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I am planning on smoking a turkey breast this weekend that I dug out of the freezer. I am looking for an easy brine I can make to brine it before the smoke. Any suggestions are welcome.
I hope that Tip doesn't mind that I've listed his Slaughterhouse recipes here. These recipes are well-received and deserving of a WIKI entry. Slaughterhouse Poultry Brine By Tip Piper of Hillbilly Vittles 1 ½ Gal Water ½ C Salt - Kosher ½ C...
I am going to use slaughter house brine from SmokinVOLFan because I have all of that on hand. I have another turkey breast in the freezer so I might give that Orange Tea Bourbon brine a try with that Kevin!
You didn't say wet or dry. I prefer dry, I get a better texture for slicing and leftovers. I use and electric Smokin-It smoker which keeps it moist. Here is my dry brine recipe:
Dry Turkey Brine Ingredients per 15# turkey
4 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sage ground
1 teaspoon rosemary ground
½ teaspoon celery seed ground
½ teaspoon garlic granules
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider mix (unseasoned -no cinnamon)
Use 6 Tablespoons mix per 12-15# of turkey.
(I add Cure #1 to the mix I measure out for my turkey. 1 teaspoon/5# turkey. So a 10# turkey breast would get 2 teaspoons Cure #1 added to the 5 Tbs of the brine mix. AND I would use all of the 5 TBS mix.)
Mix ingredients well. Pat dry turkey so it is not wet. Spread some mix under turkey skin over breast. Rub mix in cavity. Sprinkle evenly around outside of turkey, should be able to cover all the turkey. Place turkey in a stainless steel, plastic or glass pan within a refridgerator. There will be some liquid pulled off by the salt, at end of dry brine period, discard liquid.
Quickly rinse turkey and pat it dry. Spread some butter under the breast skin and 2 tablespoons over the rest of turkey. Cook as normal.
I smoke at 225 until internal temperature reaches 158-160. Let turkey rest for at least 30 min. Turkey will be best if left overnight to firm up for slicing.
For my Smokin-It smoker, I use about 3.5 oz apple wood and 1.5 oz cherry wood. And I usually quadruple this recipe so I have enough to do 4-5 turkeys.
I used the Slaughter House brine on the turkey breast over night. Threw it on the smoker a little bit ago with a green bean casserole. Planning for a afternoon lunch/dinner.