Smoked Beer Can Turkey

Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion, cooking for a group or have a frozen bird that needs to be cooked, you can’t go wrong with a smoked turkey.

These noble birds deserve justice – food smoking justice.  Smoking creates a more tender and flavourful dish than one that is fried or oven roasted.

This recipe calls for a 14lb Turkey.

Ingredients

Brine:

  • 3 cups Kosher Salt
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Lemons, cut and squeezed
  • 2 Oranges, cut and squeezed
  • 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 bottle Apple Juice
  • 5 Bay Leaves, crumbled
  • Palm full of Thyme
  • Palm full of Pepper
  • 4 Tbsp Honey

Dry Rub:

  • ½ cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cracked Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Thyme
  • 1 Tbsp Ground Sage
  • 1 Tbsp Ground Chili Powder

Directions

  1. Mix Brine ingredients together with cold water until salt and sugar have dissolved. Submerge whole turkey in brine and refrigerate for 24hrs.

One Hour Before Cooking:

  1. Preheat your Bradley Smoker to approx. 107°C (225°F). We recommend using any Bradley fruit wood bisquettes for best results.
  2. Remove turkey from brine and rinse off with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and let air dry for a moment.
  3. Rub olive oil on outside of turkey. Then apply dry rub generously in-between the skin and the meat, inside the cavity and outside the turkey skin.
  4. Open a can of your favourite beer and pour yourself a tall, cold glass and enjoy! Now take the empty can and cut off the top portion with heavy duty scissors.  Fill can half-way up with chicken broth.  Include a few bay leaves, fresh sage, 1 cut and squeezed lemon and fresh cracked pepper.

Smoking Method:

  1. Place can inside smoker and carefully lower the turkey on top of the can so that the can is completely inside the cavity of the turkey. This is one way to keep the turkey moist by putting steam inside the cavity while it cooks.  The turkey needs to be stable.  Make sure it is able to stand on its own.  You can use metal rib racks to help stabilize it.
  2. Cooking will take 6-8hrs or until the inside temperature reaches 73°C (165°F). Be sure to check the thighs.
  3. Remove from smoker, let stand and eat! Enjoy!

 

Compliments of Bradley Australia