Apple Spice Smoked Turkey Brine
On September 12, 2023
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Smoked turkey brine will add moisture, tenderness, and amazing fall flavors of apples, fresh herbs, and spices to your turkey! This turkey brine recipe is so amazing, it will likely become a regular for all your holiday gatherings.
Can You Brine and Smoke a Turkey?
This is a big question when it comes to smoking a turkey, and the answer is a resounding YES! You can brine and then smoke a turkey! In fact, I prefer to use this apple spice turkey brine before making my Smoked Turkey recipe. It’s amazing, I tell ya!
By brining the turkey first, you help to moisten it up and keep it tender while it is in the smoker. It also helps to even out the cooking time of all the meat of the bird, as some parts of the turkey will cook faster than others. Lastly, brining before smoking a turkey adds lots of flavor (especially with this apple spice brine!) so you won’t need any further seasoning!
Best Turkey for Brining
Important note! For this recipe, I recommend using an unbrined turkey (for obvious reasons!). If you are set on brining your own turkey, make sure you purchase a turkey that has not been pre-brined.
Most people don’t realize that the grocery store turkeys they are buying are pre-brined. You will see on the label things like “injected with a ___% saline solution” or “self-basting,” and both of those terms mean your turkey has been injected or brined before it was ever sold to you.
The people selling turkeys love to do this because they can charge more money per pound for what is essentially just saltwater. If you have a pre-brined turkey, I would recommend skipping this smoked turkey brine and going straight to either slow smoking or spatchcocking and grilling at a higher temperature.
Smoked Turkey Brine
There are several ways to brine a turkey. The most popular are either using a dry brine or a wet brine prior to cooking.
- Dry brine. Some folks prefer a dry brine of just a ratio of salt and sugar on the exterior of the bird. Dry brining cuts out the extra moisture with added water and relies on the moisture of the meat itself.
- Wet brine. I prefer using a wet brine for my smoked turkey, where the salt mixture is suspended in liquid and the turkey is left to marinate in the chilled brine before cooking. In a wet brine, you have the opportunity to infuse more flavor, like spices, herbs, and other flavorful liquids into your meat. That’s exactly what we’re going to do in this smoked turkey brine recipe. It’s all about adding tons of flavor before putting that bird in the smoke. Wet brining is a process that can take a day to get right, so be sure to plan ahead so you get the correct amount of time.
During the brining process, the salt actually changes the cellular structure within the bird and helps retain a lot of moisture while cooking. This process will also slightly change the texture of the meat. I love the tender texture I get with a brined bird, but some people think it is too soft and like a little extra chew from an unbrined bird.
That’s the joy of recipes, you kind of get the opportunity to test things out, see what you like, and adapt them for your own tastes.
How to Brine a Turkey
Let’s get this process started! Even though Thanksgiving can be stressful, this process doesn’t have to be. Plan a bit ahead, and you’ll be all set for the big day.
- Make the brine. Combine water, apple juice, salt, spices, and herbs in a large pot on the stovetop. Bring the contents to a boil.
- Chill completely. Remove the brine from the stove and stir in additional apple juice and ice cubes to bring the brine down in temperature. Allow to fully chill before adding a turkey. You don’t want to add the warm liquid to a raw turkey!
- Brine the turkey. Place the turkey in the solution and place everything in the fridge. You can brine in a large stockpot, in a big zip-top bag, or in a small cooler, just be sure the turkey stays submerged and that the brine temperature remains below 40 degrees F.
- Pat dry and smoke. Once your turkey is brined, pat it dry well with a paper towel to remove excess brine. You can rinse your bird, but take caution! Rinsing can help remove some salinity from the bird, but it comes at the risk of spreading bacteria. Your best options are to either pat dry with a paper towel after removing the bird from your brine, or gently submerge the turkey in a deep bucket or something full of cold, clean water.
This turkey should be sufficiently seasoned and not really require anything else in terms of a rub, but I do recommend coating lightly in oil or melted butter to help crisp the skin. If you do want to use a rub, try my Smoked Turkey Rub! It’s a great combo of BBQ and herbaceous flavors that really enhance the flavor of the turkey without being overpowering.
How Long to Brine a Turkey
Once you have your turkey brine made and ready to go, plan on brining your turkey for at least 8 hours. A good rule of thumb is to brine for around 1 hour for each pound of turkey, not exceeding 18 hours.
Do not brine for over 18 hours or you run the risk of your turkey becoming too salty or changing the texture of the meat too much. When in doubt, you can always remove your turkey a bit earlier than you originally planned.
Brined Turkey Recipes
Now that you know how to brine a turkey, try it out with these tasty smoked turkey recipes from Hey Grill Hey!
Smoked Turkey Brine Recipe
Thanks for using Hey Grill Hey recipes this holiday season. I can guarantee this recipe is going to be a keeper, and one you’ll use with every smoked turkey you make. If you want an even deeper dive into ALL THINGS SMOKED TURKEY, check out my Smoked Turkey Pitmaster Class. I’ll teach you everything you ever wanted to know about smoking the perfect holiday bird.
Are things looking a bit different around here? We got an upgrade! This post was originally published in April 2018. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Simple Apple Spice Turkey Brine
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups apple juice
- 1 ½ cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon candied ginger
- 10 cloves
- 2 sprigs each rosemary, sage, and thyme
After the Brine is Cooked
- 6 cups ice cubes
- 4 cups apple juice
- 1 large apple quartered
- 1 yellow onion quartered
Instructions
- Make the brine. In a large stockpot, combine the water, apple juice, salt, spices, and herbs. Bring to a boil.
