I prefer to brine and spatchcock my birds. I like to use a sweet brine and a heavy wood like hickory so my bird has tons of flavor. I usually use 3/4 hickory and 1/4 cherry wood. I brine my bird for about 24 hours but then I let it air dry in the fridge for at least 8 hours before smoking. If you put a wet bird in the smoker you will end up with soggy skin. I spatchcock my turkey before it goes in the brine so that doing it later doesn't smush out all the juices. I do about a 15lbs bird. Here is my method.
BRINE:
3 C. water
1.5 C. real maple syrup
3 TBSP kosher Salt
2 TBSP lime juice
1 TBSP fresh ginger, sliced
2 tsp whole mustard seeds
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 small hand full whole mixed peppercorns (about 15)
Bring to a boil and then removed from heat and let cool to mix the flavors.
I line a 5 gallon bucket with a turkey oven bag and then add the bird and the cooled brine. Then I push all the air out to make sure the turkey is fully covered. I live in Missouri and can usually just leave it in the garage but if the weather is looking warm I just put a little ice around the bag to keep it safe. When I pull it out the next day I will reserve about a cup of brine and boil it with 2 tbsp of butter and use it as an injection before cooking.
COOK DAY:
What you need: 2 red apples, 1 red onion, 2 cinnamon sticks, some fresh sage and fresh rosemary
1) Start you smoker and take a drink of scotch(NOTE: This does nothing for the turkey but its usually early, cold and I know my MIL is coming over). Smoker temp is going to 350.
2) While your smoker is heating up rub down your turkey with your favorite rub (I use Pappy's Red), and inject your bird with your reserved brine. I like to fill the holes with little slices of apple or garlic to keep the juices in.
3) Rough chop a couple of apples and a red onion and toss them all in a pan with the cinnamon sticks, sage and rosemary. This pan will go directly below the turkey and will act as a drip pan.
4) Put the bird straight on the rack with the drip pan below. I do not add water as I find that it makes the skin soggy. The apples and veggies have so good moisture and will also help add some flavor.
5) I get my smoker to about 300 and let her go until the thermometer reads 155.
6) At 155 I crank the heat up as high as I can go. (around 400) and brush with herbed butter to crisp the skin.
7) At 160 the the turkey comes off and I set it aside covered to rest for about 30 min. (DO NOT CARVE A FRESH OFF THE HEAT ANYTHING OR YOU WILL WATCH YOUR HARD WORK LEAK ALL OVER YOUR COUNTER AND YOU MIL WILL GIVE YOUR WIFE A "WE HAD SUCH HOPES FOR YOU" LOOK)
I hope all your TG's are great!
One thing to keep in mind is that this is how "I" do it. In the end it really comes down to your preference and the best way to figure that out is spend a few Saturdays and a few six packs trying new things. I know there isn't time for that before TG but really what I'm getting at is that there isn't a "correct" answer. So relax and enjoy the process (along with some good brews) because that is what smoking is all about.
(My brine recipe is my tweaked version of Richard McPeake's Maple Brine. He has a couple of great books on smoking. This one comes from "Backyard BBQ the Art of Smokology")