Smoked Turkey
Ingredients
1 young turkey
Fruity smoking pellets (apple, pear, pecan or olive). Cherry can be too bitter.
1 butter injector (optional)
1 wireless thermometer (optional)
16 cups vegetable broth (heat 8c to dissolve ingredients then combine with cold half)
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 heads garlic sliced in half
15 peppercorns
1 brining bag
3c apple juice or apple cider
2 gallons cold water
3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
5 cloves garlic, minced
3/4c salt
1 1/2c brown sugar
15 peppercorns
3 whole bay leaves
1 brining bag
salt
pepper
thyme
rosemary
garlic
olive oil spray
butter
Instructions
Brine the turkey 12-24hrs before smoking. This helps with keeping the bird moist while on the grill. Combine all brining ingredients in a large bucket lined with the brining bag. Stir until ingredients dissolve the place the turkey into the bag, seal and let rest overnight or longer in a cool place.
Preheat the smoker to 300F. Meanwhile spatchcock the turkey to spread it apart and make it easier / faster to cook. Pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels. Melt one stick of butter with garlic and any other desired spices and use an injector to insert liberal amounts of butter inside the most meaty areas (breast, legs, even wings).
Spray the outside of the turkey with olive oil to give it stickiness then cover with your favorite spices. Place the turkey on the smoker and spray with cooking oil again for good measure. Smoke the turkey for 1hr then check it. Drizzle the outside with some more melted butter to keep the bird moist. Insert a temperature probe into the meatiest part and set the alarm for 165F.
After 2nd hour of cooking check on the turkey again. If the inside has not yet cooked to 165F but the outside has begun to darken too much, cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent further charring. Follow this video for good method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PEAQ_YopGk