Mule's first dry brined turkey!

[themule69]

I did a dry brine on a 7.5 LB breast. It was the first time. I hadn't even heard of it till a couple of weeks ago. I used 1.5 T kosher salt. It was wrapped very tight in plastic wrap. I started the brine early Monday. Wednesday I remove it and washed it off. Then sprinkled with rosemary.Their was a lot of water in the wrap when i removed it. Smoke it at 350°. It did have nice flavor. BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT WAS NOT MOIST LIKE THEY SAY. I have cooked a lot of turkeys. Fried, smoked and baked. I think if I had just removed it from the bag it came in and smoked it. IT would have been a lot better. Moral of the story. I will not be dry brining a turkey again.

.02 cents.jpg

• themule69
• Apr 24, 2013

I will try to get some pics loaded. However it just looks like any other smoked turkey

Happy smoken.

David

 

[suie]

Interesting! I had a really good experience with the dry brine on my turkey. I used Alton Brown's dry brine with a whole turkey. It cooked in the oven to 165 IT and rested 45 minutes. The meat was very flavorful and juicy. My only complaint was the skin and the drippings were a bit too salty. Luckily I had some low sodium stock to combine the drippings with when making the gravy.

Sorry you had a bad experience with it David! 

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi Mule!!

Sounds like it was good Snack Food !!

A long time ago, I Dry cured Turkey Breast with TQ. It ended up a little dry, but very tasty. It was the only thing I ever dry cured with TQ that I had to soak after curing to get rid of extra salty flavor.

In think it got a little dry, because I warm smoked it for 9 hours.

I sliced it thin & it made great Movie snacking food.

Here it is:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/98228/canadian-turkey-bacon-qview

Bear

 

[themule69]

 
Hi Mule!!

Sounds like it was good Snack Food !!

A long time ago, I Dry cured Turkey Breast with TQ. It ended up a little dry, but very tasty. It was the only thing I ever dry cured with TQ that I had to soak after curing to get rid of extra salty flavor.

In think it got a little dry, because I warm smoked it for 9 hours.

I sliced it thin & it made great Movie snacking food.

Here it is:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/98228/canadian-turkey-bacon-qview

Bear

This was not a dry cure. It was a dry brine. Someone posted about. Since I am a team player i gave it a try. You can google it.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I've read about dry brining turkey's. watched a bunch of chefs on TV battle dry versus wet brining a turkey. The results were in favor of wet brining, both for flavor and moistness. For now I'll stick to wet brining.

I'll probably never cure a turkey. I really like ham, bit I don't want my turkey tasting like ham!

 

[themule69]

I've read about dry brining turkey's. watched a bunch of chefs on TV battle dry versus wet brining a turkey. The results were in favor of wet brining, both for flavor and moistness. For now I'll stick to wet brining.

I'll probably never cure a turkey. I really like ham, bit I don't want my turkey tasting like ham!

Case

As i read the recipe. It is not a cure.It is supose to work like a wet brine.All"s I got was a dryer bird. When you dump out fluid you didn't add. I can't see how it was going to get moist.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[suie]

Only thing I can think of.....Alton has you start the bird at 425 for the first 30 minutes, then lower the temp to 350. Maybe the quick blast of higher heat helps seal in the juices. 

I'll probably go back to wet brining as well, I'm still searching for the sweet spot, though, where the bird picks up the flavor, but the texture of the meat isn't affected. 

 

[dougmays]

I just found out this year about dry brining, with doing some pre-thanksgiving research, and i have a recipe i want to try. Hopefully i have better results...nobody likes a dry Turkey! :)

 

[mdboatbum]

I'll probably never cure a turkey. I really like ham, bit I don't want my turkey tasting like ham!

You might be surprised. I felt the same way but decided to give it a whirl just for fun. If I'd never heard the reference to hammy tasting turkey, I don't think I would have gotten there on my own. The taste was all turkey. The texture of the white meat was only slightly different, but in a good way. The dark meat texture was definitely more "ham like", or more accurately more like deli turkey. It was actually really good.

 

[daveomak]

I did a dry brine on a 7.5 LB breast. It was the first time. I hadn't even heard of it till a couple of weeks ago. I used 1.5 T kosher salt. It was wrapped very tight in plastic wrap I started the brine early Monday. Wednesday I remove it and washed it off. Then sprinkled with rosemary.Their was a lot of water in the wrap when i removed it. Smoke it at 350°. It did have nice flavor. BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT WAS NOT MOIST LIKE THEY SAY. I have cooked a lot of turkeys. Fried, smoked and baked. I think if I had just removed it from the bag it came in and smoked it. IT would have been a lot better. Moral of the story. I will not be dry brining a turkey again.

.02 cents.jpg

• themule69
• Apr 24, 2013

I will try to get some pics loaded. However it just looks like any other smoked turkey
Happy smoken.
David

Mule, morning.... I think tightly wrapping the bird could have restricted the "flow of moisture and salt" impeding the brining process.... maybe.... just a guess....

Dave

 

[dls1]

Mule, morning.... I think tightly wrapping the bird could have restricted the "flow of moisture and salt" impeding the brining process.... maybe.... just a guess....

Dave

I was thinking the very same thing, Dave. I've been a proponent of the dry brining/salt curing process for years, and use large zip lock bags, or something similar. I do turkeys for 3 days, massaging and turning the bird once or twice a day. After the first day, there will be a fair amount of water in the bag but by the time the process is complete most of it is gone as it has be reabsorbed into the bird. The finished product is always juicy and moist and the breast has a natural texture unlike the mushy texture you get with wet brining.

