Dry-Brined Turkey

[tish]

Has anyone ever tried a dry-brine on their turkey instead of submerging in a wet brine? I have the instructions for the dry method, and was wondering if anyone has ever made the attempt, just how it came out and if they liked it. Just curious.

[tish]

Ok... so over the last 3 hours, this post has been viewed 29 times, but nobody has said they've tried a dry brining method. That would make me have to figure that 29 people were curious about it. I was curious about it, too, because in the article I read on this method, they say that wet-brined and smoked turkey has a kind of a "hammy" taste to it, NTTAWWT. They said that the dry method produces smoked turkey that actually tastes like turkey, just turkey, and nothin but turkey. The meat comes out very tender and juicy, and you could dry-brine while the bird defrosts in the fridge.

Since I'm so new here, and haven't even done my first cook yet, I'd been advised not to try to do a turkey until I have at least a few cooks under my belt. So, I will try this dry-brine method, but instead of smoking it, I'll probably do it on the rotisserie in my Weber gasser. Won't be for a little while yet, as I'm not doing Thanksgiving here at home, but at a local shelter where I'll be serving. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

[kitts21]

I'm interested in this method also. Never heard of it before. can you point me to were you got it from. Thanks and hopefully someone with some knowledge on this will give you an answer soon.

[tish]

Originally Posted by kitts21

I'm interested in this method also. Never heard of it before. can you point me to were you got it from. Thanks and hopefully someone with some knowledge on this will give you an answer soon.

Hi, kitts. I read the article here:

http://www.food52.com/blog/2713_russ...e+Judy+Bird_29

If you read on into the questions and comments, you'll see that someone was talking about using the dry method and smoking the meat. But it didn't go into any real detail at all. So, once again, if anybody has tried this for either smoking or grilling, I'd surely be happy to hear about it. Thanks!

[KnucklHed BBQ]

Hey Tish!

Another brethren has shared with me his method of "brining" chickens & turkeys and I've got to say that the texture & flavor doing it that way is better IMO

I've only done chickens, but see no reason why it wouldn't work on turkey as well.

Simple instructions for chicken - scale up for a turkey:
1TBS kosher or sea salt PER 5 LBS of bird
add spices and herbs as you like
shake salt over and inside the bird, refrigerate 24 hours for chicken, longer for turkey I'm sure

The juices will suck back into the meat, drawing the salt with it and herb flavorings.

Rinse the bird well and pat dry.

For the best skin, allow to dry for several hours uncovered in the fridge.



Like I said, It's great on chicken, don't know why it wouldn't work on a turkey!

Post some pics if you try it!

[twinsfan]

Isn't the point of brining is to put more moisture into the turkey? This seems to defeat the purpose of it.

Either this is a different method or the Brethren are getting trolled.

[LMAJ]

Say Alton Brown do a dry brine... have no first hand experience.

[nmayeux]

I use a brine to draw moisture and flavor into the meat. To me, a dry brine would be more of a cure, which would chemically alter the meat and bring flavor, but reduce moisture at the same time. This seems counter productive to me, but so did the Minion method and reverse flow before someone explained it to me!

[KnucklHed BBQ]

Originally Posted by twinsfan

Isn't the point of brining is to put more moisture into the turkey? This seems to defeat the purpose of it.

Either this is a different method or the Brethren are getting trolled.

Well yes, as well as flavor.

However, since salt is hygroscopic (attracts water), at first it dehydrates a small amount, then due to osmosis, the salt water (the water in this case is from the chicken/turkey) draws back into the meat. Only this time since there is a higher salt content, the salt holds onto the moisture during the cook, not allowing as much to evaporate, thus creating a juicy bird that has better texture than a wet brined bird.

Only thing I can say is that a chicken costs about $8... try it.

Originally Posted by nmayeux

I use a brine to draw moisture and flavor into the meat. To me, a dry brine would be more of a cure, which would chemically alter the meat and bring flavor, but reduce moisture at the same time. This seems counter productive to me, but so did the Minion method and reverse flow before someone explained it to me!

