websites themselves.  

Jack Daniels Turkey Brine Ingredients: 

• Turkey
• Brown Sugar
• Minced Garlic
• Salt
• Ice
• Jack Daniels 
• Water 

jack daniels turkey brine Ingredients:

• Jack Daniels

Turkey Butter Injection Ingredients: 

• Butter
• Minced Garlic 

How To Make Jack Daniels Injection Turkey:

Safely thaw your turkey and remove the innards. 

If you choose to rinse off your turkey, pat dry before injecting. 

Your smoking tools are just as crucial as a good smoker. I have gone thru several plastic injectors over the years! We broke another when we made the Beef Brisket With A Whiskey Injection! The old lady had enough this time and ordered a Metal Injector from Amazon! 

I  loved the different sizes of the attachments; the finer point will be amazing on some smoked cornish game hens!!

Now I measured out a cup of Jack Daniels into a glass to pull from so I wasn’t putting the injector into a bottle of Jack Daniels to reload with. You can also pour yourself a shot too!

Place your turkey in a cooler or container and start to inject. 

Fill your cooler with the rest of the brine ingredients and submerge your turkey.

While your turkey is brining, store it in the fridge or ice water.  You don’t want the temperature to rise and grow bacteria. 

The day you are ready to smoke your turkey, remove it from the brine; I set mine in a pan to allow it to dry off while I prepare the rest. 

How To Make Butter Injection for Jack Daniels Turkey:

In a bowl, melt one stick of butter and your minced garlic for the butter injection.

I used the large injector as well again; the minced garlic did clog some. 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 Whiskey-Smoked Turkey

 After you are done injecting the butter, sprinkle your turkey with seasoning.  For this, I used a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning, Johnny’s Original Seasoning Salt, and Lawry’s Garlic Salt.  

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. Walmart is one of my favorite places to pick up Pitboss pellets; plus, ordering online, they ship to a home for free with $35 orders!

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

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!

Other Whiskeys To Use For Whiskey Injected Turkey:

• Makers Mark
• Jack Daniels Honey 
• Bird Dog Peach Whiskey