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This orange glazed smoked turkey is brined in an easy orange juice wet brine and smoked to perfection on the pellet grill. With sweet citrus notes from a marmalade glaze, this juicy and flavorful bird will be the star of your Thanksgiving table!
If you’ve watched any of our smoked turkey videos on YouTube, then you know that we are 100% devoted to the wet brine method for Thanksgiving turkey. We’ve made a fantastic apple cider brined smoked turkey and a Cajun wet brined turkey, both of which were phenomenal and WAY more flavorful than your basic oven roasted turkey.
So we decided to try out another flavor profile in our wet brine – orange!
This orange juice brined turkey is tender and juicy, and the simple orange marmalade glaze adds the perfect bit of sweetness to the crispy skin. And did I mention that it’s so easy to make that my wife actually cooked this orange brined turkey herself – she doesn’t cook at all! – her first ever Thanksgiving turkey and it turned out perfectly!
Why Brine Your Turkey?
Brining is essential for adding moisture and flavor to the turkey. In fact, chances are if you’re typically not a fan of turkey on Thanksgiving, it’s because you haven’t had a wet brined turkey… it makes that big of a difference.
In fact, we’ve done side-by-side blind taste tests of two separate smoked turkeys, one that had been wet brined and one that wasn’t, and the winner hands down was the wet brined turkey. You can watch that video on our YouTube channel here: To Brine or Not to Brine Your Turkey.
The wet brine method involves creating a salt-water solution to soak the turkey, which helps in tenderizing and seasoning the meat from the inside out. The breast meat of a wet-brined turkey is going to be much juicier and have a much more tender bite than your typical turkey that is only seasoned and basted.
Making the Orange Juice Brine
To start, make the orange juice brine by bringing these ingredients to a boil in a large pot:
- orange juice – We used a low acid orange juice, but I’m confident that any basic orange juice will work.
- water
- kosher salt – If using regular salt, do a 1:1 ratio of salt to sugar. For kosher salt, it’s a 2:1 ratio. Kosher salt is preferred.
- granulated sugar
- bay leaves
- black peppercorns
- rosemary
- thyme
Then add more water and allow the brine mixture to cool down completely.
Brining the Turkey
When the brine is cooled, it’s time to submerge the turkey in that citrus goodness. You have a few different options for wet brining the turkey, so choose the best method for you based on how much space you have in the refrigerator leading up to Thanksgiving day.
For this particular turkey, we went with the cooler brine method because who really has extra room in the fridge the day before Thanksgiving?
When we did this apple cider brined turkey, we just added the liquid brine and ice directly to the bottom of the cooler, but for this orange brined turkey we kept things a little cleaner by brining the turkey inside a heavy duty brine bag, and then setting the bag in the cooler with a few bags of ice.
The nice thing about doing it this way is that you can use less liquid because the brine bag holds a smaller volume of the orange juice brine versus pouring it directly in the cooler. Plus, clean up is easier! *These are the brine bags that we have used for several turkeys.
Seasoning the Orange Brined Turkey
After at least 24 hours of brining, it’s time to prep the turkey for the grill. Just remove it from the orange brine and pat dry with paper towels. Then arrange the turkey on a wire cooling rack set on top of a sheet tray (this allows you to get more smoke flavor AND catch the drippings), and season liberally with your choice of seasoning.
We used our favorite all-purpose seasoning Shake That, and we added a bit more black pepper as well.
Smoking the Orange Juice Brined Turkey
Next, just place the sheet tray with the turkey on the pellet grill or smoker and cook until done, basting periodically for a super flavorful skin.
We smoked our turkey on the Traeger pellet grill at 225°F on super smoke mode for the first hour. Then, we bumped up the temperature to 325°F for the remaining cooking time.
After the first hour, baste the turkey with a simple mixture of melted butter, orange zest, finely chopped rosemary and thyme, and a bit of black pepper. Then, continue to baste it every 30 minutes or so until the internal temperature reaches about 150-155°F.
At that point, we added the small amount of melted herbed butter that we had left to a saucepan with a bit of orange marmalade. Heat briefly, and then use that orange glaze mixture to baste the turkey during the last 45 minutes or so of cook time.
Here’s what our turkey looked like at this point:
The pieces of orange peel inside the marmalade add the perfect bit of sweetness, flavoring the delicious and crispy skin – kind of like candied orange peel!
Continue to cook the turkey at 325°F until done. The thickest part of each breast should read about 162-163°F, as measured by an instant read thermometer. This allows for a few degrees of carryover cooking while the turkey rests. The internal temperature of the thighs will be a bit higher, probably around 175°F.
