For Your Easter Pleasure: Honey Brined Smoked Turkey
Down South, many grill experts start up their BBQs at the first hint of Spring. Brining poultry – whether it is chicken, turkey, or other fowl – insures juicy meat, no matter what cooking procedure is used. Since most people like poultry’s crispy skin, honey is a delicious addition to a brine since it helps crisping. Here is our favorite Honey Brine recipe, courtesy of Alton Brown (of Marietta, GA, I might add) and the Food Network.
Easter Brined Smoked Turkey
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
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
As Julia Child used to say, "You must have impeccably clean equipment." So, don't be afraid to scrub your cooler with disinfectant, if you've used it for anything but brining. If you do this, rinse, rinse, rinse with warm water.
