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I am doing my first ever Cornish Hens and a couple turkey legs this Sunday. I need an opinion on the best brine to use. Could use a few opinions on time as well. Thanks fellas.
Brine with whatever you want the meat to taste like. There is no need to brine poultry for moisture. I prefer a good rub of salt pepper garlic myself. If you really want to brine, type poultry brine in the search and you will end up with a thousand or so recipes.
I have found a few recipes but haven't really settled on one. These are for the in-laws coming for thanksgiving and I was looking for a more traditional flavor for them because I'm not sure what they really like. Any suggestions?
This is my go to poultry Brine , Heat on stove till salt and sugar dissolve (make sure you stir so it does not burn in pan) Allow to cool you can add ice to speed this up. For Whole chickens I let them soak overnight so game hens and Turkey legs you could probably go 4 to 6hrs. rinse before smoking to get excess salt off.
this is a brine i found here on the forum and have used many times with great results...
makes the skin like leather though. i brine spatched hens for 2 days and it comes out VERY tasty !!!
I take a standard poultry brine of:
1 Gal Water
2.5 oz Salt - Kosher
2.5 oz Sugar
1 ½ tsp Garlic Powder
1 ½ tsp Onion Powder
1 ½ tsp Cajun Spice (Louisiana Cajun Seasoning)
1 ½ tsp Celery Seed
To that I add a grocery store size bottle of Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing and a bottle of Crystal Hot Sauce.