🎵Honey Brined Smoked Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy

🦃 This Honey-Brined Smoked Turkey isn’t just a recipe—it comes with its own soundtrack.
Turn up “Honey Brine Boogie” by Captain Crispy while you cook, and let the Music Studio Kitchen bring flavor, fun, and groove to your Thanksgiving feast.‍ Listen below… ‍tretaylor.com.

There are turkeys… and then there are stories. This one is both. This Honey-Brined Smoked Turkey isn’t just a meal — it’s a love letter to the holiday table, the kind of centerpiece that makes the whole family lean in, raise their eyebrows, and whisper, “Okay… who made this?”

It starts with a fragrant, golden brine—sweet honey, sage, thyme, and cracked pepper—slowly coaxing every inch of that bird into tender, silky submission. A gentle kiss of hickory smoke follows, giving it the kind of aroma that pulls neighbors out of their houses like a Disney musical.

Then the grand finale: roasting it to bronzed perfection under a blanket of herb butter that melts right into the meat. Amen. And the gravy? Darling… It’s not gravy; it’s a wild mushroom symphony—roasted shallots, garlic, rosemary, Marsala, sherry, and cream all simmered into velvet. Drizzle it over a slice of turkey, and suddenly everyone believes in miracles.

This is a recipe for the cooks who want to bring back ceremony to Thanksgiving. For the dreamers who love tradition but crave a little adventure. For the ones who once fed starving artists on train tracks and made magic out of nothing but love, smoke, and a good bird.

If you’ve been bored with your basic turkey…
If you want something tender, rich, emotional, and unforgettable…
If you want to give your family a story they’ll still be talking about next year…

This is the turkey.
Your turkey.
Your tradition in the making.

INGREDIENTS:

13-pound turkey

Brine Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup kosher salt

2 cups of honey

1 bunch fresh sage

1 bunch fresh thyme

3 tablespoons cracked black pepper

Turkey Stock:

Turkey giblets, neck, and other trimmings

1 onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 cups chicken stock

Fun Ingredients:

🔥Before you get started, listen to this fun track we wote with Captain Crispy in the music studio kitchen…

Turn your Thanksgiving kitchen into a full-blown party with this delicious Honey-Brined Smoked Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy — and the brand-new holiday soundtrack to go with it: “Honey Brine Boogie,” sung by none other than Captain Crispy, your New Orleans pitmaster bluesman straight from the Music Studio Kitchen.

This joyful cooking groove was created by Tré Taylor, Bleep the Tattoo, and a little help from AI magic — and it pairs perfectly with the smoky, honey-soaked flavors of this gourmet turkey. Whether you’re brining, basting, dancing, or stirring gravy, this upbeat boogie brings fun, warmth, and flavor to every step of your holiday feast.

If you’ve been craving a Thanksgiving recipe that feels like a tradition in the making — tender turkey, a hint of hickory smoke, golden herb butter, and velvet wild mushroom gravy — this is your new go-to. And when Captain Crispy hits that harmonica riff? Honey… your whole kitchen will start dancing.

Celebrate the season with flavor, laughter, music, and community.
Listen to the song, try the recipe, and have a beautiful holiday ahead.
From Tré Taylor, Captain Crispy, and Bleep the Tattoo — with love, music, food, art, and fun.

Visit tretaylor.com for more Music Studio Kitchen magic.

Herb Butter Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (one stick) softened unsalted butter

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped shallot

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped sage

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

1 teaspoon chopped tarragon

Wild Mushroom Gravy Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

10 shallots, peeled

4 garlic cloves, peeled

12 ounces mixed wild mushrooms (such as oyster, morel and stemmed shiitake), sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 3/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1/2 cup dry Marsala

1/2 cup dry Sherry

1 1/2 cups Turkey stock

1 cup whipping cream

Smoking Ingredients:

1 bag of charcoal

1 bag of hickory chunks or chips (soaked in apple juice)

Roasting the Turkey:

1 onion, sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 to 5 cups turkey stock

1 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

PREPARATION:

Brine:

One to two days before serving, place 1 gallon of water in a large stock pot with the sugar, salt, sage, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and chill. Place the turkey in a large plastic bag then inside a large brewing bucket or pale that is big enough to be submerged in the brine. Tie off and refrigerate. Let steep for 24 to 36 hours.

