J. Paul's Beer-Brined Turkey

Combine the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, bay leaves, Creole seasoning, beer and garlic cloves in a large pot or bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Use two large brining bags (I just use 13 gallon trash bags), one inside the other, and place them in a large foil heavy-duty roasting pan. Place the turkey inside the bags. Inject turkey with the brine, and pour remaining brine into the bag. Squeeze the excess air from the bags, tie and refrigerate for 24 hours, inverting turkey inside the bags every so often. If there's no room in the refrigerator, put it in a cooler with plenty of ice.

When you get ready to cook the turkey, remove from the fridge and place the turkey in the bags in the sink. Remove turkey from the bags and place it back in the foil roasting pan. There will still be some brine in the bags; use this to inject the turkey again.

Cover turkey with foil and place in a smoker and keep the temperature at 250° until the internal temp is 165°. Smoke 30 minutes/pound.

Remove the foil the last 30 minutes to let turkey brown a little more, and to get that smoky taste.

Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Good luck with that-it usually falls off the bone!