With a Soak in This Earthy and Citrusy Brine, Your Smoked Turkey Will Have the Edge It Needs to Champion the Dinner Table.

Roasting a turkey can be an intimating and daunting affair. Putting the turkey on the grill or smoker can elevate the anxiety even more. It’s a lot of meat to feed a lot of people, and it is something we don’t want to mess up. (Source: www.simplyrecipes.com)

What Is Turkey Brine?

Not just turkey brine, but any brine, is a saltwater solution consisting of 1 cup of salt per 1 gallon of water. If you need to scale the amount, it’s 1 part salt to 20 parts water. 

How Does Brining Work?

As the turkey soaks, the salt works its way into the turkey’s protein cells. While salt pulls moisture out of the meat, it simultaneously increases the size of the turkey’s protein molecules allowing it to hold more liquid, resulting in a plumper turkey. 

Easy Smoked Turkey Brin

This simple Smoked Turkey Brine infuse spices, herbs, and citrus flavors into your turkey to ensure it stays moist and tender while cooking. This brine can be used for any method of cooking a turkey. (Source: tastesbetterfromscratch.com)

What You’ll Need:

A turkey: An un-brined turkey if possible. Many store-bought turkeys are already injected with a brine to keep the meat moist (butterball turkeys, for example). You can check the ingredient label, and if there are more ingredients than just turkey, this may be the case. It’s not a problem if the turkey is already brined, but a pre-brined turkey won’t absorb as much of the brine flavor as an un-brined turkey will. 

How Long to Brine a Turkey:

Brine your turkey in a wet brine for 1 hour per pound of turkey. For smoking a turkey, we recommend buying a smaller bird (15 lbs or less). A 15 pound turkey would brine for 15 hours. Don’t brine a turkey for much longer than 18-24 hours maximum as the turkey meat can take on a spongy texture and extra salty flavor. 

How to Brine a Turkey:

Fill pot with water: add 1 quart of water to a large pot. This is not the same pot you will place the turkey in so it doesn’t need to be big enough for the turkey. (Source: tastesbetterfromscratch.com)

Bourbon Brined Smoked Turkey Recip

This Smoked Turkey Recipe is jam packed with incredible flavor, from a bourbon citrus brine, to an herbed butter, to a flavorful turkey dry rub, This is the juiciest and most flavorful turkey that will have your guests going back for seconds… and maybe even thirds. (Source: www.vindulge.com)