Make Turkey Stock:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the last two joints off each turkey wing, leaving the wing drumstick on the bird, and put them in a small roasting pan. Roast until the skin is well browned, 45 minutes to an hour. Put the roasted wings in a soup pot with the giblets and the neck, setting the liver aside. Add the vegetables, 1 teaspoon salt, several grinds of pepper, chicken stock, and 3 cups cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat, partially covered, for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat is falling from the bones and the turkey gizzard is very tender. Poach the turkey liver in the stock for 6 to 7 minutes; remove, cover, and refrigerate. Strain the stock into a bowl or jug, reserving the giblets, and refrigerate. There should be 5 to 6 cups.

Herb Butter:

On serving day, place all the ingredients for the herb butter in a food processor and blend. Transfer to a small pastry bag or Baggie, and set aside.

Lightly Smoking the Turkey: About 5 hours before serving time, remove the turkey from the refrigerator. Lift it out of the brine, and rinse off under fresh cold water. Dry the bird with paper towels. Prepare water smoker or grill until it reaches 225 degrees.

Place Turkey in smoker and smoke for 2 hours at a constant temperature of 225 degrees, turning and basting with turkey stock every hour. (This gives the Turkey a light nice smokey flavor, but does not cook the bird.

Roasting the Smoked Turkey:

Remove Turkey from smoker and place in large roasting pan breast side up. Slide a small rubber spatula between the skin and the breast meat to separate them. Pipe half of the herb butter under the skin of both breasts from the cavity opening, spreading the butter evenly over the whole breast area with the fingertips. Rub the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the bird.

Fill the body cavity and the neck cavity loosely with stuffing. Truss the bird loosely with butcher's twine and season with salt and pepper. Spread the sliced vegetables over the bottom of a large roasting pan and lay the turkey on top. Add a cup of stock to the pan. About 2 hours before serving time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and position the rack in the lower half of the oven.

Put the turkey in the oven and roast for 1 1/2 hours. Check to see if the turkey is browning evenly, and turn the pan, adding more stock if it gets low. If the turkey is browning too fast, fold a 30-inch length of aluminum foil in half, then fold it loosely again and set it lightly over the turkey breast for the remainder of the roasting time.

Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Roast the turkey for another 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer (5) and the juices run clear yellow with no tinge of pink when the thigh meat is pierced. If the turkey is not too brown, remove the foil for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Take the bird out of the oven, and let it rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes while making the gravy.

While the turkey is roasting, remove the congealed fat from the top of the stock, and heat the stock in a saucepan. Cut the reserved giblets and, if desired, the liver into very fine dice. While the turkey is resting, use a little of the stock to deglaze the roasting pan, and strain the pan juices into a pitcher and reserve the vegetables. Allow to rest for a few minutes until the fat separates, then skim the fat from the surface.

Wild Mushroom Gravy:

Turn oven to 300°F. Combine oil, shallots and garlic in small glass baking dish. Cover dish with foil. Bake until shallots and garlic are very tender and pale golden, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Thinly slice shallots and garlic; reserve oil in dish. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Transfer 1 tablespoon oil from baking dish to heavy large saucepan. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, sage, and roasted shallots and garlic to saucepan; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add Marsala and Sherry; boil until syrupy, about 6 minutes.

Add stock; boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add cream; boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

“Alright, you beautiful kitchen warriors—Bleep the Tattoo here, signing off with gravy on my fingers and a song stuck in my nonexistent hair.

Captain Crispy just laid down one of the funkiest Thanksgiving grooves this side of the cranberry bog, and I swear the turkey started dancing before we even smoked it.

Remember: great music makes better food, better memories, and happier souls.

Now go boogie, baste, and behave… or don’t. It’s the holidays!”

📜 LEGAL & CREATIVE DISCLAIMER

Song Title: [HONEY BRINE BOOGIE]

Lyrics: Written and owned by Tracy Taylor (with AI-assisted ideation via [DeepSeek/ChatGPT]).

Music: Composed using Suno AI under paid subscription (Tracy Taylor retains full rights to derivative works per Suno’s Terms of Service).

Art/Animation: AI-generated concepts modified and animated by Tracy Taylor via Canva Pro (licensed for commercial use).

© Copyright Notice: This song and video are original creations by Tracy Taylor, with significant human modification (lyrics, editing, narrative, visuals).

Shared for non-commercial/personal use on this channel. For licensing inquiries, contact: tretaylorconsulting@gmail.com  

Tools Used: Lyrics: [DeepSeek/ChatGPT] (concept aid) + Tracy’s personal edits.

Music: Suno AI (generated) + Tracy’s creative direction.

Art/Video: Canva Pro (AI graphics + manual customization).

Rights Assertion: Per Suno’s Terms (Section 5.1) and Canva’s License Agreement, subscribers retain ownership of modified outputs. This work is protected under derivative copyright (17 U.S. Code § 101).