- Jan 29, 2021
- 314
- 297
I have an 18 lb. Butterball turkey that is thawing out in my fridge since yesterday (12/26). The plan is to make this as part of the NYE festivities, and reading around, I've seen dry brine, wet brine, low-temp smoke (225), high temp smoke (325) and some combos of both.
At the moment, I am leaning towards a wet brine (per gallon)
After the overnight brine, I'll rub it down with a light seasoning of salt/pepper/garlic and then onto the smoker.
In terms of temp, my current thoughts are to super-smoke at 225 for the first hour, then ramp up to 325 to get out of the danger zone and have a moist enough bird with some nicely crisped skin. I am figuring about 5-6 hours total?
Any thoughts or advice, or "OMG - don't do that" are welcomed :)
At the moment, I am leaning towards a wet brine (per gallon)
- 1/2-gallon water
- 1/2-gallon apple juice
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- peppercorns, garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme, parsley
After the overnight brine, I'll rub it down with a light seasoning of salt/pepper/garlic and then onto the smoker.
In terms of temp, my current thoughts are to super-smoke at 225 for the first hour, then ramp up to 325 to get out of the danger zone and have a moist enough bird with some nicely crisped skin. I am figuring about 5-6 hours total?
Any thoughts or advice, or "OMG - don't do that" are welcomed :)