Here is the brine I use every year that has been passed down to me and seems to be the best my family loves.
Whip's Turkey Brine
Prep time: 15mins
Total time: 1 hr / pound
Things you need
5g plastic bucket(no metal - salt reacts to metal), stock pot (using a plastic garbage bag), or XL Ziploc style bag
Lots of water (pending on size of bird and container)
1c of Kosher salt per g of water
1c of Brown sugar per g of water
1/4c of onion powder
1/4c of garlic salt
1/4c of Lawry's salt
1/2 bottle of pure maple flavoring (small bottle from store)
1/2 of 750mL white wine
3 or more bay leaves (I use around 6 or so)
Preparation
Dissolve salt and brown sugar is completely dissolved in a batch of water before hand. I fill a 1/2g with hot water and mix thoroughly, then mix in the cold water to make sure it doesn't start to "cook" the bird.
Add remaining ingredients to water and mix very well.
Place turkey in large non-metallic container and cover completely with brine. You don't want any part of the turkey exposed. Add water until covered. Let sit in fridge or cooler with ice 1hr/pound (bringing too long is much worse than not bringing enough, so watch the time.)
After brine time, remove from brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surfaces, inside and out.
This is the single most important step. If you don't get the brine off thoroughly, you could get a very salty bird. Pat dry and place in fridge to dry out a bit, normally overnight.
Rub with olive oil (or your choice of wetting agent) and place in smoker. You can add a rub before this point but I have found that none as ever really been needed. I always smoke with Hickory and that seems to be what everyone likes.
Disclaimer: If you buy a bird that is pre-injected, make sure to cut down on the salt to keep it from getting too salty. One thing to do is to taste the brine before putting the bird in. If it tastes too salty, then add more sugar. You want the salt and sugar to balance each other out.
