Can we talk about brining turkeys?

[bobbeym]

I understand the concept of it, but I don't really get why I should or would want to brine a turkey. Heck, I don't even know how to tell if my turkey is fully thawed.   Until this year, we've always gone to my mom's for T-Day.

[AlmiraGulch]

You have to brine.  Don't even bother with the turkey if you don't brine.

 

Ok, that may be taking it a bit far, but it really makes for a seriously superior bird if you do.  Brining adds moisture and flavor and keeps the turkey from drying out while it cooks.

 

I honestly don't even like turkey very much, but if I do have to make one I always brine it first.  Makes all the difference. 

[CTmom]

google salting the turkey,  I have been using this method for the past couple of years and the turkey is wonderfully moist and flavorful. Thanksgiving is the only time that I cook a turkey and it has never failed me. 

 

sites.google.com/site/thibeaultstablerecipes/pre-salting-method

 

This year, I am salting with a mixture of salt, garlic, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest

[ajfries]

I've never liked turkey. At all. But DH gets a free one every year from work. So last year I brined one using Alton Brown's (I think that's his name...) method/recipe and it was FANTASTIC. Even I thought so. I've never had a turkey taste so good; and I come from a family of very good cooks.

 

 

[m0mmaBuck]

We ALWAYS brine our turkey. I never liked turkey until we started doing it. It is juicy and flavorful. We use this brine: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cider-Brined-Turkey-with-Star-Anise-and-Cinnamon-368272

[bobbeym]

Oh well, if Alton Brown thinks you should brine turkey, then that's all I have to tell DH to get him to do it.  LOL

[nmoira]

I prefer dry brining (aka salting). Rinse and pat dry the turkey. Salt it (about 2T for a 14 lb bird), pepper optional, and leave loosely covered in the fridge for 48 hours before cooking. The skin dries out and crisps up wonderfully.

[trinchick]

My turkeys are in the brine right now using Alton Brown's recipe. The plus for me is that I host a huge dinner for 35 and need two birds. I just don't have fridge space for that. On Sunday afternoon I put the frozen turkeys in brine in garbage bags in a large cooler with lots of ice. The birds defrost in the brine; then on Thanksgiving morning, I remove the innards and toss them in the oven. Easy as pie.

 

I did this for the first time last year and got rave reviews from my guests. My picky aunt said it's the best turkey she's ever had.

[PrincessMommy]

I much prefer brining my turkey to not.   What I used to do is empty either the veggie or fruit drawer in the fridge and brine my turkey in that.  Last week I happened to catch Alton Brown on NPR talking about brining and he says he does it in either a camping type cooler or one of those large orange 5 gallon water coolers.  I happen to have one of those 5gallon coolers that I haven't used for a few years for water.  Might as well use it for something.

 

 

[trinchick]

 Last week I happened to catch Alton Brown on NPR talking about brining and he says he does it in either a camping type cooler or one of those large orange 5 gallon water coolers.  

 

Yes, I heard an interview with him on NPR last year (wonder if they just replayed it?) and that's where I learned that you could brine them frozen if you use a cooler. Works out great!

[PrincessMommy]

Yes, I heard an interview with him on NPR last year (wonder if they just replayed it?) and that's where I learned that you could brine them frozen if you use a cooler. Works out great!

 

yes, it was a rebroadcast.

[nmoira]

I never brine. A lot of turkeys come basically brined anyway. Brining it on top of being brined seems like an overkill. My turkey this year is not brined though. I really don't like brined meat.

 

And...my turkey does not come out dry because I don't cook it to death. The directions always say some crap like 185. That will surely lead to a dry bird.

There was a piece on Serious Eats asking big name chefs how they cook their turkeys. IIRC only one roasted it whole. The rest either broke it apart a la Julia Child or spatchcocked it (which I'm trying this year... I cut the backbone out this morning and it was all I could do not to chase the kids around the house with it "popping" out if my stomach, it looks so much like Alien).

[ErinE]

I prefer drying brining (aka salting). Rinse and pat dry the turkey. Salt it (about 2T for a 14 lb bird), pepper optional, and leave loosely covered in the fridge for 48 hours before cooking. The skin dries out and crisps up wonderfully.

Same for me. Keeps the moisture in the meat, but crisps up the skin beautifully.

 

Brining with liquid requires a massive pot, enough fridge space to store it (it's warm here), and a day or so to dry out the bird. Plus, I'm paranoid about contamination and I find the thought of all that liquid sloshing and splashing around disgusting.

