Our
Brined Smoked Turkey has surpassed an over a decade tradition of frying turkey
in peanut oil. Gathering the family early to inject birds and find a safe
place in the yard for hot oil may be a thing of the past.
The brine
comes from Alton Brown. It’s the first thing I tried and it’s worked out well
for a few years.
• 1 (14
to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
• 1 cup
kosher salt
• 1/2 cup
light brown sugar
• 1
gallon vegetable stock
• 1
tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2
teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2
teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1
gallon heavily iced water
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin
thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine
the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and
candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to
dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool
to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on
the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine
the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with
innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird
to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for
8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Smoking:
For a
smaller bird like above plan for about 8 hours. It’s very forgiving with the
brine and enough smoke early on. The general guideline is 225F-250F @ 20-40min
per pound to an internal temperature of 165F. Breast side up for course. I
leave the plastic pop thermometer in and also put a roasting thermometer in.
(You know, not touching bone in the middle of the breast.