*NOTE – The USDA recommends cooking turkey and other poultry to a minimum internal temp of 165°F.
How long to smoke a turkey is not a simple cut and dry answer… There are a number of factors that go in to determining how long your turkey should cook, including the size of your turkey, whether or not you spatchcock, how steady the temperature stays on your smoker, etc.
The temperature that you smoke the turkey at also matters. We chose to smoke at 225°F for the first hour for extra smoke flavor, and then we adjusted the temperature up to 325°F for the remaining cook time to get that crispy skin.
With this method, my 12-14 pound spatchcocked turkey took about 3 hours and 45 minutes to cook.
When it comes to poultry, the best way to check for doneness is with an instant read thermometer. *I also suggest using a wireless meat thermometer to monitor the temperature of your turkey throughout the cooking process.
The turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each breast reads about 162-163°F. This allows for a few degrees of carryover cooking while the turkey rests. The internal temp of the thighs should be a bit higher, around 175°F.
*DISCLAIMER – The USDA recommends cooking turkey and other poultry to a minimum internal temp of 165°F.
Absolutely! Follow the same steps to brine and season the turkey, place it on the wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 325°F until an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast reads 162-163°F. You should have some carryover cooking while the turkey rests.
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Orange-Brined Smoked Turkey with Orange Glaze
Equipment
- brine bag or cooler
- basting brush
Ingredients
- 12-14 lb turkey, fully thawed and spatchcocked
- Shake That All Purpose Seasoning, *Or substitute your favorite all-purpose seasoning
- black pepper
- ½ cup orange marmalade
For the Orange Juice Brine:
- 6 cups orange juice
- 12 cups water
- 1½ cup kosher salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and rough chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme, chopped
For the Herbed Butter:
- 1 stick melted butter
- zest of one large orange
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
Instructions
- Start brining the turkey 24 hours before you plan to start smoking it. Make sure that your cooler is clean and dry, and that your drain plug is inserted properly. Or clear space in your refrigerator if you plan on brining in the fridge. Spatchcock the thawed turkey.
- In a large pot, add 4 cups water, 1½ cup kosher salt, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 3 bay leaves, and the fresh rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil to dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove from the heat and add 6 cups orange juice and 8 cups cold water. Allow the brine liquid to cool completely.
- Place the spatchcocked turkey breast-side down in a brine bag in the bottom of a cooler. Pour in the cooled orange juice brine, and work it around so that the turkey is completely covered. Add ice around the brine bag – if cooler brining. Close the lid of the cooler and brine turkey for a full 24 hours. Or, place the brine bag inside a large pot or roasting pan and brine in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Preheat pellet grill or smoker to 225℉ with your choice of wood pellets. While grill is heating, prepare the turkey. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a wire cooling rack on top of a sheet tray. Season all sides liberally with Shake That All Purpose Seasoning. Then season with a lighter layer of black pepper.
- Make the herbed basting butter by mixing melted butter, orange zest, chopped rosemary and thyme, and black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Smoke the turkey on the grill at 225℉ for one hour. After one hour, use a basting brush to baste the turkey with the herbed butter. Then adjust the grill temperature up to 325°F and continue to cook the turkey, basting every 25-30 minutes with the melted butter. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the herbed butter for the next step.
- When the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches about 155℉, add the small bit of remaining herbed butter to a small saucepan with the orange marmalade. Heat briefly, and then use the orange glaze mixture to baste the turkey.
- Continue to cook the turkey, basting with the orange glaze every 15-20 minutes, until the internal temp of the thickest part of the breasts reaches 162℉. This allows for a few degrees of carryover cooking. (USDA recommends cooking to 165℉.)
- Remove turkey from the smoker and transfer to a serving platter or cutting board. Allow turkey to rest for 30-45 minutes before carving.
Notes
- Cooler Brine Notes – If the outside temperature is colder than your house, keep the cooler outside. You can also open the lid to make sure the ice has not melted all the way and the turkey is still cold (below 37 degrees F) periodically during the 24 hour brining process. Add more ice if needed.
- Cooking Times – Cooking times are approximate and will vary based on the size of your turkey, the temperature of your grill or smoker, the outside temperature, etc. Always check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey breast and the innermost areas of the thigh and wing for doneness. For reference, my spatchcocked turkey took 4 hours to cook with the smoking temperatures in this recipe.
- Internal Temperature – The turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each breast reads about 162-163°F. This allows for a few degrees of carryover cooking while the turkey rests. The internal temp of the thighs should be a bit higher, around 175°F. *DISCLAIMER – The USDA recommends cooking turkey and other poultry to a minimum internal temp of 165°F.
