Brine and Injection

[Boardtowndawg]

Ok so I asked the question last week, about whether I should brine or inject a turkey that I smoked yesterday. First I want to say thanks to everyone that commented and gave advice. It was much appreciated and very helpful. Figured I could now come back and give y’all the rundown.

Brine:
1 C salt
1 C brown sugar
1 pack rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage
1 halved orange
1 T ground pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 T chili flakes
1 t ground cloves
A few bay leaves.
1 gallon water

I found Chile’s Cajun apple butter recipe injection and thought that sounded great so I tried it with a few changes. It wasn’t Cajun because my bro in law was frying a turkey and was using Cajun seasonings.

Injection:
1 C apple juice
1 block of Kerrygold butter
2 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
1 T cumin


Rub:
Heath Riles Garlic Butter
Killer Hoggs BBQ rub

Stuffed turkey with celery 1 pack thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage, 1 lemon quartered, 1 onion quartered, and several garlic cloves.

I woke up around 5 and took the bird out of the brine and patted it dry. Stuffed Turkey and let it sit while I mixed injection and let it cool down. Covered turkey in bacon grease to use as a binder for rub. Got the bird on the smoker about 7:15, a little later than I wanted. I didn’t have enough time to let the rub and injection really set in so next time I need to plan better for that. I cooked it about 325 for about 5.5 hours. I basted every hour with melted butter. In hindsight I think I let it almost wash off my rub since it didn’t set very long. I pulled the bird when breast was 163ish and thigh was about 169ish. Let it rest for about an hour then we tore into it. The juiciest turkey I have ever eaten. Thanks again for all yalls help. Shoutout to chef jimmyj

 

[BB-que]

Ok so I asked the question last week, about whether I should brine or inject a turkey that I smoked yesterday. First I want to say thanks to everyone that commented and gave advice. It was much appreciated and very helpful. Figured I could now come back and give y’all the rundown.

Brine:
1 C salt
1 C brown sugar
1 pack rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage
1 halved orange
1 T ground pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 T chili flakes
1 t ground cloves
A few bay leaves.
1 gallon water

I found Chile’s Cajun apple butter recipe injection and thought that sounded great so I tried it with a few changes. It wasn’t Cajun because my bro in law was frying a turkey and was using Cajun seasonings.

Injection:
1 C apple juice
1 block of Kerrygold butter
2 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
1 T cumin


Rub:
Heath Riles Garlic Butter
Killer Hoggs BBQ rub

Stuffed turkey with celery 1 pack thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage, 1 lemon quartered, 1 onion quartered, and several garlic cloves.

I woke up around 5 and took the bird out of the brine and patted it dry. Stuffed Turkey and let it sit while I mixed injection and let it cool down. Covered turkey in bacon grease to use as a binder for rub. Got the bird on the smoker about 7:15, a little later than I wanted. I didn’t have enough time to let the rub and injection really set in so next time I need to plan better for that. I cooked it about 325 for about 5.5 hours. I basted every hour with melted butter. In hindsight I think I let it almost wash off my rub since it didn’t set very long. I pulled the bird when breast was 163ish and thigh was about 169ish. Let it rest for about an hour then we tore into it. The juiciest turkey I have ever eaten. Thanks again for all yalls help. Shoutout to chef jimmyj

Looks great, curious how big the turkey was for 5.5 hr finish

 

[kruizer]

Mighty fine lookin bird you got there

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Looks great, curious how big the turkey was for 5.5 hr finish

Thanks. It was about 20 pounds. It cooked really fast. When I first got it on I let it get a little hotter than I wanted and it got up to 350. As soon as I got it back down the rest of the cook was between 315-335.

 

[Fishonshawn]

Thats fast? I was thinking it was long but I spatchcock my turkeys and I usually try to get one around 13-15 lbs. One I did a couple weeks ago was 16+ lbs and i cooked it on my smoker set at 325 and it was done within 3hrs. I do have a 20lb bird in the freezer...gona have to see how long it takes.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Thats fast? I was thinking it was long but I spatchcock my turkeys and I usually try to get one around 13-15 lbs. One I did a couple weeks ago was 16+ lbs and i cooked it on my smoker set at 325 and it was done within 3hrs. I do have a 20lb bird in the freezer...gona have to see how long it takes.

It was because I was told if I cooked around 300 it would take about 20 minutes a pound which was closer to 7 hours. So I bumped it up to 325. I’m no pro lol I just know I cooked till I saw a good pull temp lol.

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

Looks very good! How'd the bacon grease massage work? Did it make the skin crispy?

With the cook time, I agree with others, the cook time did seem a bit long but you did stuff it so it's a larger mass... Generally I'll do a 16# in ~2hrs. and a 20# in about 2.5-3 hours. I spatchcock and cook at 325-350. Turkey doesn't gain anything with longer cook times.

If I may, I would like to offer a small tip on the carving... did you know how you cut the meat also has a large impact on it's perceived tenderness? If you cut the breast against the grain, it'll pull a part easily. If you cut it along the grain, it's more chewy. If you can, try to remove the breast from the bird in one large breast carefully with a knife, and then slice it perpendicular... You'd be surprised at how much more tender it can be.

 

[SmokinAl]

That turkey looks awesome!
Nice work!
Al

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Looks very good! How'd the bacon grease massage work? Did it make the skin crispy?

With the cook time, I agree with others, the cook time did seem a bit long but you did stuff it so it's a larger mass... Generally I'll do a 16# in ~2hrs. and a 20# in about 2.5-3 hours. I spatchcock and cook at 325-350. Turkey doesn't gain anything with longer cook times.

