Honey Brined Smoked Turkey

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004

Show: Food Network SpecialsEpisode: All Star Thanksgiving

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (170)

Cook Time:
4 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
10 to 12 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: 13 min
Cook: 4 hr 0 min
Total:: 4 hr 28 min

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Ingredients

1 gallon hot water
1 pound kosher salt
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 pound honey
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1 (15 to 20-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
Vegetable oil, for rubbing turkey

Directions

Combine the hot water and the salt in a 54-quart cooler. Stir until the salt dissolves. Stir in the vegetable broth and the honey. Add the ice and stir. Place the turkey in the brine, breast side up, and cover with cooler lid.. Brine overnight, up to 12 hours.

Remove the turkey from the brine and dry thoroughly. Rub the bird thoroughly with the vegetable oil.

Heat the grill to 400 degrees F.

Using a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil, build a smoke bomb. Place a cup of hickory wood chips in the center of the foil and gather up the edges, making a small pouch. Leave the pouch open at the top. Set this directly on the charcoal or on the metal bar over the gas flame. Set the turkey over indirect heat, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast meat, and set the alarm for 160 degrees F. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour check the bird; if the skin is golden brown, cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking. Also, after 1 hour, replace wood chips with second cup.

Once the bird reaches 160 degrees F, remove from grill, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 1 hour. Carve and serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
John Athens, TX 01-12-2010
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Our perfect turkey search is over
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Actually, this become our perfect turkey about three years ago and now I'm going to make it every year as a family tradition.... Hard to beat that for a recipe. Read more
recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
T Deltona, FL 12-27-2009
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Great!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Okay. I have to admit, I could not find this recipe so we used the brine for the Good Eats roast turkey and roasted it till. ... 165 or so. Probably a little too much but the bird was still very juicy!! The whole family LOVED it and my husband was already drafted to do it again next year! Smoked turkey is awesome. We actually had a smoked turkey and a roasted one which we ate second with all the sides. The smoked turkey won out! We ate almost 24 pounds of turkey among 8 people this Christmas! Can't wait until next years smoked turkey!Read more
recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
L x, CA 11-28-2009
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Fantastic Brine, Didn't Smoke!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I did not smoke the turkey since I don't have the equipment or place to smoke anything. I did however use the brine recipe. I... followed Alton's turkey roasting instructions which was to stuff the turkey with onions, apples, cinnamon, rosemary and sage. The turkey was so moist, tender and flavorful! I will always use this brine recipe and hopefully someday be able to smoke it! Read more
recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
Osrie Bridgeview, IL 11-28-2009
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OVEN ROASTED TURKEY...ARE YOU KIDDING??!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

There will never again be another oven roasted turkey on my table. I must admit, I was a little worried about smoking the... turkey since I have never attempted to smoke anything before in my life. I tried the brine last year, but roasted it in the oven. I am so glad I decided to follow through with the entire recipe this time around. This was FANTASTIC! Unbelievabley moist and full of flavor, my family ate the half of it as I was carving! I felt sorry for the neighbors, all cooped up in their homes, while the smell of hickory smoke wafted through the neihborhood! This recipe, as are ALL Alton Brown recipes , is truly a keeper!Read more
recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
Mark Cincinnati, OH 11-27-2009
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Amazing! Thanks Alton
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This recipe was amazing. It is by far the best turkey I've ever eaten. I was able to brine about 9 hours. I know it said... optimally 12 hours but I had to work the day prior to Thanksgiving and didn't know if going over twelve hours would hurt the recipe so with the choice of over or under I went for the safe bet. The other alteration I had from the recipe was the wood for smoking. On Thanksgiving Day I discovered I didn't have hickory but only mesquite and apple. I used mostly mesquite and was very happy with the results. I used a Webber smoker with natural charcoal. The Webber does not have a temperature gauge so I just shoved the coals over to one side placing the turkey on the other side under the vent on the hood so the smoke would draw straight across the turkey. I had to restock the coals twice which meant picking up the whole grill and turkey to add coals but this was not so bad. The video conflicts with the recipe regarding the temperature to pull the turkey off the grill. In the video Alton says to pull it at 150 degrees but the recipe says 160 degrees. I pulled it at 152 degrees, wrapped in foil and served an hour later. The color was amazing. I became addicted to the browning as I checked on it every 30 min or so. I probably should have covered it as I burnt the tips of the wings but the deep caramel brown of the skin was outstanding. The flesh was JUICY! This was by far the juiciest turkey I've every had. Between brining and careful temperature monitoring I got very good results. The white meat was delicious and the dark meat had an almost ham like flavor. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe and will be using for years to thrill guests and gain points with other foodies for grilling a Thanksgiving turkey. Thanks Alton!!Read more
recipe Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
Robert Seal Beach, CA 11-27-2009
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Wow, outstanding
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I can usualy make a pretty good turkey, but I decided to try this one and all I can say is WOW, it was simply outstanding,... and by far the best turkey I have ever tasted... Thank you Alton, you are the bestRead more