I need help with Turkey and safety

[pwillie]

I am going to brine two turkeys for Thanksgiving and will be using two different brine solutions. My question is....can I air dry one of them after the brine for 48 hours, in the refrigerator of course? I am trying to use one brine bucket and brine each bird separately at different times. Is 48 hours to long to air dry if refrigerated?

 

[zwiller]

Wish someone told me years ago: inject. Brining is wasteful, slow, and less consistent. But to anwer your question directly, I've done 24 and had good results. 48 might be a little too long. Use a 2.5G bag or plastic wrap for first day out of the drink and then air dry before the smoke. Also, no one does it because they want the Norman Rockwell look but if you halved them you could fit both in the brine.

 

[jaxgatorz]

As long as you keep it under 40° , you will be fine for 48 hrs.

 

[zwiller]

+1 I agree that it is safe. My concern was about the fridge drying too much.

 

[Millberry]

The next most important safety thing (and a LOT of folks fail to do this)--Turn off your propane gas fire when adding or removing the turkey from the pot !!!

 

[tallbm]

I'm with the other guys on this as well.
You should be fine with your approach as long as brining and resting is all done in the fridge.

zwiller has a great idea to wrap the turkey that comes out first. I have unscented 13gallon trash bags that I would just put the 1st turkey in and that should solve drying too much. I don't dry my turkeys before smoking them so whether you dry or not for 24hrs is your call.

Also, Since you are only brining for such a short period of time I would also inject the mixed up brine all into the turkey breast and other thick parts. I do this with mine because I brine and cure so I want the cure to get in quickly because I often don't brine for 7 days with a turkey since they are so freakin big and take up so much outside fridge space for so long.

I hope all this helps :)

 

[thirdeye]

I wholeheartedly agree with using an injectable brine (even if you still use a cover brine), because you can inject with as little time as 8 hours or up to 24 hours before smoking or roasting. Another trick I do is dressing the bird differently. Not so much to solve your space and timing situation, but to cook the bird to a perfect doneness. I dress whole birds my making a simple cut at the pelvis, and cook the breast to 160°, and the dark meat to 175°.


Many moons ago the guy that got me interested in injectable brines was an early member of a couple of ceramic cooker forums, and his handle was 'Old Dave' and this was the recipe that got my attention. Later I experimented with injectable 'Lite Brining', but that is another story.

Old Dave's Injectable Turkey Brine
I like a brine based off of "Shakes" Injectable Brine. This is the recipe that I use most often for all of my poultry.
32oz clean water (non-chlorinated and not softened)
1/4 cup pickling salt
2 teaspoons of TenderQuick
1/3 cup clover honey
3-4 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon pickle spice

Heat everything except the TenderQuick in a sauce pan but do not boil. Allow to fully chill out, add the TenderQuick. For a 12-15 pound turkey, inject 2 oz in each leg, 2 oz in each thigh, and 4 oz in each side of the breast. 16 oz total per turkey. I like to do the injection at least 8-10 hours before the fire.
Dave

 

[pwillie]

Wish someone told me years ago: inject. Brining is wasteful, slow, and less consistent. But to anwer your question directly, I've done 24 and had good results. 48 might be a little too long. Use a 2.5G bag or plastic wrap for first day out of the drink and then air dry before the smoke. Also, no one does it because they want the Norman Rockwell look but if you halved them you could fit both in the brine.

I intend to spatchcock both birds and fitting them in the brine bucket is not the problem. I will be using a different brine solution for each bird. I intend to inject each bird as well. Air drying for 2 days is what I plan to do with one of the birds and 24 hours of air drying for the second bird. I was wondering if 48 hours of drying for the one bird was safe? someone mentioned turning off the propane. I will be smoking both birds on a Yoder YS 640

 

[jaxgatorz]

Yes

 

[zwiller]

+1 agreed safe; My concern is that 48hrs in the fridge the meat might start to dry out.

 

[pwillie]

+1 agreed safe; My concern is that 48hrs in the fridge the meat might start to dry out.

I just want to a big THANKS to everyone for your comments. It is great to have friendly help from folks that have experience................