First Time ever to brine??

[potatoc]

Turkeys were on sale tonight at Walmart. I bought a 14lb er. I would like to smoke it on Sunday. I have done turkeys in the past, but don't know how to or what brine is. I here so many good things about it. Will someone please share a good brine recipe with me for turkey?? And give me instructions on what to do with it?? I would be very thankful!!!!! TJ

 

[ron50]

Brining adds moisture to the bird. I just made a turkey breast tonight and here is the brine I used.

One gallon cold water
1/2 c Kosher salt
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/4 c pure maple syrup
1/3 cup orange juice
one orange cut into quarters with juice squuezed into brine mixture
rosemary
freshly ground black pepper

Mix well until salt and sugar are dissolved

I wash the bird well, then place it in a double layer of the turkey roasting bags. I then add the brine. Squeeze all the air out and tie the bag securely and place in a pot in case of leaks. Then I place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Remove the bird from the brine and wash well. In the case of your bird since it's larger you might want to use 1 1/2 gallons water.

Good luck.

 

[pigcicles]

Check out Brining under Jeff's How To articles. It will give you a good start. Figure about an hour per pound to brine. If you have salt issues reduce salt to 1/2 cup per gallon of water. Rinse well when finished.

 

[jmedic25]

Potato-

If you have never brined....Stand by cuz it will knock your sox off!

 

[cheech]

What I use is
1 lb of Salt (I prefer Kosher Salt - I like the texture of it)
1 lb light brown sugar
1 container of pickling spice

Place the turkey in a container, I use a 5 gallon bucket/pail cover with water to cover the turkey all the way

Let that sit over night then smoke

You may want to water this down just a bit it can be a bit strong if you use something smaller than a 5 gallon bucket

Once smoked the juices will really squirt out of the bird while slicing

 

[potatoc]

Alright, I followed PigCicles advice and mixed up Ron50 and Cheechs info... Turkey is in the brine and awaiting the smoke tomorrow. You guys all talk this up so well, I can't wait to smoke er tomorrow!!!!

 

[walking dude]

you WILL be happy.......trust us



dude

 

[irwinwd]

without a doubt brining is amazing for poultry. we had wings today, you'll be surprised i was with my first

 

[crewdawg52]

Potato, you are in for a treat. You will not want to do another yardbird or his bigger cousin, "fieldbird" (turkey) again without brining first. Good luck!

 

[potatoc]

Alright the turkey is on, first brine underway... here is a pic of ready to pull from pot and a pic from about 30 minutes into smoke.

 

[zapper]

I like to go ahead and heat my brine to help dissolve the salt and leech out some of the flavors of any spices or herbs that I am using so they will absorb better, the only draw back is that I have to wait until the brine cools down enough not to cook the meat. (I sometimes add ice to cool the brine). I have also tried using bags to contain the brine, but have pretty much gone to a couple of Rubbermaid type plastic containers that work pretty well for most stuff. I think that the greater the volume of the brine, the better the process works. But for like a marinade that cost a little more than just salt and water, I will use a bag or even the vacpac that the meat originally came in.


You should follow and learn from a few recipes about the strenth of the brines and the times in the brine for different meats and cuts and keep track of what you like best for what. You can brine to the point of just adding a little flavor or to the point of everything coming out about like a good ole country ham.

 

[meowey]

You can use Alton Brown's trick. Heat half the water to dissolve the spices, and then add 1 pound of ice for every pint of water you heated. One pound of ice is one pint of water. Cools it down very nicely and gives you the "strength" of brine you want.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[walking dude]

Great Idea meowy........thankx..........that will cut down 0n the waiting time..........thankx

dude

 

[zapper]

If that "Dang" Alton Brown steals one more of my ideas...........


I have seen a few of his shows, not bad, sometimes a little "Hokie" but still not bad. It is hard to cross education and entertainment, I'll give him a solid "B".

 

[john c]

Thats the brine Iam using next weekend, sounds great.
Thanks John C.

 

[walking dude]

i love the way A.B. uses science to show why things werk the way they werk.........also debunks alot of former set ideas


dude

 

[potatoc]

I'll have to admit it turned out beautiful!!!! Thanks for all the tips my friends.... I will be snacking on this all night long...... Wooo Woo.....

 

[cmacv]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._29147,00.html

 

[potatoc]

well that sounds good for sure... how does it taste cmacv???

 

[Deer Meat]

Looks like everything turned out great potatoc