Foolproof Smoked Turkey Recipe (With Wet Brine)

If you're going to smoke a turkey, please use this recipe.

Once you smoke a turkey, you will never go back.

10 years ago I met my husband in November, and a year later, we were married and celebrating our first Thanksgiving together. Traegers were all the rage, and it felt like everyone was purchasing a smoker. It didn’t take long to talk my Texas-raised husband into buying a pellet grill so we could smoke everything under the sun. 

Thanksgiving is practically a religious holiday in the household I grew up in, so when my mother asked us to bring a smoked turkey to the feast, I was a little surprised. I’m sure she reassured me that it was okay if it didn’t turn out perfect, because she’d have a second turkey cooking in the oven–just in case. Game on. 

We borrowed a cooler from my parents to use for the wet brine, gathered all of the essential ingredients at the grocery store, and submerged our 20-something lb. bird into an aromatic bath of salt, spices, and herbs to soak in overnight.

What I’d like to tell you is that the entire next morning was thoughtfully and meticulously executed, but it was far from that. Neither of us gave too much thought to the timeline or how long it would take to smoke our enormous turkey, and before I was awake Cody was off to the turkey bowl with my dad and brothers without a plan in sight. 

I can’t remember what time I woke up, but I do remember the panic I felt once I realized that the turkey wasn’t cooking and we had just a few hours before our afternoon feast just up the road at my parents’.

My fight or flight mode kicked in, and I was able to get the bird onto our smoker, basted in plenty of butter. This was my first turkey ever and not only did I have no clue how long it would take to smoke, but my mind was going to the worst place—what if it didn’t cook on time? My parents had purchased the turkey, what would they think if we showed up empty-handed? I knew it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but we had one job—I didn’t want to mess it up.

I’m not sure what I did to make time pass, but by some miracle, the turkey was done with no time to spare. We transported it to my parents' house and (spoiler alert), it was a smashing success. People congratulated Cody on his juicy, and best-they’ve-ever-had turkey, and I smiled at him with raised eyebrows as if to say, “You’re welcome”. 

We still laugh over that first Thanksgiving experience, but it wasn’t the first time that our smoked turkey got rave reviews. Our formula was simple: wet brine the turkey overnight, pat it dry, baste with a simple mixture of butter and maple syrup, and smoke until the turkey got to 160°F. 

Smoking a turkey feels easy and fun nowadays, and I’m thrilled to share our tried and true smoked turkey recipe with you.

This recipe is FREE to paid and non-paid subscribers alike. Consider it my Thanksgiving gift to you. If you’re new here, I’d so appreciate it if you’d hit the subscribe button below, in exchange for my hours of work on this publication. THANK YOU! And onward.

• Brine bucket (or 5-gallon food-safe bucket with lid)

• Extra large disposable roasting pan (something like this would work great)

• Butcher’s twine

• Basting brush

• Instant-read thermometer (this is a MUST have–please do not make this recipe without an instant-read thermometer)

•  1 (12-16 lb.) turkey, thawed* 

• Garnishes for serving including grapes, orange wedges, and fresh herbs

WET BRINE

• 1 ½ cups kosher salt 

• 1 cup apple cider

• 1 cup pure maple syrup 

• 2 Tablespoons whole black peppercorns 

• 3 bay leaves, crushed

• 1 cinnamon stick

• Peel of 1 large orange 

• 1 whole nutmeg, crushed**

• 1 small bag or 6-8 Cups ice cubes 

TURKEY GLAZE

• ½ cup salted butter, melted

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ Tablespoon poultry seasoning

PREP & BRINE 

1. Remove neck and giblets from the completely thawed turkey. Place turkey in the brine bucket and set aside. 

2. In a large saucepan, combine 8 cups of water with all wet brine ingredients including kosher salt, apple cider, maple syrup, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, orange peel, and crushed nutmeg. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until salt is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, add ice to mixture, and let cool completely.

3. Once brine is completely cooled, add to turkey in the brine bucket, and fill the remainder of bucket with cold water until the turkey is completely submerged. Place brine bucket and contents in the refrigerator and allow to wet brine for a minimum of 8 hours and no more than 24 hours. 

SMOKING

1. When ready to smoke the turkey, preheat the smoker to 250°F. Combine the turkey glaze ingredients including butter, maple syrup, and poultry seasoning in a small bowl and stir to combine. Place the brined turkey breast-side-up in the disposable pan and pat dry with paper towels. Use butcher’s twine to tie the turkey legs together. 

2. Pour ¼-⅓ of the turkey glaze mixture into a small separate bowl (as to not contaminate the remaining amount), and glaze the turkey with a basting brush. If the butter solidifies as you baste the turkey, this is totally fine. The butter will melt once it’s in the smoker. Just do your best to distribute the glaze all over. 

3. Smoke the turkey for 2 hours at 250°F with the lid closed, completely uncovered, adding more glaze at the one-hour mark with a clean basting brush. Increase the smoker temperature to 350°F and smoke at this temperature until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 160°F***, basting the turkey with the remaining glaze every hour (if the glaze solidifies, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir again to combine before glazing). 

4. Remove the turkey from the smoker, give it one last baste of the glaze and let sit at room temperature for 45-60 minutes before serving. Transfer to a platter and garnish with grapes, oranges, and herbs.

Foolproof Smoked Turkey Recipe (With Wet Brine)

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* We’ve made this recipe with 12 lb. turkeys and 20 lb. turkeys. I highly recommend smoking two smaller birds rather than one 22 lb. bird—not only will your thaw time be shortened (2-3 days instead of 5+ days), but your turkey will cook more evenly and decrease the chances of foodborne illness. Rest assured though, if you do have an enormous bird, as long as it’s refrigerated, doesn’t sit at room temperature for too long, and is cooked completely through, it will still be delicious. 

** To crush your nutmeg, use a mortar and pestle to coarsely crush until you have smaller pieces and place directly into the wet brine. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, simply place the nutmeg in a plastic or paper bag and use the bottom of a sturdy glass jar to coarsely crush. 

***For a large turkey of 20+ pounds, this will take 5 hours give or take, and for smaller turkeys, the total cooking time will be closer to 3-4 hours. It is imperative that you do not remove the turkey from the smoker until it is 160°F in the thickest part of the turkey (check both the thigh & breast), and that you use your instant-read thermometer to probe in more than one spot, ensuring the turkey is fully cooked. 

- While “rinsing” a turkey can be a controversial topic, there is absolutely no need to “rinse” the turkey for this recipe considering it will sit in a brine (with a substantial amount of water) for several hours.

- Prep for success! If you are using a pellet smoker (such as a Traeger) make sure you have enough pellets to smoke for several hours. Before you make this recipe, make sure that you have room in your fridge for your food-safe brine bucket. Also, for easy cleanup, take the top rack out of your dishwasher and run a quick cycle to remove all bacteria from the brine bucket once you’re done using it. 

- If you do not have access to a disposable pan or something similar, you can cook your turkey directly on the grill grates of your smoker, just know that you will not be able to reserve drippings for gravy. 

- Although most poultry recipes (chicken included) recommend you stop cooking once you reach 165°F, this leads to overcooking, as the turkey will continue to cook once it’s removed from the smoker (or oven).

Have any questions? Please leave them in the comments below (I’ll be quick to respond here on Substack!) and happy smoking!