Since you dry brine the bird in a ziplock, the moisture will literally collect within a few hours and then draw back into the bird - it's kinda weird

[AD18]

I've used the following mixture quite a bit on turkey breast and it really gives it a nice flavour.

1/2 cup course salt (I use sea salt)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp crushed thyme

I usually get it all in under and on the skin as best you can and wrap in saran wrap for 2-3 hours. Remove wrap and rinse ALL the mixture off of the meat and pat dry with a paper towel. On the smoker and good to go. You really taste the thyme and sugar although it is not overpowering. Never had a dryness issue with the bird. The longer you leave the mixture on the stronger it will taste. The recipe says if left on for extended periods of time, 5-6 hours, the turkey will take on a ham taste. The recipe and instructions came in my Bradley smoker manual. I've used it with my Weber kettle and BGE and it works great. Dependant on the size of your turkey adjust the mix quantities accordingly. Everyone that has had it really likes it at my place. Hope it helps.

[Bogus Chezz Hawg]

I have been doing whole chickens, sort of that way.

IMO - Just sprinkling salt on the outside of the skin will make salty skin.
The skin and fat layer will act as a barrier. That is why they mention salting inside the cavity as well and leaving it this way for days. I loosen the skin from the meat with my fingers and season the meat & the cavity. Overnight (12 hours) is long enough for chickens. For the bigger turkey, I would go 16 - 24 hours before cooking. I noticed the recipe did not mention that most commercially processed turkeys, fresh or frozen, are already in a liquid brine. If the package states, "contains up to 8% of a solution", or something close to that, that solution = brine (with chemicals). All that being said, I usually use a liquid brine on my turkeys. But I only leave them in a mildly salted brine overnight. I like the results as do my guests. I think I might go with the dry salting method this year for comparison, because I know it works good for my chicken.

[Ron_L]

Originally Posted by twinsfan

Either this is a different method or the Brethren are getting trolled.

Nobody is getting trolled. Use the Google search near the bottom of the page or Google itself and you'll see that.

Technically, dry brining really isn't a brine since a brine is a liquid, but the works on a similar principle. The technique has been around for a while. Here are a couple of articles from Epicurious...

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesgu...y-brining.html

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesgu...y-brining.html

Brethren member Leanza has been talking about it here for a while, too. Here are some of his posts on the technique.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=33758

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=97467

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=97304

I haven't tried it on a turkey, but I tried it on some chicken pieces and the results were very good.

[tish]

As most of you have said, the article states that the salt draws the water out of the bird, and then back in again. Been a while since I had a science class that went over osmosis, but I do get the idea. Also, the woman who uses this method on all her birds at her restaurant in this article had done chickens many times, but never a turkey. When they used it on the turkey, it came out very juicy and flavorful. They even posted the pron to prove it. Whenever I get around to cooking my turkey at some point in the near future, I will use this method. As I said, it will be grilled rather than smoked, most likely. I will let you know how it comes out. Thanks, everyone.

[IamMadMan]

Originally Posted by twinsfan

Isn't the point of brining is to put more moisture into the turkey? This seems to defeat the purpose of it.

Either this is a different method or the Brethren are getting trolled.

A "dry brine" works similar in principal to a "dry cure" putting the "pink salt" or curing salt on the outside of the product rather than soaking or injecting.

Salt brining doesn't dry these things out, moisture is pulled out and back in again, and the process aligns the strands of proteins.

Similarto a long sitting rub, the meat is not just salted on the surface, but also the salt and flavors are pulled into the meat itself.

The juice retaining action is the same as with a wet brine without "soggy" texture.

Some raw sugar can also be added if desired as technically sugar also attracts water like salt does.

[mytmouz]

I do this method on my fried turkeys. No injections and they are moist. I haven't smoked one yet, but plan too..