Brine or no brine

[bronsonelliott]

I purchased two Honeysuckle White boneless turkey breasts. The label shows that they're already in an 18% solution. Would I necessarily gain anything by doing an additional brine before I smoke them, or am I just setting myself up for a salty mess?

 

[okie sawbones]

No brine.

 

[bronsonelliott]

No brine.

That's what I was suspecting so thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Brokenhandle]

You can brine them. I recently used Pop's low salt brine with a little bit of lemon extract that @chopsaw turned me onto ... used it on a bone in turkey breast. Turned out amazing! My 25 year old son said " OMG, that's moist! "

Ryan

 

[chopsaw]

Turned out amazing!

It's the perfect mix for poultry .

I purchased two Honeysuckle White boneless turkey breasts. The label shows that they're already in an 18% solution. Would I necessarily gain anything by doing an additional brine before I smoke them, or am I just setting myself up for a salty mess?

It won't hurt to brine them if you want to put your flavors in there . They will naturally retain around 10% , give or take . What's in there already will leach out , mix with your brine , and reabsorb . As long as the brine you mix is at a salt level you like , you should have no worries about over salting .
Half or more of that listed 18% is in the bag or left behind anyway . That's most likely how the injection was figured . 18% of the bird weight .

 

[normanaj]

Another vote for low sodium brining.

It's a great way to introduce different flavor profiles,I'm a big fan of fruit juice based brines.A cranberry based juice(100%) brine would be great with a turkey breast,done it many times with a variety of ingredients.My absolute favorite juice to use as base is Oceanspray's 100% Cran/Blackberry but unfortunately isn't made anymore other than in diet.

 

[Brokenhandle]

You have two... brine one and leave the other as is... perfect side by side comparison to what you prefer. All of our tastes are different.

Ryan

 

[sandyut]

BRINE it! i I do that exact brand every year. brining the only way to roll. this is what I use
Slaughterhouse brine. then i stuff herb butter under the skin - as much as you can ram in there. you will love it!
Brine overnight 12-24 hours

1 ½ Gal Water
½ C Salt - Kosher
½ C Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Cajun Spice (I use Tony Chachere's)
2 tsp Celery Seed

 

[gmc2003]

Inject gets my vote

Chris

 

[sandyut]

Regarding salt content: it is chemically impossible to make meat more salty than your brine. Even with a one with the "18% solution added. The salt content will equalize - that is the easiest way to say it. I wont bore anyone with the specific. Just brine it, it will be juicy and delish!

 

[in. pred]

another vote to brine. just makes lean things that much better. :)

 

[Brokenhandle]

Read through this @OlRiverRat might help ya out.

Ryan