Should I Brine a Turkey Before Smoking?

Learn the absolute best most flavorful way to prepare a turkey by making this delicious Brined Smoked Turkey Recipe.

I mean I’m cool with eating turkey on Thanksgiving and all, just as long as it’s this.

More often than not I preach to get out of the norm and make a big prime rib roast, or beef tenderloin, just anything other than turkey. Well, if you are making this, I will give you a pass because it is that delicious.

Seriously, it is the only way to make and eat turkey if you’re doing up a bird for the holidays. A few years ago, I decided to help out my mother-in-law by making these. Well, I made this recipe and at the end of the meal, my father-in-law asked to see a show of hands who thought I should do it every year.

Brining a turkey before smoking it is a technique used by many pitmasters and backyard smokers to help ensure a juicy and flavorful finished product. There are good reasons to brine a turkey before smoking, but it’s not strictly necessary. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of brining a turkey before smoking to help you decide if it’s right for your turkey smoking plans.

Why Brine a Turkey Before Smoking?

There are a few key benefits to brining a turkey before smoking it

1. Improved Moisture Retention

One of the biggest challenges of smoking a turkey is keeping the lean breast meat moist. Brining helps the turkey retain moisture, ensuring juicy meat from the surface to the bone.

When the turkey soaks in the brine, the salt allows the turkey to absorb and retain more moisture The sugars and aromatics also help retain and add moisture. This moisture ensures the breast meat doesn’t dry out during the long, slow smoking process

2. Enhanced Flavor

A brine not only helps retain moisture, but also allows the turkey to absorb flavors from the brining liquid. Salt, sugar, herbs, spices, citrus, garlic, onion, and other aromatics infuse into the meat, seasoning it from the inside out.

The flavors penetrate deep into the meat through osmosis. When smoked after brining, the turkey has a seasoned flavor through and through.

3. Tenderized Meat

The salt in a brine helps break down some of the turkey’s proteins, resulting in a more tender finished product. This effect is enhanced by acidic ingredients like vinegar, wine, or citrus juice which also tenderize the meat.

The tenderizing effect helps counteract the drying effect of the long smoking time, keeping the meat juicy and tender.

4. Faster Cooking

Brined turkey cooks faster than unbrined since the salt helps denature (unwind) proteins, allowing them to coagulate and set faster when heated.

This means you can reduce the smoking time compared to an unbrined turkey, handy if you’re smoking multiple turkeys or on a tight schedule.

5. Increased Safety Margin

Brining helps eliminate bacteria on the turkey’s surface and within the meat. The salt creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria.

While proper smoking technique is vital for food safety, brining provides an extra layer of protection against bacteria, improving the safety margin.

Why Not to Brine a Turkey Before Smoking

While brining a turkey before smoking has some clear benefits, there are also a few reasons you may opt to skip brining:

1. Long Brining Time

It takes 1-3 days to properly brine a whole turkey. Make sure to account for the brining time in your schedule if brining a turkey. If you only have a day or two before smoking, skipping the brine may make sense.

2. Diluted Smoke Flavor

Since brined meat already has seasoned flavor infused, some pitmasters feel it doesn’t take on as much smoke flavor during smoking.

If you want pronounced smoky flavor in the finished turkey, you may opt to skip brining. Rely on salt and spices in a rub rather than brining to season.

3. Handling a Wet Turkey

Getting a dripping wet brined turkey in and out of the brine bag and onto the smoker can be messy and challenging. Skipping the brine avoids this nuisance.

Letting a brined turkey drip dry for an hour before smoking helps, but it’s still wetter than an unbrined bird.

4. Potential Overly Salty Result

It’s easy to over-brine a turkey, resulting in an overly salty final product. If brining, carefully follow brine recipes and times to avoid over-salting.

If you’ll be serving guests who are sensitive to salt, you may opt to season the turkey via dry rub only.

5. Added Ingredients Not Needed

Many pitmasters feel that a simple salt and herb rub is sufficient to get a juicy, well-flavored smoked turkey without needing a wet brine. The preference for brining comes down to personal taste.

If you want to highlight the pure smoke flavor, you can get a great turkey without a brine.

Tips for Brining a Turkey Before Smoking

If you do decide to brine your turkey before smoking, follow these tips:

Use a turkey brine recipe like Chef Billy Parisi’s Cider Brine and resist the urge to wing it. Getting the salt/sugar ratio right is key.
Brine for 12-24 hours. Too short and you won’t get full flavor and moisture infusion. Too long risks over-brining.
Keep turkey submerged so all areas brine evenly. Weigh down with plates if needed.
Thoroughly rinse after brining to prevent overly salty flavor. Pat very dry.
Let sit 1 hour after rinsing to allow surface to dry before smoking.
Use a lower salt rub since brine provides seasoning.
Cook to 165°F in breast and 175°F in thighs whether smoking entirely or finishing in the oven.

The Best Approach? Do What Suits You!

Whether to brine a turkey before smoking comes down to personal preference. If you love the flavor and moisture brining imparts, then go for it. If you prefer the pure smoke flavor of an unbrined bird, there’s no need to brine.

Test both approaches and see which works best for your palate. There’s more than one right way to smoke a tasty turkey. The most important thing is to use the technique that delivers the flavor and texture you enjoy most.

should i brine a turkey before smoking

How Many Minutes Per Pound Does It Take to Smoke

A brined turkey will cook much faster than a non-brined turkey. Here are the basic rules of thumb for smoking:

Smoking at 225° – 235° at 21-23 minutes per pound
Smoking at 245° to 255° at 19-21 minutes per pound
Smoking at 265° to 275° at 17-19 minutes per pound

This will also vary slightly depending upon how big your bird is and if you can hold your smoker’s temperature.

How to Make the Brine

Making this is actually really easy, all you need is a big huge stockpot or an extremely clean paint bucket. You choose! The brine that I’ve been making the last few years is apple cider.

It’s a simple solution that packs a serious punch. Meanwhile, the smoked part of this is tasty, it wouldn’t be anything without the brine I whipped up.

The ingredients for this are:

Apple Cider
Water
Salt
Sugar
Peppercorns
Bay Leaves
Fresh Thyme Sprigs
Onion
Garlic Cloves

The Instructions are:

You start by bringing the water, cider, sugar, and salt to a boil to ensure all of those ingredients are dissolved and incorporated and then you let it chill.

Once the brine is chilled toss in the peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, onions, and garlic.

Yes, this recipe is easy to make, but it will require you to get prepped up a few days before you want to cook and serve it.

Meat Church : How to Brine and Smoke a Turkey

FAQ

Is it necessary to brine a turkey before smoking it?

Submerging the turkey in this salty solution for at least a day ensures it will cook up tender and juicy. How does this work? The salt solution will travel into the turkey, bringing additional moisture (and with it, additional flavor) deep into the meat.

Is it better to dry brine or wet brine a turkey for smoking?

The major benefit of dry brining poultry is you can obtain crispy skin. This is especially beneficial when smoking which can often lead to a more rubbery skin. Dry brining also imparts a deep flavor into the turkey without the mess of a wet brine.

Should you brine before smoking?

As your meat continues to cook inside the smoker, its flavorful juices will evaporate. The end result is dry, less-flavorful meat. For juicy and delicious smoked meat, you should use brine. Even if you soak it for one or two hours, that’s still more than enough time for your meat to absorb the saltwater.