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a browned and perfectly smoked whole turkey on a wooden board. In front is an out of focus pumpkin.

Dry-Brined + Smoked Turkey {Step-by-Step}

The best brined and smoked turkey recipe for your holiday dinner. This is a step-by-step guide for your most flavourful and tender bird ever.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 50 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: North America
Keyword: autumn, christmas, thanksgiving
Servings: 10
Calories: 212kcal
Author: Jana Dziak

Ingredients

  • 1 15 lbs turkey
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt (measure out a ½ cup, you probably won't use all of it.)
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • ½ cup maple syrup or honey
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 leaves sage
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • ½ cup parsley chopped

Dry Rub

  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder or ground/instant coffee

Instructions

Dry-Brine Your (Defrosted) Turkey:

  • To avoid over-salting, measure out ½ cup of kosher salt. You may or may not use the entirety depending upon the size of your turkey.
  • Using your hands, and at a distance from the turkey of about 6 inches, begin to liberally coat the outside of the turkey with the salt. Do not be afraid. You want your turkey completely covered with a nice layer of salt without it being competely encrusted on.
  • Transfer the salted turkey to either a wire rack or plate lined with a clean tea towel (or paper towel) and refrigerate
    uncovered
    for 24 hours
    or loosely covered
    if dry-brining for 48 hours or up to 72 hours. The best cover to use is cheesecloth or clean tea towels, but plastic wrap will also work just do not tightly wrap the bird. This is done to prevent excessive moisture loss that can occur after 24 hours.
  • Aromatics are not necessary as they will not do much or anything.

You do not need to rinse a dry brined turkey afterward! 

    Make The Herb Butter:

    • You can make this herb butter rub ahead of time and let it sit on the counter to soften on the day of Just don't accidentally add any more salt! Adjust the amount of butter, garlic, and maple syrup needed to the size of your turkey. It's better to make too much than too little.
    • Combine softened butter with the minced garlic, maple syrup (or honey), chopped parsley, and spices. Take the leaves off from half of your rosemary and add them too.
    • (Make a double batch of this if you plan on basting your turkey with herbed butter, otherwise just use plain unsalted melted butter for basting.)

    Or:

    • Sauté the garlic and spices in the butter for a slightly different flavour profile. Stir in the maple syrup or honey at the end with the herbs.

    Smoke The Turkey:

    • Allow your brined and dry turkey to sit at room temperature, uncovered, for about an hour.
    • Preheat your Traeger Grill (or whichever smoker you are using) on the Smoke setting with the lid closed for 5 minutes until a fire is established.
    • Meanwhile, rub the turkey inside and out with the herbed butter, getting underneath the skin as much as possible. Add the sage leaves underneath the skin.
    • Now sprinkle the dry rub on the outside too. You will not use all of the dry rub you made. Season liberally.
    • Place the turkey directly on the grill, breast up. Place the remaining sprigs of rosemary directly on top of turkey.
    • Smoke your turkey for 3 hours, never allowing the temperatures to go up past 225° farenheit.
    • If the temperature fluctuations are too high, introduce a bowl of ice water in a grill-safe vessel to bring down the temps for more consistent smoking.
    • After smoking for the 3-4 hours, it's time to turn the heat up to 325° fahrenheit and cook the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165°. For a 10-15 lbs turkey that is usually about 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours post-smoking time.
    • Baste the turkey with the herbed butter hourly. You can use plain butter too instead or if you run out of the herbed stuff.
    • Remove the turkey from the grill, let it rest tented in foil for 30 minutes before carving and serving.
    • Enjoy your turkey!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 822IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 0.3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!