The Ultimate Thanksgiving Turkey Brine (pic)

[BroBBQButcher]

I used this brine over the weekend for my test Thanksgiving turkey. I put the juiced citrus in with the turkey and it turned out wonderful.

[Rubmybutt]

John,

My wife of late is not happy with a brine, she says she can taste the salt? DUH But I just fall over for the tenderness, it doesn't matter if it's on the grill or in a pan out of the smoker so I'm going to give yours a pre-run before the big day. I'm sure it will be a big hit!

I'm going shopping for an Igloo water jug like Alton Brown used on his turkey show, hope to find one on CL for a good price but with the temps there calling for soon I'll be ok anyway.

I have been deep frying birds for years and I have always used Cajun Injector, I'll bet this brine would do well in oil also correct?

Thanks to you and all the brethern for all your help! It sure makes puttin smiles on peoples faces after a good meal a lot easier!!!!

[Smiter Q]

Sounds good, John. Similar to mine, though I use fresh ginger and apple juice in addition to some water. One thing though, I will NEVER make a recipe with hot tap water. Uh-uh, no way. A quick boil of water is safer(better flavor too) than percolating in water heaters.
Only takes another minute or two to boil.

For those who have NEVER had a brined bird, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

[Randbo]

PD, Thanks for the recipe! Thanksgiving is going to be Smoking!!

[Midnight Smoke]

Hi John, so do you not rinse the bird after the Brine, just pat dry? I asked about rinsing in another thread and it seemed the majority rinsed. To me it seemed to be unneeded.

Thanks for the recipe!

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by {Midnight ☼ Smoke}

Hi John, so do you not rinse the bird after the Brine, just pat dry? I asked about rinsing in another thread and it seemed the majority rinsed. To me it seemed to be unneeded.

Thanks for the recipe!

The majority wisdom is that you should rinse, although I often don't. I really
don't think it makes a difference.

John

[BBQ Bacon]

I'm the only one in the family that really likes turkey, so I usually just do a turkey breast. I may try brining it with the recipe and see how it turns out. I luckily have a full sized second fridge in the basement, so I can put it down there among all my frosty beverages.

[kpdiver]

Thanks for the recipe John...

I will be using my WSM for my turkey next week. Should I put water or sand in the water pan?

[SmokinAussie]

I don't know why no-one evr added tags to this thread. It seems to come up every year... Just search Thanksgiving from now on!

BTW John, I hope I can try this soon. Just gotta find me a fresh turkey that has not been pre-mairinated. In Aussieland, they are majority FROZEN and Pre-marinaded because Aussies can't BBQ anything in general.

Cheers!

Bill

[dealm9]

if you use a bag to brine is there any reason why you need to put the bag in ice instead of in the refigerator?

[dealm9]

and if you can fit the bucket in the refrigerator is there any reason not to?

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by kpdiver

Thanks for the recipe John...

I will be using my WSM for my turkey next week. Should I put water or sand in the water pan?

Use whatever you'd use for any other medium-long cook. There's no need to
switch up for turkey.

John

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by dealm9

if you use a bag to brine is there any reason why you need to put the bag in ice instead of in the refigerator?

There are only two requirements -- keep the bird completely submerged, and
keep it below 40*. How you do it depends on your preferences and options.

John

[frognot]

At work tonight & notice a sign-up for pot-luck TG dinner for night shift. Notice work is also giving out our annual free turkeys in the AM.
Signed up for smoked turkey so i can try your brine recipe (and also since i'm "expected" to always bring smoked meat).
Thanks John for posting this recipe.

[Frank Grimes]

Thanks for the recipe John. I heard you talking about it on last week on the BBQ show on ITunes podcast, that was a good interview.