How long should I soak my legs?
- Thread starter wutang
- Start date
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kratzx4
Smoking Fanatic
Maybe that is what this guy should do:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8578850/?MSNHPHMA
GO BEARS!
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8578850/?MSNHPHMA
GO BEARS!
lord of the ring
Smoke Blower
Is it necessary to brine turkey legs? Is it just for the flavor? Just a general stupid question. I've smoked plenty of legs and thought they always came out decent.
I don't think it is necessary but I have yet to try brining and figured it couldn't hurt. I love smoked turkey legs and wanted to try brining. Brining a few legs seemed easier than messing with a whole bird. I also thought about leaving a couple out of the brine to compare flavor/juiciness.
lord of the ring
Smoke Blower
maybe i'll give that a go this weekend as well. Smoked turkey legs are awesome! i quasi brined some chicken quarters in asian citrus/soy sauce/marinade and after smoking, while they were good, came out a bit to salty. Can't hurt to give it another try though.
i brine ALL my poutry........along with boston butts. REALLY helps keep em from drying out, tho, with legs/1/4's being dark meat, its not such a worry and with white meat, which, for ME, always has a tendacy to dry out without brining
jm2cw
here's a link i did, when i did a search
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...hlight=Brining
jm2cw
here's a link i did, when i did a search
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...hlight=Brining
lord of the ring
Smoke Blower
Does anyone know a good seasoning to brine with? some type of flavor or spice to throw in the brine?
You would have to search around for an exact formula, I may have posted a couple before. You are really not brining for a "cure" just for flavor. That being said, you can cut down on the salt and or the brine time to adjust the flavor. That being said, I still do the full strength brine and a 12 hour(over night) soak (I have read and done as little as six hours)
For a gallon of water 1/2 to 3/4 cup of salt (this can change depending on what other salty ingredients you are adding)
1/2 to 1 cup of teriaki sause (you see? more salt)
Garlic powder or salt (You see? more salt)
onion powder
Any other spice that you like, rosemary, sage, pepper, what have you?
I like to boil all of the spices in a sause pan with about a pint or more of water to make kind of a concentrate and help extract some flavor. Then I let things cool down and add enough water and salt to make that gallon of brine.
Soak/brine the legs over night in the fridge and smoke
A deep full brine and long smoke almost makes like a turkey ham that is great with a pot of beans!
I have found that fully cooking them in the smoker does make them into the turkey leg hams and too much time will dry them out. Some folks just grill them over wood or charcoal and call them smoked. Another method woud be to smoke them for about an hour to an hour and a half and then finish them off on the grill
For a gallon of water 1/2 to 3/4 cup of salt (this can change depending on what other salty ingredients you are adding)
1/2 to 1 cup of teriaki sause (you see? more salt)
Garlic powder or salt (You see? more salt)
onion powder
Any other spice that you like, rosemary, sage, pepper, what have you?
I like to boil all of the spices in a sause pan with about a pint or more of water to make kind of a concentrate and help extract some flavor. Then I let things cool down and add enough water and salt to make that gallon of brine.
Soak/brine the legs over night in the fridge and smoke
A deep full brine and long smoke almost makes like a turkey ham that is great with a pot of beans!
I have found that fully cooking them in the smoker does make them into the turkey leg hams and too much time will dry them out. Some folks just grill them over wood or charcoal and call them smoked. Another method woud be to smoke them for about an hour to an hour and a half and then finish them off on the grill
"I like to boil all of the spices in a sause pan with about a pint or more of water to make kind of a concentrate and help extract some flavor. Then I let things cool down and add enough water and salt to make that gallon of brine."
I had never brined anything before SMF, now I would never cook poultry without a brine.
I do the same thing make a "concentrate" then let cool add to the bird bucket with the rest of the water..white wine, run..whatever liquid I am also adding along with the water..
your salt amount should also take into consideration anything that may have already been added to the bird/meat.
remeber that brining is a chemical process as the salt trys to balance itself out between the bird and the brine...so as it pulls the brine liquid/salt into the meat of the bird it will also pull in the flavors you have added to the brine...the possibilities are endless...but you must have the basic water/salt brine to start.. if I have missed something Richtee will correct me...
I had never brined anything before SMF, now I would never cook poultry without a brine.
I do the same thing make a "concentrate" then let cool add to the bird bucket with the rest of the water..white wine, run..whatever liquid I am also adding along with the water..
your salt amount should also take into consideration anything that may have already been added to the bird/meat.
remeber that brining is a chemical process as the salt trys to balance itself out between the bird and the brine...so as it pulls the brine liquid/salt into the meat of the bird it will also pull in the flavors you have added to the brine...the possibilities are endless...but you must have the basic water/salt brine to start.. if I have missed something Richtee will correct me...
smokin' dick
Smoking Fanatic
I did some turkey legs in an orange brine, came out real tasty. this recipe sounds as if it would be too sweet, but it's not.
1 qt. orange juice
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 bay leaves
heat to 150* to dissolve ingredients, add 1 gal. cold water,
add legs for 12 to 24 hours.
Smoke with Cherry wood.
1 qt. orange juice
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 bay leaves
heat to 150* to dissolve ingredients, add 1 gal. cold water,
add legs for 12 to 24 hours.
Smoke with Cherry wood.
curious aardvark
Smoking Fanatic
hmm I can see the point for marinading the turkey legs overnight. But what's the point of brining ?
If you're going to cook the things - why cure tham first or add way too much salt ?
Marinade by all means but keep the salt down to normal seasoning level. Brining just seems pointless.
If you're going to cook the things - why cure tham first or add way too much salt ?
Marinade by all means but keep the salt down to normal seasoning level. Brining just seems pointless.
Like I said above, this is not needed as a full blown brine as a cure for perservation but more intended for the flavoring. The brine, I think, will also change the texture a bit
My wife mentioned inviting a few people over for dinner tomorrow so I have doubled the number of turkey legs I am doing. Gotta love that woman. I think I am gonna do a couple different brine recipes and maybe do a couple legs without the brine to compare. It'll give me the chance to try a couple different flavor combos. Maybe I will just marinade a few like curious aardvark suggested.
babyback
Meat Mopper
I did turkey legs a couple of weeks ago and they came out great. I only brined them about four hours. I didn't really measure the ingredients, but I took a one quart sauce pan and added about a cup of brown sugar, about a half cup of salt, and a big scoop of minced garlic. I heated it up until the sugar and salt completely dissolved. Then take the container that you will use to brine and fill it part way with ice. Dump the brine over the ice. This will prevent you from having to wait for the brine to cool. Put your chicken/turkey in the brine and add more water if necessary. I add chopped onion to the mixture afterwards. Hope your legs turn out good!
here is my brine that i use for all poultry, and butts. In fact, got a 7 lb butt in this brine as we speak, for tomorrows meal
1/2 jar molasses.....non sulphur kind
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs freshly ground c u m i n
heat above ingrediants till sugar disovles
put into a large container
add two trays of ice
let come to room temp
Add meat
Add cold water until meat is covered
1/2 jar molasses.....non sulphur kind
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs freshly ground c u m i n
heat above ingrediants till sugar disovles
put into a large container
add two trays of ice
let come to room temp
Add meat
Add cold water until meat is covered
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