[ErinE]

There was a piece on Serious Eats asking big name chefs how they cook their turkeys. IIRC only one roasted it whole. The rest either broke it apart a la Julia Child or spatchcocked it (which I'm trying this year... I cut the backbone out this morning and it was all I could do not to chase the kids around the house with it "popping" out if my stomach, it looks so much like Alien).

Not serving a whole turkey would be sacrilege here. The bird must be presented in all its golden glory (everyone poses for a picture) before it's returned to the kitchen for carving.

[momma2three]

Trader Joe's sells some really yummy pre-brined turkeys.  We've bought them in the past.  This year I'm trying to brine it ourselves.  I was going to do it in our giant lobster pot.

[nmoira]

Not serving a whole turkey would be sacrilege here. The bird must be presented in all its golden glory (everyone poses for a picture) before it's returned to the kitchen for carving.

We have Thanksgiving with friends, and there's so much food there's just no room for a whole turkey at table. It occurred to me that since we always carve before bringing it to the table, it's silly to worry about presentation.

[wapiti]

I'm doing a breast this year and I think I'm going to take a whack at this recipe http://www.columbiatribune.com/a/news/food/slow-roast-this-turkey-breast-overnight-to-save-oven-space/article_3c60d3fc-56b1-11e3-9a7f-10604b9f6eda.html , dry-brined (salted), slow-roasted with my own tweaks of course (not overnight as this recipe calls for)

 

Eta, I usually go with Alton Brown - excellent recipe.  I just like to change things up.

[LifeLovePassion]

I use Martha Stewart's brine recipe and use our giant stock pot for it

[Swimtaxi234]

Link to Alton Brown's video that explains what brining does to a turkey.

 

 

 

This is the link to our version of Alton Brown's brine method.  We adapted his recipe a few years ago, but basically in the past 7 years, we have never NOT had an amazing turkey after brining it.

[nmoira]

Cook's Country has a method of slathering the bird with a mayo/oil mixture. I might try that. Claims it makes ultra juicy turkey.

The very first year I did a turkey was with a friend who had gone away to school a year ahead of me. This was way pre-internet. The recipe called for barding the bird with lard, but didn't say how much to use. We used all the lard. I think it's fair to say we had a deep fried turkey before it became fashionable.

[bobbeym]

Still haven't decided if I'm going to brine it or not.  DH cooks it in an oven bag and usually does a dry rub on top of butter I think.  I have a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and a 30-something degree back porch.

[Shamzanne]

Emeril Lagasse has a brined turkey recipe that uses citrus in the brine and in the cavity of the turkey when roasting. It is fabulous. I have used his methed nearly every year for nine years now, and the general consensus is it is the best turkey anyone has ever had. The first year I made it we had just moved into our new house on Christmas Eve. I had a 23 lb turkey but hadn't figured out a vessel in which to brine it. I had to run to town to pick up a new garbage can to use. Thankfully it was cold enough to leave it outside!

[Forget-Me-Not]

I like to brine mine. I use Alton Brown's recipe with chicken stock because I cannot abide the smell of vegetable stock. And I leave the cinnamon sticks out of the aromatics.

 

I use a 5G bucket lined with an XL Ziplock bag.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ziploc-Double-Zipper-X-Large-4-Count/dp/B003U6A3EY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385503790&sr=8-1&keywords=xl+ziploc+bags

[AlmiraGulch]

Wanted to add that yes, I brine, and then I make sure the skin is very, very dry before I slather it in a butter/olive oil/herb mixture, including under the skin, stick an onion and a lemon and sometimes an apple in the cavity and then shove it in the oven. Turns out great, for the few bites I can stand of it. I really don't like poultry much.

 

I roast chickens similarly.

[PrincessMommy]

Emeril Lagasse has a brined turkey recipe that uses citrus in the brine and in the cavity of the turkey when roasting. It is fabulous. I have used his methed nearly every year for nine years now, and the general consensus is it is the best turkey anyone has ever had. The first year I made it we had just moved into our new house on Christmas Eve. I had a 23 lb turkey but hadn't figured out a vessel in which to brine it. I had to run to town to pick up a new garbage can to use. Thankfully it was cold enough to leave it outside!

 

I've done citrus in my brine and in the cut oranges in cavity when cooking.  I really like that hint of flavor.

[nmoira]

Here's an article about wet brining vs dry brining. Lots of charts. :D

 

The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/11/the-food-lab-the-truth-about-brining-turkey-thanksgiving.html

[joannqn]

I've only used a brine once in the 20 years I've been cooking.  We felt that the meat was way too salty and the gravy made from the drippings was completely unusable.

[Spy Car]

Brined turkey tastes horrible. Unless one likes the taste of "processed meat," because that's what it is, "processed."

