Brine my turkey!

[Jeeebus]

So we're doing Thanksgiving at our place this year, and I've read a few things about brining the bird, which sounds interesting.

Anyone here have any particular experience with it? Recommend particular recipes and such?

Brine my turkey!

 

[Lola]

IT IS THE BEST WAY TO COOK A TURKEY!!!!
we tried Alton Browns recipe and it is amazing
edit to say: you can go to foodnetwork.com and get the recipe.
It makes the bird more moist than even frying it does.
Great flavor and very simple to do. The only thing is that it takes some time to make the brine then to cool it completely then to actually have the turkey sit in it.
A lot of inactive prep time, but still simple and very tasty!

 

[vi edit]

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html

Scroll down about half the page. A lot of people like the honey brine.

Just remember that a lot of turkeys already come pre-brined. With those brining is pointless.

 

[j00fek]

we cook ours in a cooker w/oil

 

[Jeeebus]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Just remember that a lot of turkeys already come pre-brined. With those brining is pointless.

I think mine might be one of these. Said something on the outside about may have been soaked in some mix of blah blah...


So brining is useless now?

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Just remember that a lot of turkeys already come pre-brined. With those brining is pointless.

I think mine might be one of these. Said something on the outside about may have been soaked in some mix of blah blah...


So brining is useless now?

Pretty much. It's already had a lot of sodium and other sort of moisturizing things injected into it. The brine won't add anything more to it. Brining is reserved for "natural" turkeys that haven't had anything done to them.

 

[FoBoT]

AB Fan: Can I brine an 18-pound turkey overnight, or is this too long?
Alton Brown: No, it's not too long. Technically, you could brine a turkey for several days. The trick is in two things--brine concentration versus mass. You could either soak a bird for a long time in weak brine, or for a short time in a stronger one. You're better with weaker brine and a longer soak, so take the standard brine that we use in "Good Eats," and you could easily do that overnight. If you're afraid of it being too salty, you might cut back to 3/4 cup of salt instead of the full cup, but leave the sugar amount the same. I've gotten to where I really like to thaw my turkeys in brine, because I can make my brine, keep it in a cooler, toss in my frozen bird, and leave it for days if I want without worrying about the temperature getting too high. It will stay really cold, but, at the same time, the water will help thaw the bird. So when it's thawed, it's already brined. But that is an imprecise science, so you have to work with it. If I feel the brine will get too warm, I'll add a bit of ice. So far, that hasn't happened. It stays around 40 degrees.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: j00fek
we cook ours in a cooker w/oil

FTW. Deep fry that biatch!! Best you'll ever have.

 

[randay]

anybody ever made a turducken?

 

[newb111]

haven't read the other responses, but brining is the BEST thing you can do to the turkey. Makes it so moist and tender no matter how you cook it

 

[pkme2]

I have always thawed out our turkey in a large pot filled with brine. I find that that the brine when roasting keeps the flavor sealed in my turkey. The brine help thaw the frozen turkey fast and there is no need to season it.

I stumbled unto this a long time ago. My father did this, and now I continue the same too.

My stuffing had abalone in it until it got too expensive. I used abalone-like shellfish until that got too expensive.
My stuffing was sought after by many until I stopped giving it away to close friends and relatives. They balked when I suggested being charged for portions.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: j00fek
we cook ours in a cooker w/oil

FTW. Deep fry that biatch!! Best you'll ever have.

I've deep fried a few turkeys. I still prefer roasting. The aromatics/seasoning that you can get from a good roast trumps deep frying IMHO. Plus there's the gravy, can't forget the gravy.

I think if you are good at roasting (and it does take tons of practice to get it right) the deep-fry vs. roasting becomes a personal preference.

I've also smoked turkeys, pretty damn good.

Wanna have the knock-out thanksgiving? Smoke a ham and roast a turkey. *rolls eyes back into head*, it's oh so perfect.

OP - brining the bird is a great idea, just follow some of the advice/links posted earlier. Here's the key though......You can do whatever you want to the bird before cooking, it's how you cook it that counts.

If roasting:
1) set it out on the kitchen for 1 hour
2) Pre-heat your oven (if you've got convection then great...use it) and get it to that heat 30 minutes before you put the bird in...pre-heat it above what you want your roasting temp at.
3) bricks ain't a bad idea
4) supplly the roast with ample seasoning and aromatic herbs. herbs de provonice works well. (forgive spelling)
5) Pick a properly sized pan for the roast keeping turkeys back off of the pan.
6) SHUT THE DOOR AND DO NOT OPEN IT, LEAVE IT ALONE
7) Put a good thermometer into the middle of the breast and judge by that, (this takes experience based on the size of the bird and your oven) use your fingers to determine if the rest of the bird is truly done. Wiggle and turn/twist the legs. that coulped with the reading will let you know the bird is done. Do not overcook the bird, he will rise about 10-15 degrees once taken out of the oven. Let him rest 30+ minutes.

I take my turkeys out when the breast is just under temp and the legs have a slight wiggle to them.

