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Black Pepper and Garlic Smoked Turkey

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Source: From the test labs of SomethingEdible.com.

Servings: For a 12 - 15ish lb bird.

Prep Time: 2 days

Instructions:

T-minus 2 days
Combine water, salt, brown sugar, black peppercorns, and garlic in a 4 quart pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the brine into your food-safe plastic bucket and stir in the ice. The solution should plummet to 35-40F. Anything hotter than that means you need to get it colder before adding the bird! Once the brine is ready to go, add the turkey, lid up the bucket, and move it to the refrigerator. Let brine 12 hours, flip the bird over in the bucket and brine for another 12 hours.

T-minus 1 day
Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it thoroughly. Discard brine in a responsible manner, and move the turkey to a racked roasting pan. Place the bird-laden roaster in a fridge that's not storing anything open and let the turkey air dry in the fridge for 24 hours.

Go Time!
Prep your smoking vessel for indirect heat at a temperature of 225F, adding the pecan smoke wood (or smoke wood of your choice) according to your cooker manufacturer's directions.
Cut the celery stalks into 4 inch chunks, and stuff the turkey's cavity with the celery.
For the rub, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tbsp black peppercorns, and 6 cloves garlic in a mini-prep chopper. With the lid firmly in place, buzz it all into a thin paste. Slather the garlic peppercorn paste under the skin covering the breast and over every square centimeter of the turkey's outside. Season the outside with Kosher salt (You sont need a whole lot) and move the bird to the smoke. Cook for 12-14 hours or until you hit a finished temperature of 160F. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperaure to refrigerate and reheat in a 325F oven in a roasting pan loosely tented with foil until the bird hits 140F.