Originally Posted by
CameronBornAndBred
Number one part of making a great bird, regardless of how you cook it, is brining it. I let mine take a bath for 24-18 hours prior to cooking. I doubt I've ever made the brine the same way twice, but my general ingredients are rosemary, thyme, garlic, black pepper, sage, and bay leaves. Depending on what I have on hand, other herbs may go in, or be left out. I also add brown sugar, somewhere around 3/4 cup. Go lighter on the herbs than you'd think. A little rosemary goes a long way. I use a tablespoon max of each, probably closer to half a tablespoon.
Regardless of what goes in the brine, the base is always 1 cup kosher salt to one gallon water. You'll want two gallons for your THAWED bird. Top it off with ice. I use a 10 gallon Igloo cooler when I brine my birds. One cooler is the perfect size for a turkey; I put everything into one of those black Hefty trashbags (to keep my cooler clean, lol) and close the lid.
When cooking, I fill the cavity with two or three wedged lemons and a couple wedged onions. Also, instead of basting, I use a can of cooking spray every hour or so to coat the skin.
At 275ish, a 20lb bird will take around 4 hours. Maybe a little less, a temp probe is your friend. Depending on how long it will rest, I pull mine at 160-165.
I like hickory and apple for smoking.
Thanks much! I'm hoping to make one of the legendary tailgates one day...
Fahr zur Hölle, Carolina, fahr zur Hölle