 

Yuck! Double yuck!

 

There are many ways to prepare Turkeys so they don't dry out. Far better to enlist one of them than to ruin a Turkey by brining it, just because one wants to keep it "moist." There are other ways to keep a Turkey moist without brining.

 

Brining is a "cure" that is worse than the disease.

 

Bill

[Kalmia]

Buying a pasture raised turkey from a farmer (even better, a heritage breed) will yield a better bird. Of course it costs a mint and they are hard to come by, but if a bird needs to be heavily altered (brined or whatever) before cooking to taste good after cooking, it was of poor quality to begin with. 

 

(Yes, yes. I know. $$$ and scarcity, but if people start asking for pastured heritage birds, local farmers will raise them.)

 

I'm thinking of raising my own in the not too distant future! Bourbon Red, anyone?

[Mergath]

I'm doing a breast this year and I think I'm going to take a whack at this recipe http://www.columbiatribune.com/a/news/food/slow-roast-this-turkey-breast-overnight-to-save-oven-space/article_3c60d3fc-56b1-11e3-9a7f-10604b9f6eda.html , dry-brined (salted), slow-roasted with my own tweaks of course (not overnight as this recipe calls for)

 

Eta, I usually go with Alton Brown - excellent recipe.  I just like to change things up.

 

Eek.  I'd be worried about getting food poisoning with that recipe.  I'm not one to obsessively overcook things out of fear of germs, but leaving poultry at 175 for that long would make me nervous.

[I.Dup.]

Brined turkey tastes horrible. Unless one likes the taste of "processed meat," because that's what it is, "processed."

 

Yuck! Double yuck!

 

There are many ways to prepare Turkeys so they don't dry out. Far better to enlist one of them than to ruin a Turkey by brining it, just because one wants to keep it "moist." There are other ways to keep a Turkey moist without brining.

 

Brining is a "cure" that is worse than the disease.

 

Bill

 

you don't feel strongly about this or anything, do you?

 

hehe

[G5052]

Brining is good, but messy.  The cold, nasty weather is an issue for me because I usually brine outside in an ice chest and drain it outside before cooking. 

 

I also don't like that you really can't use much of the drippings.

 

This year I'm doing the salt-and-dry-out method. I've been roasting chickens that way over the last few months and have been very pleased with the result.

 

To each his own though...

[Jennifer3141]

My turkey has been brining since last night. I use a recipe from Bon Appetit magazine that incorporates apple cider. All our poultry comes from a local farm that raises heritage breeds and I have to tell you, the stock from this is AMAZING. It takes me 2 days to make it but it's worth every bit of work that goes into it.

[xixstar]

I have been happy with our brined birds. We only brine for 6-8 hours. Then dry out well in fridge before cooking. This year we will smoke our bird instead of roasting it. Can't wait.

[wapiti]

Any updates?  I went ahead with the dry brine/salted recipe, slow roasted.  i was very pleased!  it was just a breast, not a whole turkey, but it was all around pretty easy.  The hard part was trying to guess when it would be done, keeping an eye on the thermometer.  i think i prefer the taste of the dry brine over the wet brine.

[LifeLovePassion]

Ours was fantastic. We smoked it on our Big Green Egg grill.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Ours was awesome! I use the brine mix from William Somoma and stuff the cavity with apples, onion and garlic.

 

And I make gravy with the drippings and it was friggin' awesome! I have a gravy separator- just skim some fat off the top and use (with flour) to make a roux.... Then add broth until makes a thick gravy and add turkey drippings to taste. YUM YUM!!

 

I also roasted the turkey upside down- and it was a great turkey :)

[momtoamiracle]

I've brined and cooked according to Alton browns method, I change stuff in the brine, not really hat much salt but lots fruit juice and herbs. I spread herbed butter under the skin. I love how it comes out.

[bobbeym]

We opted not to brine.  DH stuffed the cavity with onions and garlic, liberally sprinkled Tony's on top, added a couple sticks of butter in large pats, and sealed up the bag.  Very moist, flavored well, and lots of yummy broth.

[Matryoshka]

I have never brined a turkey.  My turkeys have always come out very moist.  Brining seems like a lot of work for no particular reason (and I'd bet I'd find the result too salty...)  I also don't baste.  Or stuff the bird.  Or mess around putting things under the skin. Or defrost (i just buy fresh... what is the reasoning behind buying the bird frozen and having it taking up space in your fridge for I don't even know how long, and then worrying whether it's all the way defrosted :confused1: ).  I think this explains why I don't dread turkeys like it seems many do...  and yes, my turkeys always come out very moist and juicy.