Turkey Brine

Puppyboy

Puppyboy

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Never brined a turkey before so I'm giving it a shot.

Looks like this is what I am gonna go with:

1 gallon of H20
1/2 cup K salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon celery seeds

After brining for 24 hrs, I was gonna sprinkle it with a basic bbq rub.

Any comments or suggestions from you regular briners?
 
Sounds like that will work just fine. When should I come over?
 
Puppyboy said:
Never brined a turkey before so I'm giving it a shot.

Looks like this is what I am gonna go with:

1 gallon of H20
1/2 cup K salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon celery seeds

After brining for 24 hrs, I was gonna sprinkle it with a basic bbq rub.

Any comments or suggestions from you regular briners?
Click to expand...


I use apple juice instead of water. You can also add a little cider vinegar to the equation. However, what you have listed will do just fine!:biggrin:
 
From a previous post:

My standard brine is 1 cup (Diamond, a little less if Morton's) kosher salt and 1 cup brown sugar to each gallon of water. I had issues with chicken being too salty so I cut back on the salt. That didn't work out so well though and after receiving some friendly advice, I bumped it back up. My problem was that the brine wasn't cold enough to start out with. I had just mixed it up with cold tap water, threw in the chicken and put the whole thing in the fridge. Make sure it's cold, cold, cold (with ice) and be sure to rinse when you're done and you should be OK.
 
Kirk said:
From a previous post:

My standard brine is 1 cup (Diamond, a little less if Morton's) kosher salt and 1 cup brown sugar to each gallon of water. I had issues with chicken being too salty so I cut back on the salt. That didn't work out so well though and after receiving some friendly advice, I bumped it back up. My problem was that the brine wasn't cold enough to start out with. I had just mixed it up with cold tap water, threw in the chicken and put the whole thing in the fridge. Make sure it's cold, cold, cold (with ice) and be sure to rinse when you're done and you should be OK.
Click to expand...
I agree on the cold! I use my cooler and dump a 10 bag of ice in. Other than that I have seen many things added in and haven't found anything bad yet. Oranges/apples/vegetable stock/molasses/beer. I have found ~ 24 hours is a good target. Some folks have gone twice as long by putting a frozen turkey in. BTW, make sure you use a fresh turkey and not one that has already been brined (Butterball). I injected one last Thanksgiving and brined one and still prefer the brined. You can get a way with cooking it a little long and it still stays moist.
 
I just bought my first Fresh turkey ever.

But this one is destined for the fryer.

So I am assuming that brining is something I do NOT want to do with one destined for the fryer?

(Just thinking of adding a additionally watered bird to oil is not a good thing, or does the seared skin keep that moisture in?)
 
willkat98 said:
I just bought my first Fresh turkey ever.

But this one is destined for the fryer.

So I am assuming that brining is something I do NOT want to do with one destined for the fryer?

(Just thinking of adding a additionally watered bird to oil is not a good thing, or does the seared skin keep that moisture in?)
Click to expand...

I have deep fried butterballs (brined) and haven't had any problems. It is only excess moisture on the OUTSIDE of the bird that is a problem :eek:
 
I don't bother brining for the fryer anymore. Read a lot of posts on this site saying the same thing. I've tried it off and on over the years and has never really made a difference. Everyone says

Inject for the fryer (if you want flavor)
Brine for the smoker
 
What is the suggested brine time?
12# bird.
24 hours and then let the bird dry for a few was my plan. What do you bird-burners think?
 
ams14 said:
I don't bother brining for the fryer anymore. Read a lot of posts on this site saying the same thing. I've tried it off and on over the years and has never really made a difference. Everyone says

Inject for the fryer (if you want flavor)
Brine for the smoker
Click to expand...

Anyone have a good injection for a bird in the fryer?

I'm thinking of apple cider, chicken broth, butter and some kind of rub mixed in.

Any suggestions?

There has to be a TON of injections out there.

What do you use?
 
ZBQ said:
Anyone have a good injection for a bird in the fryer?

I'm thinking of apple cider, chicken broth, butter and some kind of rub mixed in.

Any suggestions?

There has to be a TON of injections out there.

What do you use?
Click to expand...

In the past I've done a mixture of low sodium chicken stock along with a healthy amount of unsalted butter. A nice amount of S&P plus other spices to taste doesn't hurt either.

MattCom said:
What is the suggested brine time?
12# bird.
24 hours and then let the bird dry for a few was my plan. What do you bird-burners think?
Click to expand...

I'm going to do 6 hours in the brine and 8 hours air drying in the fridge in order to get crispy skin.
 
willkat98 said:
I just bought my first Fresh turkey ever.

But this one is destined for the fryer.

So I am assuming that brining is something I do NOT want to do with one destined for the fryer?

(Just thinking of adding a additionally watered bird to oil is not a good thing, or does the seared skin keep that moisture in?)
Click to expand...

You definitely ought to brine that baby...do a search for "Shakes Honey Brine" and go by that to get you a killer bird. One thing to keep in mind is to have crisp skin it should air dry in the fridge for about 12 hrs after brining anyway.
 
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