If I may, I would like to offer a small tip on the carving... did you know how you cut the meat also has a large impact on it's perceived tenderness? If you cut the breast against the grain, it'll pull a part easily. If you cut it along the grain, it's more chewy. If you can, try to remove the breast from the bird in one large breast carefully with a knife, and then slice it perpendicular... You'd be surprised at how much more tender it can be.

Thanks for the tip! It wasn’t chewy and was very tender I thought. I actually didn’t carve it, when I sat it on the counter my father in law was already slicing a turkey that was fried and he asked if I wanted to cut mine or just let him do I said keep rolling haha. I didn’t think about that until he was already going and I just said it is what it is now.
The cook just took as long as it did. I wasn’t really trying to keep it in there longer for any particular reason. I imagine because it wasn’t spatchcocked.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks great and the choice of brine, injection and rub flavors sound delicious. Was happy to participate in your adventure...JJ

 

[jakester]

Ok so I asked the question last week, about whether I should brine or inject a turkey that I smoked yesterday. First I want to say thanks to everyone that commented and gave advice. It was much appreciated and very helpful. Figured I could now come back and give y’all the rundown.

Brine:
1 C salt
1 C brown sugar
1 pack rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage
1 halved orange
1 T ground pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 T chili flakes
1 t ground cloves
A few bay leaves.
1 gallon water

I found Chile’s Cajun apple butter recipe injection and thought that sounded great so I tried it with a few changes. It wasn’t Cajun because my bro in law was frying a turkey and was using Cajun seasonings.

Injection:
1 C apple juice
1 block of Kerrygold butter
2 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
1 T cumin


Rub:
Heath Riles Garlic Butter
Killer Hoggs BBQ rub

Stuffed turkey with celery 1 pack thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage, 1 lemon quartered, 1 onion quartered, and several garlic cloves.

I woke up around 5 and took the bird out of the brine and patted it dry. Stuffed Turkey and let it sit while I mixed injection and let it cool down. Covered turkey in bacon grease to use as a binder for rub. Got the bird on the smoker about 7:15, a little later than I wanted. I didn’t have enough time to let the rub and injection really set in so next time I need to plan better for that. I cooked it about 325 for about 5.5 hours. I basted every hour with melted butter. In hindsight I think I let it almost wash off my rub since it didn’t set very long. I pulled the bird when breast was 163ish and thigh was about 169ish. Let it rest for about an hour then we tore into it. The juiciest turkey I have ever eaten. Thanks again for all yalls help. Shoutout to chef jimmyj

Question on the injection recipe? when you say T - is that tablespoon? Also does Apple Juice give it a sweeter flavor? I am trying to avoid a sweet flavor and wanted to know if I substitute chicken stock or broth?

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Question on the injection recipe? when you say T - is that tablespoon? Also does Apple Juice give it a sweeter flavor? I am trying to avoid a sweet flavor and wanted to know if I substitute chicken stock or broth?

Yes T is tablespoon and t is teaspoon. I didn’t notice a distinct sweet taste that was just what the recipe called for. I will say that due to time I didn’t let the injection sit in it long at all before I put it on the smoker. So maybe it might get more pronounced if it has time to sit. I alternated splits of apple and hickory and I think it gave it a really good flavor

 

[chef jimmyj]

I part out my Turkey. So I have the Backbone to make Stock. This, along with Butter and Spices is what I inject...JJ

 

[Boardtowndawg]

I part out my Turkey. So I have the Backbone to make Stock. This, along with Butter and Spices is what I inject...JJ

How long will that stock keep? Do you freeze what you don’t use? I have made stock with chicken bones before but not turkey although I’m assuming they are exactly the same.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Same Recipe but Roast the Turkey Bones for a more full flavored stock or broth, 400° for 30 minutes or until Golden Brown, Add the cut up Soup Veggies to the roasting pan too. The Stock will last 5 days. However, I inject 2 Cups for a 20lb Turkey. 4-6 Cups of stock go in my Dressing and 6-8 Cups is made into Gravy. I make 1 Gallon of Stock, with the Spine, Neck, Giblets (No Liver) and Wings. It usually gets used up.
If you have leftover. You can make Turkey Noodle Soup, was my MIL's Favorite! Or, freeze it for another use...JJ

 

[jakester]

I part out my Turkey. So I have the Backbone to make Stock. This, along with Butter and Spices is what I inject...JJ

Can you share your injection recipe please?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Here you go...JJ

Turkey Injection

2C Turkey Stock
1/4C Melted Turkey Fat or Butter
2tsp Kosher Salt
1/2tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper
1/2tsp Bell's Poultry Seasoning.

This is injected while still Hot, so Fat does not clog the needle. Works for Chicken too.

 

[jakester]

I've used broth before but haven't tried injection with stock. Is it better to use stock over broth?

 

[chef jimmyj]

STOCK...Is an Ingredient, typically made from bones and contains No Salt.

BROTH...Is made from meat and bones, is Salted and is Ready to Eat. It can be used like Stock but adjust for the salt content.

Either works. If using commercial Broth, give it a taste to see how salty it is...JJ

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

For what it's worth, I just made a broth with no salt yesterday. 4 hours of simmer. The final fridge product is all jello, so there is a huge amount of cellulose in there... I call that flavor! You can add water to make it more liquid or simply heat it up... depends on your taste.
But when it comes to injecting, the very rich jello-fied stuff is what I want to inject warm into the bird with additional spices, like chef Jimmy says, not the still liquid at fridge temp stuff. If you have the ability to make your own, I'd do that today if you can. Just spatchcock your bird to get parts and do it. :)