Mule's first dry brined turkey!

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! 

 

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

 

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!

 

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. 

 

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! :)

 

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.

 

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.

 

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




~Martin

 

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!

 

Sounds Great !!

Any pics or posts?

Thanks,

Bear

 

Thank You Dis!!

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

Sounds Great !!

I copied this.

Bear