Turkey leg question.

[kawboy]

We were at the county fair last night. My wife and mother got a whiff of the turkey drummies and decided I was smoking some this weekend. Fine by me, I've made them before. I usually just season and smoke them. This time I thought I would brine them. In the past I'd use tender quick, brown sugar and water. But since deciding to be diabetic, that may be too much sugar. If I use a brown sugar substitute, will that still turn out? Is the sugar in brown sugar needed? I cant remember exactly the name of the stuff I used for other stuff, Truvia? or something like that. Also, would cut up jalapenos do much in the brine? I could just go regular and eat less, but where is the fun in that☺!?

 

[southgadawg]

If you are looking for a sugar substitute, Stevia is going to be your most healthy and lowest GI with the best overall taste. Just be careful with how much you use at it is about twice the sweetness of regular white sugar. 1cup of stevia equals 2 cups of sugar. Although, I'm no expert on brines, but you could just use plane old salt and water.

 

[kawboy]

If you are looking for a sugar substitute, Stevia is going to be your most healthy and lowest GI with the best overall taste. Just be careful with how much you use at it is about twice the sweetness of regular white sugar. 1cup of stevia equals 2 cups of sugar. Although, I'm no expert on brines, but you could just use plane old salt and water.

Thanks. The stuff I have is a brown sugar substitute. It tastes decent plain. Just not sure if the fake sugar would get weird in a brine.

 

[durangosmoker]

I, too, am diabetic, and have had great luck with erythritol based sweeteners. Stevia is my go to for coffee, but it gets weird in large doses, and varies in strength from manufacturer to manufacturer. So go ahead and use Truvia, or Swerve, or whatever you have (and be aware that a teaspoon of Splenda may say 0 carbs, a cup has something like 23g or carbs). If you particularly want the brown sugar flavor, add a teaspoon or two of backstrap molasses to the brine - the added carbs will be minimal. Good luck

 

[kawboy]

I, too, am diabetic, and have had great luck with erythritol based sweeteners. Stevia is my go to for coffee, but it gets weird in large doses, and varies in strength from manufacturer to manufacturer. So go ahead and use Truvia, or Swerve, or whatever you have (and be aware that a teaspoon of Splenda may say 0 carbs, a cup has something like 23g or carbs). If you particularly want the brown sugar flavor, add a teaspoon or two of backstrap molasses to the brine - the added carbs will be minimal. Good luck

Thanks for the response. The "getting weird" in larger doses had me concerned. Maybe just add a little at a time. Any opinions on the jalapenos in the brine?

 

[kawboy]

Well, smoked them up yesterday. Turned out very good. Threw them in a brine of ½ cup Tenderquick and ½ cup of Truvia to a ½ gallon of water. Started them Friday evening and pulled them Sunday about 8 am or so. I then threw 14 chicken legs in the brine for about 5 hours. Light dusting of Famous Dave's chicken seasoning after sitting in front of a fan for a couple of hours. Smoked them on the off-set using oak. Got done a little quicker than planned, so pulled and placed in cake pan for a couple hours. Threw the chicken on after pulling the turkey. Put pan of turkey back on when chicken was about done. Made some rhubarb BBQ sauce. Tasted more like pasta sauce so I just put it on the chicken. Turned out awesome, must have needed smoke. O.k. enough rambling, just thought I'd update you that helped. Thanks again.