Our Smoked Turkey Brine is a classic, go-to wet brine for your smoked turkey recipes that you are going to LOVE! Made with black peppercorns, fresh herbs (like fresh thyme) – this is the perfect brine recipe for any turkey going on the smoker. Love using this for your Thanksgiving turkey or any other special occasion this holiday season!
The Best Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe
Making a smoked turkey is one of my all-time favorite ways to cook a turkey (especially on Thanksgiving) and brining the turkey beforehand just takes it to the next level! Just fire up your electric smoker to get that turkey out of the oven, we love using our Traeger smoker. Wet brining a whole bird is classic and delicious with the perfect mix of aromatics and flavors. Enjoy!
Looking for More Smoked Turkey Recipes?
If you love smoked turkey as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Smoked Turkey Wings!
What You Will Need
- cold water: lots of water is used to dilute the salt. I usually use a food-grade gallon sized bucket or you can place the turkey in a brining bag and place in a cooler.
- kosher salt: for best results, it is important to use kosher salt here and not table salt or sea salt!
- apple cider: this adds in some acidity.
- apple + red onion + lemon: these all add flavor to the turkey brine ingredients!
- fresh rosemary sprigs + thyme sprigs + bay leaves: these are some aromatics + herbs that help round out the flavor.
- ground cloves + peppercorn: both add a little punch to the overall flavor. You can also add in a garlic clove if you want!
- brown sugar (or coconut sugar) (optional): these add a touch of sweetness, but you can leave out if you want!
How To Make A Smoked Turkey Brine
Brining bags are a great thing to have around if you are brining and don’t have a great, food-grade vessel to use!
Pro Tip
If you are looking for more info on turkey brining, just check out our complete post on brining a turkey 101! Or an article on brining a turkey directly from the USDA.
Gather the add-in ingredients for the turkey brine.
Using just a little bit of the total water needed, combine everything in a saucepan and until the salt dissolves.
Then make sure the water cools down before adding the saucepan ingredients + the rest of the water into a large container with your fresh turkey.
How Long To Brine A Turkey
You can brine a turkey in this brine solution for anywhere from 12-48 hours, depending upon personal preference and the size of the turkey. I personally think a longer-brined bird tastes better, so I like to brine mine for close to 48 hours (if using a large bird – 12 pounds or bigger). If you have a smaller turkey (less than 12 pounds) you may want to brine closer to 24 hours or so!
Smoked Turkey Recipes
Now it is time to cook the brined turkey to create the most flavorful turkey! Here is the best Smoked Turkey recipe for a whole turkey and my Smoked Turkey Breast recipe – both are easy recipes for getting a juicy turkey! We also have a Smoked Turkey Legs, a Smoked Spatchcock Turkey, & Smoked Turkey Wings for you to enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
- Do you have to refrigerate a turkey while brining? Yes. You need to refrigerate a turkey while brining otherwise it will go bad. It can be tricky to fit a brining turkey in your refrigerator so you definitely need to plan ahead.
- Do I need to rinse a turkey after brining? Not needed, you can rinse or pat dry the turkey with paper towels. Rinsing your turkey after brining can lead to cross-contamination in your sink, but thoroughly patting it dry will do the trick!
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Brine Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 turkey brine 1x
- Category: Brine
- Method: Brine
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our Smoked Turkey Brine recipe is a classic, go-to smoked turkey brine that is going to leave your turkey juicy, tender and so flavorful!
Ingredients
- water (enough water to fully submerge the turkey)
- kosher salt (use 1/4 cup kosher salt for every 4 cups of water needed)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 apple, sliced
- 1 red onion, peel off outer skin and then sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 3–4 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 5–10 fresh thyme sprigs
- 4–5 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Water/Salt Ratio: Determine the amount of water needed to fully submerge the turkey. Calculate the amount of kosher salt needed: 1/4 cup kosher salt for every 4 cups of water.
- Dissolve Salt: Take 4 cups of the water and add to a medium saucepan or large pot along with ALL of the salt you need. This would also be the time to add the sugar, if you are using. Bring to medium-high heat to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue simmering and stirring until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat and add ice cubes. It’s very important to fully cool down the water since it will be added to the rest of the water when submerging the turkey.
- Brine Turkey: While the salt mixture is cooling down, add turkey to a brining vessel along with the remaining water and other ingredients. Then pour the salt/water mixture into the same brining vessel on top of the turkey. Stir to combine. Refrigerate (covered) for up to 48 hours.
- Remove: Pull the turkey out of the brine, discard brine, pat dry, and cook as planned.
Notes
- Kosher Salt: Be sure to use kosher salt and not regular table salt – if using table salt you would need to cut the salt in half or you will end up with a salty bird!
- Brining Vessel: Suggestions for a brining vessel include a clean, plastic bucket (you can put a brining bag inside), cooler, stock pot, or anything else that will fully submerge your cut of turkey.
- How to Carve a Turkey: here is a great tutorial on how to carve a turkey!
- USDA: Check out this post by USDA about safely brining a turkey.
Bill says
Just ok for me. More sweet than savory.
Kristina A says
We’ve used this brine recipe for the last two Thanksgiving turkeys. Keeps the turkey so moist!
Erin says
Thanks so much, Kristina!
EH says
This was awesome – perfect addition to the TWS smoked turkey!