Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe! Plus Dry Rub And Butter Injection!
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This Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe is combined with a Dry Rub And Butter Injection. This combination will give an amazing flavor to your holiday turkey. And let’s face it, a juicy turkey is always the holiday goal!
Last year in March, I smoked my first turkey, The Dry Rub was good on my first Smoked Turkey, but I was itching to do a Brined Smoked Turkey. Plus, be sure to check out Smoked Turkey Leftover Recipes.
Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe Ingredients:
Smoked Turkey Rub Ingredients:
- Sesame Oil–You can use olive oil in place of this if the flavor isn’t one you like.
- Ground Pink Himalayan salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- All-Purpose Seasoning Blend
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
Smoked Turkey Injection Ingredients:
Smoked Turkey Stuffing:
- Green Onions
- Minced Garlic
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
- Butter
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How To Make Smoked Turkey Brine:
Thaw your turkey fully, then place it in a container that can hold the whole turkey, filled with water and ice.
I added to the water all the wet brine ingredients: salt, garlic salt, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce, and black pepper.
Remove the innards of your turkey, and ensure you get the bag out. I had a little helper who missed this part, but it was hidden pretty deep in the turkey. We found it after smoking and had a good laugh.
Whisk the water in the cooler or container, then set the turkey in the cooler. I added water until the turkey was fully covered and then added ice.
How To Make Turkey Dry Rub:
On the day of smoking, remove your turkey from the brine and give it a brief rinse.
Place on a tray and pat dry with paper towels.
Rub the whole bird with Sesame Oil, then salt and black pepper it to your liking.
Sprinkle Seasoning Salt on the bird. (Mine is a combination of Johnny’s Season All, Lawry’s Garlic Salt, and Montreal Steak Seasoning)
How To Make a Turkey Injection Recipe:
This is the best turkey injection recipe; it makes the meat so juicy!!
Melt your stick of butter with your minced garlic until it is all liquid.
This time I used a plastic meat injector, but I plan to invest in a metal injector. This is my third plastic one, but this is all we could find when we remembered I had broken the last one while making Smoked Pork Shoulder.
Inject your bird all over until you are out of butter.
Next, cut up fresh Rosemary and Thyme to cover your bird.
Stuff your bird with minced garlic, green onions, butter, and seasonings. This will help to keep the inside moist while smoking.
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 Make A Pit Boss Smoked Turkey:
I smoked this turkey in the Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 from Lowes; you can make this on any smoker. If you don’t have Lowes, Walmart and Amazon carry other Pit Boss options or the Pit Boss website themselves. I had been eyeballing a Traeger grill, but this was more suited for my pocketbook.
When your smoker is at temp and smoking, place your meat in your smoker. I used Apple Pellets to smoke my meat, but you could use any flavor. And yes, Walmart is one of the best places to pick up Pitboss Pellets.
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)
I set my Pit Boss at 200 with a P7 setting. This will autoregulate the temperature to fluctuate from about 185 to 215. Make sure your hopper is full before setting it and walking away.
I set my turkey on the smoker at 11:30 in the morning and turned it up at 6:40 to get the last 10 degrees a bit faster; the kids were hungry. You will want to plan about 30-35 minutes per lb; I had a 13-pound turkey. Next time I plan to start at 9 in the morning for smoking.
Use a meat thermometer to ensure your turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 before removing it to serve! Turkey needs to be cooked to temperature but not time on this.
Next time I plan to keep basting it with a vegetable base or a combination with the garlic base broth. Just to make the turkey skin less rubbery and more crispy.
Slice 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.
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.
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!
Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 Turkey
- Water
- 1/2 Cup Salt
- 1/2 Cup Garlic Salt
- ¼ Cup Montreal steak seasoning
- ¼ Cup Worcestershire sauce
- 4 Tablespoon Black Pepper
Smoked Turkey Rub Ingredients:
- Sesame Oil
- Ground Pink Himalayan salt
- Fresh Ground Pepper
- All-Purpose seasoning Blend
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
Smoked Turkey Butter Injection Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
Smoked Turkey Recipe Stuffing
Instructions
- Thaw out your turkey.
- Have a container large enough to store it in that will fit with water and ice to let the turkey thaw in.
- Added the water all the wet brine ingredients; salt, garlic salt, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce, and black pepper to your container
- Remove the innards of your turkey, make sure you get the bag out as well.
- Mix up the water in the cooler or container with a whisk then set in the turkey. I added water until the turkey was fully covered and then added ice.
- Allow the turkey to brine for at least 24 hours.
- On the day of smoking remove your turkey from the brine and give the turkey a small rinse off.
- Place on a tray and pat dry with paper towels.
- Rub the whole bird down with Sesame Oil and then salt and pepper the bird to your liking.
- Sprinkle an All Seasoning Salt on the bird. (Mine is a combination of Johnny's Season All, Lawrys Garlic Salt, and Montreal Steak Seasoning)
- Melt your stick of butter with your minced garlic until it is all liquid.
- Inject your bird all over until you are out of butter.
- Next cut up fresh Rosemary and Thyme to cover your bird
- Stuff your bird with minced garlic, green onions, and seasonings. This will help to keep the inside moist while smoking.
- Now I made this smoked turkey in the Pit Boss Pro Series you could also make it in a Traeger grill or any other smoker.
- When your smoker is at temp and smoking place your meat in your smoker. I used Apple Pellets to smoke my meat but you could use any flavor.
- I set my Pit Boss I set it at 200 with a P7 setting. This will autoregulate the temperature to fluctuate from about 185 to 215. Make sure your hopper is full before setting it and walking away.
- I set my turkey on the smoker at 11:30 in the morning and w turned it up at 6:40 to get the last 10 degrees a bit faster, the kids were hungry. You will want to plan about 30-35 minutes per lbs, I had a 13lb turkey. Next time I plan to start at 9 in the morning for smoking.
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure your turkey reaches an internal temp of 165 before removing to serve!
This sounds delicious. My husband tried brining and smoking our turkey last year. I loved that I had one less thing in the kitchen to think about.