This Thanksgiving, following the 3 day dry brining process, I lightly rinsed the 13.1 lb. bird, patted it dry, cold smoked for 1 hour, seasoned it, and refrigerated it for 7 hours. I then spatchcocked it and let it come to room temp. for 1 hour, then roasted it in a 325 oven on a bed of root vegetables. At the 2 hour mark, the breast was 153 and the thighs were 160. I pulled and FTCd it for an hour then proceeded to carving. It was perfect.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Hmmm....weird...I've never had a problem with a dry-brined turkey being dry...they always turn out great.




~Martin

 

[suie]

 
I was thinking the very same thing, Dave. I've been a proponent of the dry brining/salt curing process for years, and use large zip lock bags, or something similar. I do turkeys for 3 days, massaging and turning the bird once or twice a day. After the first day, there will be a fair amount of water in the bag but by the time the process is complete most of it is gone as it has be reabsorbed into the bird. The finished product is always juicy and moist and the breast has a natural texture unlike the mushy texture you get with wet brining.

This Thanksgiving, following the 3 day dry brining process, I lightly rinsed the 13.1 lb. bird, patted it dry, cold smoked for 1 hour, seasoned it, and refrigerated it for 7 hours. I then spatchcocked it and let it come to room temp. for 1 hour, then roasted it in a 325 oven on a bed of root vegetables. At the 2 hour mark, the breast was 153 and the thighs were 160. I pulled and FTCd it for an hour then proceeded to carving. It was perfect.

This makes me want to try it again. I noticed you mentioned rinsing the turkey, and that was one thing I didn't do. I bet that would solve the saltiness problem I experienced.

Your method sounds like absolute perfection!

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I was thinking the very same thing, Dave. I've been a proponent of the dry brining/salt curing process for years, and use large zip lock bags, or something similar. I do turkeys for 3 days, massaging and turning the bird once or twice a day. After the first day, there will be a fair amount of water in the bag but by the time the process is complete most of it is gone as it has be reabsorbed into the bird. The finished product is always juicy and moist and the breast has a natural texture unlike the mushy texture you get with wet brining.

This Thanksgiving, following the 3 day dry brining process, I lightly rinsed the 13.1 lb. bird, patted it dry, cold smoked for 1 hour, seasoned it, and refrigerated it for 7 hours. I then spatchcocked it and let it come to room temp. for 1 hour, then roasted it in a 325 oven on a bed of root vegetables. At the 2 hour mark, the breast was 153 and the thighs were 160. I pulled and FTCd it for an hour then proceeded to carving. It was perfect.

Sounds Great !!

Any pics or posts?

Thanks,

Bear

 

[dls1]

 
This makes me want to try it again. I noticed you mentioned rinsing the turkey, and that was one thing I didn't do. I bet that would solve the saltiness problem I experienced.

Go for it. If there's any small amount of visible salt, I normally just wipe it off and don't rinse. In this case, what small amount of liquid that was in the bag was pinkish so I just gave it a quick hit with the kitchen sink sprayer.

BTW, which Alton Brown recipe did you use? I recall seeing one where he used what I would consider an excessive amount of salt for a 12-14 lb. turkey, and only let it dry brine for 8 hours. I don't think that's enough time for the salt to fully dissolve and do its thing. That may have been the reason for your problem.

Your method sounds like absolute perfection!

Thanks. My only criticism was that things got a bit busy and I let the final IT on the breast go a little higher than I like, which is 145. The carryover whiles it's FTCd will bring it up another 5 degrees or so. Everything came out great, however.

 

[dls1]

 
Sounds Great !!

Thanks, Bear.

Any pics or posts?

Nope, no pics. I had way too many things going on and forgot to take any.

Not much more to post beyond what I already have other than I cold smoked the bird in a sealed container using the Smoking Gun and apple chips. Gave it a 10-15 second hit of smoke every 15 minutes for an hour. Also, on a whim, I made up a simple Indian spice mix comprised of yogurt, lemon juice and zest, minced onion, garlic, and ginger, and spices such as garam masala, cinnamon, turmeric, smoked paprika, etc. Ran everything through a blender and painted a light coating under the skin. Added a real nice flavor without overwhelming the turkey.

Thanks,

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

Thank You Dis!!

I looked in your "Threads Started", and couldn't find any.

Sounds Great !!

I copied this.

Bear

 

[suie]

BTW, which Alton Brown recipe did you use? I recall seeing one where he used what I would consider an excessive amount of salt for a 12-14 lb. turkey, and only let it dry brine for 8 hours.  I don't think that's enough time for the salt to fully dissolve and do its thing. That may have been the reason for your problem.

The one I followed was a 4-day dry brine on a 12-14 lb turkey. The brine was: 3 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 1/4 teaspoons whole black peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries, all ground up in a spice blender.

It's left uncovered in the fridge for the 4 days, on a rack over a sheet pan.(spatchcocked)

Thanks. My only criticism was that things got a bit busy and I let the final IT on the breast go a little higher than I like, which is 145. The carryover whiles it's FTCd will bring it up another 5 degrees or so. Everything came out great, however.

It sounds incredible, especially the cold smoking for an hour before hand. 

 

[dls1]

 
Thank You Dis!!

You're welcome, Bear

I looked in your "Threads Started", and couldn't find any.

None started, though I guess at this point I should have. Next time, and hopefully with pics.

Sounds Great !!

I copied this.

Thanks again, and good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.

Bear