It is two days before Thanksgiving, which means time to brine the turkey.  Brining a turkey has many advantages, but the big one is that it helps keep the turkey moist through out the smoking process.  A good brine can also add flavor and reduces the amount of cooking time since water is a heat conductor.  The turkey brine recipe I am a big fan of is the Smokin' Okie Holiday Turkey Brine created by one of the key contributors of the Cookshack forums.

Ingredients:

  • 1 gallon water
  • 1 cup coarse kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • Optional: 1 oz (2 tablespoons) Morton's Tenderquick (I skip this, it is there for food safety with older brines).

Heat the water, sugars, and salt to a rapid boil.  Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients.  Let cool down to room temperature before placing the turkey in the brine.

turkey1

As the brine is cooling to room temperature, start preparing the turkey by rinsing it out with cold water.  Place the turkey on a clean working surface and remove pop up timer that tells you when the turkey is done. 

turkey2

Place the turkey in a non-reactive container and pour the brine in with the turkey.  Be sure that the turkey is completely covered.  I like to use one of those turkey cooking bags to hold the turkey and brine and then place that in a pot.  As you can tell I placed some weights on top to hold the turkey down a bit so that it is fully submerged in the brine.  Place back in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.