Brine recipe for smoking chicken or turkey

[FishnBear]

I would like to smoke some poultry this weekend I am looking for some how-to's and brine recipes. I've never done it before so anything would be helpful. Thanks

[LABS4ME]

I've made a couple of different brines from scratch... they were good, but the easiest is to just buy a package of Hi-Mountain poultry brine. Really tasty!

Also, make sure you inject some of the brine prior to smoking! A little secret I learned from the butcher!

Good Luck!

Ken

[sparcebag]

Labs I never used a store bought mix,Where can I find your recommendation?

[LABS4ME]

I know Gander has it... and I do believe Fleet Farm does (did)... Cabelas also.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Kidd]

Also, make sure you inject some of the brine prior to smoking!

That is a good tip, a friend of mine turned me on to that a couple years ago and I've been doing it ever since.

One other thing, if you buy fresh spices, as opposed to the dried variety, take the leftovers and throw it directly on your heat source prior to putting the bird in the smoker. It sort of seasons the smoker. I know it sounds goofy, but it does seem to add a little flavor. And what the heck, you'd probably just throw it out anyway.

[Hotspotter]

Honey Brine

The best I've tried!

Joel

[Jarrod32]

Not sure how good your water source is; you might want to think about buying a gallon of water to use for your brine. I've found that can help as well.

And after brining the meat, make sure to rinse it off...it can get a bit salty otherwise.

I've put chickens in the smoker without brining before; dump some apple juice or apple cider in the drip pan...as it evaporates, the meat picks up the flavor. But you have to have the temperature up for that to work...

[eyesorbust]

i just did one for my mother yesterday. all i did was rub olive oil on the turkey and then sprinkled season salt on the bird. took 2 cans of dr. pepper and and mixed 50-50 with water.i used this for my water solution. cooked at 225-300 for 6 hours. it was delicious.

[Jarrod32]

Here's one I've used for duck...would probably work for chicken, too. You'll probably need to up the amount to cover a chicken, though.

I may have picked this recipe up on this site...not sure, though.

For the brine, you will need...

one quart of apple juice or cider

1/4 cup kosher salt, or 3 Tbs canning salt

1 bay leaf, crushed

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns, cracked

Mix the ingredients, making sure the salt is completely dissolved. This will be enough brine for up to 1 and 1/2 pounds of duck. Soak the duck in the brine at least two hours, and overnight if possible.

Place the duck into a 225 degree Fahrenheit meat smoker for two to four hours, depending on the size of the bird. Use a small amount of apple or pear wood for the smoke.

[croixflats]

I see the brines are covered. The container I use, if its a big bird, is one those 5 galon igloo water cooler's,, its big enough for bird and brine and ice so you dont have to take up space.

Some like to boil brine to make sure everything is desolved, I do.

Add bird to cooler then add brine, be sure brine is cooled, tthrough ice on and stir. The bird can sit is cooler up to 36 hours and still have ice. Just make sure cooler is not in a warm area.

[FishnBear]

Thanks for all the replies. They all look really good I have some High mountain coming and will try the others also. Thanks again