turkey brine

[got smoke]

do i need to to leave a turkey in a brine for two days then smoke it. i have a recipie for brine it is tw gallons of water 2 cups of salt quarter cup of brown sugar 1 tsp pepper 4 tsp minced garlic third cup worchschire i have used on the chickens and it was great. thanks

 

[glued2it]

I usually only brine for few hours. The longer you leave in the more hammy taste you'll get.

The rule of thumb is 10-24hrs. If you haven't ever brined a turkey before I would suggest doing 10-12hrs.

 

[richtee]

Hmmm seems a long time to me. I have never brined poultry longer than 24 hours, and smaller birds like 6.

What say you, folks?

 

[got smoke]

ok i will go one day thanks

 

[fatback joe]

Yeah, on a turkey I usually just do "overnight", which probably comes out to about 8 hours.

 

[pescadero]

That is quite a bit of salt. Unless you are rally a salt loving family, you may want to do both; cut the salt somewhat and cut the brining time. Everyone has a different opinion and different taste. But personally, I wouldn't leave it in more than over night. YMMV

Skip

 

[vlap]

I like up to 24 hours on my brine. Usually a long overnight is all it needs.

 

[deejaydebi]

Sometimes for smaller birds (and lack of planning) I'll brine my turkeys for as little as 4 or 5 hours and it works out nicely. I also inject so that makes a big difference.