 

[Midlander]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
IT IS THE BEST WAY TO COOK A TURKEY!!!!
we tried Alton Browns recipe and it is amazing
edit to say: you can go to foodnetwork.com and get the recipe.
It makes the bird more moist than even frying it does.
Great flavor and very simple to do. The only thing is that it takes some time to make the brine then to cool it completely then to actually have the turkey sit in it.
A lot of inactive prep time, but still simple and very tasty!

I've used Alton's recipe for the past four years. It's the only way to go for a great turkey. I highly recommend it. :thumbsup:

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: spidey07
deep-fry vs. roasting becomes a personal preference.

6) SHUT THE DOOR AND DO NOT OPEN IT, LEAVE IT ALONE
7) Put a good thermometer into the middle of the breast and judge by that, (this takes experience based on the size of the bird and your oven) use your fingers to determine if the rest of the bird is truly done. Wiggle and turn/twist the legs. that coulped with the reading will let you know the bird is done. Do not overcook the bird, he will rise about 10-15 degrees once taken out of the oven. Let him rest 30+ minutes.

I take my turkeys out when the breast is just under temp and the legs have a slight wiggle to them.

Uhhh, aren't rule #6 and rule #7 incompatible with each other?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: spidey07
deep-fry vs. roasting becomes a personal preference.

6) SHUT THE DOOR AND DO NOT OPEN IT, LEAVE IT ALONE
7) Put a good thermometer into the middle of the breast and judge by that, (this takes experience based on the size of the bird and your oven) use your fingers to determine if the rest of the bird is truly done. Wiggle and turn/twist the legs. that coulped with the reading will let you know the bird is done. Do not overcook the bird, he will rise about 10-15 degrees once taken out of the oven. Let him rest 30+ minutes.

I take my turkeys out when the breast is just under temp and the legs have a slight wiggle to them.

Uhhh, aren't rule #6 and rule #7 incompatible with each other?

He probably meant to insert the probe thermometer before the door is closed.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: spidey07

7) Put a good thermometer into the middle of the breast and judge by that, (this takes experience based on the size of the bird and your oven) use your fingers to determine if the rest of the bird is truly done. Wiggle and turn/twist the legs. that coulped with the reading will let you know the bird is done.

I take my turkeys out when the breast is just under temp and the legs have a slight wiggle to them.

Uhhh, aren't rule #6 and rule #7 incompatible with each other?

He probably meant to insert the probe thermometer before the door is closed.

telekinesis isn't one of my skills... I'll have to open the door for the bolded part

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

What oven, on God's green earth, is going to accept a 55 pound Turkey???? :shocked:

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

Good lord. You had better post some pics of that Tom.

As far as what I was talking about wiggling the legs - I use the thermometer that was put deep into the breast. Once it's at temp then I wiggle the legs just to make sure it's done.

A 49 pound goliath is going to keep cooking for quite a while after you take it out. I'd let that puppy rest for at least an hour.

 

[Midlander]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

He's losing weight? Did you stop feeding him? Or is your scale getting more accurate?

How would you cook a 48 pound turkey? You'd better start now.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Midlander

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

He's losing weight? Did you stop feeding him? Or is your scale getting more accurate?

How would you cook a 48 pound turkey? You'd better start now.

He was 52 pounds. I wasn't even trying to get him big; he just got big. I wasn't specifically feeding him; he was free-range, which more or less meant he ate the chickens' food. So, then I realized, "2 months to go... let's see how big I can get him." So, when I made my trip to Agway, I picked up a 50 pound bag of turkey grower (which is higher protein then regular turkey food.)

<slaps forehead>
I inadvertently put my turkey on a high protein Atkins diet. D'oh!
</slaps forehead>

And last week, I weighed him when he finished off the 50 pound bag (with some help from the chickens.) Now, I can't decide whether I should feed him the 2nd 50 pound bag I just purchased, or return him to chicken feed. Then, the question is, what do I do with 50 pounds of turkey feed? The answer would normally be "feed it to the pig", but I've got about 50 pounds of pig feed left and the pig goes to the butcher this Friday.

I suppose I could let the chickens continue eating it. They've been laying some friggin huge eggs lately (cartons for jumbo sized eggs won't close when I put these eggs in them.)

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, btw, thanks OP and others who added recipes to this thread. Fresh turkey for me this Thanksgiving (none of that frozen crap that's injected with 10% solution for me.) As far as deep fry vs. roasting being a personal preference... well, I couldn't deep fry this year's turkey, even if I wanted to. He's too big. But, he's been losing weight for the past month He's down to 49 pounds now. I'm still hoping for 55 pounds or better by Thanksgiving.

55lbs?

Holy sh!t.

And I thought the 27lb turkey I got a few years back was big.

 

[Jeeebus]

Alright next question.

Say I brine my beautiful bird overnight in whatever it is that I brine it in. Next day I dry it off. Do I then re-season the bird before putting it in the oven, or do I just put it in plain in that the soaked in spices/etc were good enough?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: randay
anybody ever made a turducken?

Video