Rosemary Beer Brined Smoked Turkey

Step 1

Combine the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, bay leaves, rosemary, garlic, and onion together in a large stock pot. Add 10 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, remove from heat.

Step 2

After removing from heat, steep the mixture for 45 minutes. After allowing the mixture to steep, add the 48 ounces (4 - 12 ounce bottles) of beer.

Step 3

Then, add in enough ice to bring the total brine amount up to 2 gallons (2 gallons = 32 cups). This is very important otherwise you will have an incredibly salty turkey.

Step 4

For smaller stock pots, you may have to allow the brine to cool and add the additional amount when pouring the brine into the bag in the following step.

Step 5

Place the turkey in a large zip-top bag. I recommend the Ziploc Big Bags (size large) or one of those extra large hot/cold bags you can buy at the grocery store.

Step 6

Put the bagged turkey in a clean cooler or 5 gallon bucket. Pour the brine over the turkey, in the bag, making sure the breasts are fully submerged. Zip the bag closed. Place the cooler in a cool place, such as your garage or, and allow the turkey to soak in the cold brine for 12-24 hours.

Step 7

Use gel ice packs or bagged ice around the zipped bag inside the cooler, if necessary, to keep the brine below 40°F. (Adding more ice directly to the brine would only dilute it.)

Step 8

Alternatively, if you have room in your refrigerator, you may place the bagged turkey in a large foil tray rather than a cooler and store it on the fridge shelf.

Step 9

After the brining process, transfer the turkey to a roasting pan and discard the brine. Cook according to your preferred method - we LOVE to smoke our Rosemary Beer Brined Turkeys, but roasting works well too!