- Cool. Remove the brine from the heat and stir in the remaining cold apple juice and the ice cubes. Allow the brine to fully cool before adding the turkey.
- Brine the turkey. Once the brine is fully chilled, add the turkey to the container you plan to brine it. Pour the apple spice turkey brine over the turkey and nestle the sliced apple and onion in the brine around the turkey. Brine in a container that can keep the turkey fully submerged in the brine. Also, keep your turkey and brine below 40 degrees F during the entire brining process. Brine your turkey for a minimum of 8 hours, and no longer than 18 hours, or approximately 1 hour per pound of turkey.
- Pat dry. Once your turkey has been in the brine for long enough, remove from the brine pat completely dry with a paper towel. Drizzle with a little cooking oil or melted butter for a crispier skin. You don't need to add any additional salt or seasoning to the exterior of the turkey before grilling or smoking. If you like, you can stuff the turkey cavity with the apple and onion slices from the brine.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What would I do if I need to do this to a 22lbs turkey
I would double the brine recipe and follow the instructions for keeping it in for 1 hour per pound.
Hi, could I use this brine for deep frying?
Absolutely! Alton Brown is famous for brining and then deep frying his turkeys. Juicy meat and crispy skin.
Is there a type of apple that you would recommend?thanks!
I just a Gala or Honey Crisp
Will this brine work well if your roasting your turkey? Unfortunately I have no grill or smoker.
Yes! This will work fine if you are roasting your turkey!
Could I also add some fresh rosemary and sage in the turkeys cavity along with the apple and onion? Or would that overpower the flavors of the apple infused meat? I have been brining my turkey for years now and I must say that it makes a world of difference. Dry turkey is a thing of the past!! This year I just wanted to try a different brine out. 🙂
I think those herbs would be a nice compliment!
Could I substitute hard apple cider for the apple juice
I haven’t tried it with the turkey, but I’ve had a reader use hard cider in my cider brined pulled pork and it worked great!
The amount of liquid after the boil and adding the ice and juice doesn’t seem to be enough to fully submerge a 13lb turkey. Is it safe to add more apple juice to make sure it’s fully submerged?
You can add a little more juice to make sure it is submerged. Don’t add too much or it can dilute the salt.
This Brine looks great! More on what Ryan said… I have brined a turkey once and it was great. i did not have enough to cover the turkey and added more brine (mainly salt and water brine) and water. Looking forward to trying this recipe. If there is not enough brine, do you recommend that another batch of brine be made? I use a Rubbermaid plastic storage container to Brine. It works great, but it is a little big sometimes… any ideas on a good container to brine in that does not involve a trip to the restaurant supply store? Thanks!!
There are large brining bags I’ve found at grocery stores that work great! They are usualle either by the other zip top bags or on the aisle with disposable aluminum baking and roasting pans.
Just got one of these at Cabela’s! Look at the pics, the inner lids holds down and keeps everything submerged, it’s amazing! https://www.lemproducts.com/product/briner-buckets/all-cooking
The big ziplocks, that way you get away with squeezing it enough to cover the turkey…yum
Cranberry-Apple
Tis the season
Try a Home Depot Bucket and Brining bags from amazon. It works awesome every time. I usually do 17lb turkeys.
A 5 gallon paint bucket cleaned and lined with a white kitchen trash bag, works and is cheap…
I really like using a five gallon bucket from Home Depot or Lowe’s
I used a 5 gallon bucket with a bag in it. I also stuffed some towels in between the bucket and bag to take up space this made the recipie amount of brine cover the whole 20 pound turkey.
Great way to go! Those brine bags are awesome.
I do a 14 lb turkey and I just double the recipe amounts and brine in a 5 gallon bucket.
If you are smoking your turkey, can you use the left over brine in the drip pan?
You could, but because of the salt content I would be worried about it evaporating and leaving nasty salt deposits in your pan. I would stick with apple juice or water.
Just made this & have our turkey brining!! SUPER excited to see how it turns out!! ????
Where do u out the apple and onion?
In the brine, nestled on top after you put the turkey in.
Susie! I unwittingly purchased a pre-brined turkey… I know it’s not a good idea to brine it again as it would likely end up too salty, but I’d really like to add some of the flavor of your Apple Spice Turkey Brine. How do you think it would work if I just cut the salt out of your recipe?
Hey Jesse- that is totally an option! I would cut the salt down in the recipe by about half.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
I also was fooled by a pre-brined bird. However, I just got done with the brine recipe when I noticed. Should I just throw it all out and start over, or can I just dilute the brine with more water and apple juice?
Use it as is. It shouldn’t be too salty (your bird already has taken on the salt from the brine) but you should be able to get good flavor from the juice and spices.
How did it turn out and what did u decide to do?
I did this with a prebrined grocery store bird and cut the salt in half. I actually cooked a traditional turkey as well incase the my brining and smoked one didn’t go do well. It turned out amazing, absolutly love this recipe, even on a bird thats already brined. (cut the salt in half)
Thanks for the info!
Thinks for the advise on cutting the salt amount will be doing this thanksgiving
I have smoked a Turkey for the last 5 years and have put it in a brine overnight every time, even though it was prescribed. Like everyone here says, just cut back on the salt. Looking forward to using this Apple Spice brine this year!
It’ll be great! Happy Thanksgiving Jerry!
I am smoking 2 turkeys this year. Back to back for different events. Am I able to use the same brine for the second turkey?
I wouldn’t. Cross-contamination would be a real issue here. If there were something awry with the first turkey, you certainly wouldn’t want to pass it on to multiple other ones.