Smoked Turkey question.

[Steve H]

Next week I'm going to do my first Turkey. I have a breast that's just shy of 7 pounds. I'm going to use Pop's brine. My question is if this 2 gallon food grade container will hold enough brine to do the job.

 

[fivetricks]

Yup. Just need enough to cover the breast. You will need something to weigh the meat down however.

That's what I always find to be the tricky part :-)

 

[gmc2003]

I not sure how much brine your talking about, but just substitute the amount of brine called for with tap water and drop your breast in the container. You'll be able to see if you get full coverage. We do this when deep frying turkeys all the time to see how much oil is needed.

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

Did you check the label to see if the breast is all ready pumped ? Like said you just need to cover the breast . Mix 2 gallons of brine then whatever it takes to cover . . Might be a gallon might be 1.5 . How long you plan to soak it ?

 

[Steve H]

I not sure how much brine your talking about, but just substitute the amount of brine called for with tap water and drop your breast in the container. You'll be able to see if you get full coverage. We do this when deep frying turkeys all the time to see how much oil is needed.

Chris

That's a good idea. Thank you!

 

[Steve H]

Did you check the label to see if the breast is all ready pumped ? Like said you just need to cover the breast . Mix 2 gallons of brine then whatever it takes to cover . . Might be a gallon might be 1.5 . How long you plan to soak it ?

No, it hasn't been pumped. Since this isn't a 20 pound bird. I was thinking about brining for 24 hours.

 

[buzzy]

I find that a 2 gal. zip lock bag with all the air pushed out works great. Don't need to worry about something to keep it submerged. Then put in bucket in case it leaks some.

 

[HalfSmoked]

You can also use a zip lock bag full of water as a weight to keep it submerged.

Warren

 

[zwiller]

I think 2G is the perfect size container. I find halving drastically reduces the amount of brine needed. 2qts vs 1-1/2G for whole bird. Also way easier to handle. When I serve it, it is sliced so no need for the Norman Rockwell presentation.

When I think of smoked turkey I think it of as cured and deeply smoked far too rich to eat as a meal. Pops (low salt) is perfect for this. That said, you need to inject and give it a few days at least. Sugar takes far longer to move into the meat compared to salt. Smoke is low temps, long and around 18-24hrs. I also believe you need to rest it a few days before serving.

 

[Steve H]

I think 2G is the perfect size container. I find halving drastically reduces the amount of brine needed. 2qts vs 1-1/2G for whole bird. Also way easier to handle. When I serve it, it is sliced so no need for the Norman Rockwell presentation.

When I think of smoked turkey I think it of as cured and deeply smoked far too rich to eat as a meal. Pops (low salt) is perfect for this. That said, you need to inject and give it a few days at least. Sugar takes far longer to move into the meat compared to salt. Smoke is low temps, long and around 18-24hrs. I also believe you need to rest it a few days before serving.

That, I wasn't aware of! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[chopsaw]

I was thinking about brining for 24 hours.

you need to inject and give it a few days at least.

All depends on what you want the end result to be .
I've gone over night , and also injected and held 6 days in the brine at 36 degree fridge temp .
Just depends on how cured you want the bird .
I always cook poultry at a high temp . That way , if it's cured , not fully cured or has been injected I know it's safe .

 

[zwiller]

All depends on what you want the end result to be .

EXACTLY. So many ways to do it but this is how I like it. Just sharing the info. First smoked a turkey 20+ years ago. Tried many things over the years but it wasn't until I tried Pops brine I got near the results I wanted. At first, I didn't inject, rushed the brine, and rushed the smoke. Good results but just wasn't 100% I felt. Once I took the time to do things right and used the smoke protocol from Marianski I finally got the results I always wanted. That said, I can see someone trying to get a similar effect but more subdued and shorter cure and smoke would certainly do that.

 

[radioguy]

Overnight brine will be fine. These are great injected with broth, butter and touch of lemon. I just pepper the cavity and outer skin , there is enough salt in the injection. Cook at high temp for crispy skin.

RG

 

[zwiller]

NICE. Did you do a write up? Would love to know more.

 

[chopsaw]

So many ways to do it

I was just trying to make sure Steve was on the same page . You and me both have done enough of this , that I understand and agree with what you're doing .
I like Pops on poultry . Most times I inject , even if it's just wings and soak up to 6 days . Good stuff .

 

[HalfSmoked]

Steve H Thanks for the like it is appreciated.

Warren

 

[fivetricks]

I was just trying to make sure Steve was on the same page . You and me both have done enough of this , that I understand and agree with what you're doing .
I like Pops on poultry . Most times I inject , even if it's just wings and soak up to 6 days . Good stuff .

Woah! Injection and 6 days on chicken wings? They end up too salty for me after 10-12 hours some times lol.

 

[chopsaw]

Woah! Injection and 6 days on chicken wings?

That's a long time for wings . I do 1/2 cup salt , 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar . 2 family packs of wings . Most times they come out sweet , but I've had salty results .

 

[Steve H]

Alrighty. I brined the bird using pop's recipe. I only used 1/2 the salt though. Because I am going to inject it with butter, pepper, garlic power, and onion powder. Got it all patted dry, injected. And rubbed with salt and pepper. It then went into the smoker set at 265 with hickory pellets in the A-Maze-N tray. After 6 hours it got to 155. The bird was very moist and good flavor. But, I see now where a lot of folks question this for a meal. I really like the flavor. And I will enjoy it for sandwhichs. I let it cool down. And tomorrow I'll remove the meat for sammies and such. Had pizza delivered for dinner!

 

[xray]

Looks great Steve, you will get some good sandwiches out of that.

The carved piece that is missing...was that the pizza delivery guy’s tip!?