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Turkey brine recipes

3,526 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by tsuag10
aTm2004
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AG
I'm looking for a simple yet good brine recipe for this years turkey. What do y'all use, if you brine it?
ArticPenguin:
I am a middle aged lesbian with two children. In Texas, the GOP would love to claim I am an unfit parent and take my children.

Response when pressed for proof:
I actually have 6 links, and was getting super pissed the more info I looked up...So, look it up yourself, I am not going to fight about something I know to be true, to a person who would just as soon see me in prison or dead.
https://texags.com/forums/16/topics/2948036/replies/51680255
bigboykin
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Alton has yet to let me down..

https://www.google.com/amp/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271.amp
Bruce Almighty
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AG
All you need is salt and water. Those fancy brines are a waste of time and do nothing but smell good.
aTm2004
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I'll probably go with this. I've heard he kinda knows something about BBQing.

ArticPenguin:
I am a middle aged lesbian with two children. In Texas, the GOP would love to claim I am an unfit parent and take my children.

Response when pressed for proof:
I actually have 6 links, and was getting super pissed the more info I looked up...So, look it up yourself, I am not going to fight about something I know to be true, to a person who would just as soon see me in prison or dead.
https://texags.com/forums/16/topics/2948036/replies/51680255
fav13andac1)c
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AG
Using this one this year.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-roast-turkey-51258050/amp
schmendeler
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i'm doing a dry brine this year. we'll see how it turns out.
Bruce Almighty
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AG
Dry brines are better than wet brines.
FDT 1999
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1 cup kosher salt and 1 cup sugar for every gallon of water, and brine 1 hour per pound of turkey. You can add herbs and other crap to it, but I don't think it helps much.
sanitariex
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AG
I figured I'd keep the turkey talk to one thread, but we got a frozen turkey last Thursday at work that's been sitting in the fridge since then, that's now thawed out. Do you guys think it'll be safe to go for a brine Wednesday night for a Friday cook? Or discard and be safe by getting a new one?
schmendeler
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AG
do you not ever keep fresh meats in your refrigerator more than 3-4 days?
sanitariex
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AG
All the time, but for some odd reason, I've never once been in charge of the turkey, and having gotten sick on it before I was a little leary
B-1 83
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bigboykin said:

Alton has yet to let me down..

https://www.google.com/amp/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271.amp
It is solid.

I did it last year at my house when the Wife's family came here. I am now the "Turkey King", and I'm in charge......at mother-in-laws house.....with an unknown bird, and 18 hours to work with. I see injecting in my future....... The hot oven 450+ is the way to go.
Btron
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AG
Is it true you shouldn't brine if the turkey has been injected with the sodium solution? My family bought a couple of breasts from HEB and they have that injection solution.
Thoughts?
Bruce Almighty
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AG
Btron said:

Is it true you shouldn't brine if the turkey has been injected with the sodium solution? My family bought a couple of breasts from HEB and they have that injection solution.
Thoughts?
I guess it depends on the salt concentration of the injected solution vs the salt concentration of the brine. If the injected solution has a higher salt ratio than the brine, then I imagine that water will actually be drawn out of the turkey instead of being drawn in, leaving the meat very salty. I've never cooked with an injected turkey before, so that's just my best scientific guess.
fta09
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Btron said:

Is it true you shouldn't brine if the turkey has been injected with the sodium solution? My family bought a couple of breasts from HEB and they have that injection solution.
Thoughts?
Btron
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AG
fta09 said:

Btron said:

Is it true you shouldn't brine if the turkey has been injected with the sodium solution? My family bought a couple of breasts from HEB and they have that injection solution.
Thoughts?


Well he has a blue check so it must be true
Sooner Born
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Obviously you don't know who Kenji is.
schmendeler
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AG
Btron said:

fta09 said:

Btron said:

Is it true you shouldn't brine if the turkey has been injected with the sodium solution? My family bought a couple of breasts from HEB and they have that injection solution.
Thoughts?


Well he has a blue check so it must be true


He knows not what he does.
tsuag10
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Aren't non-injected turkeys pretty hard to find? I didn't see any when I got mine.
Proc92
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Whole Foods has turkeys with no injection. They are proud of them too. But they have them.
schmendeler
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AG
tsuag10 said:

Aren't non-injected turkeys pretty hard to find? I didn't see any when I got mine.


I think ones labeled "natural" are often injection free.
tsuag10
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AG
That makes sense because sodium phosphate can't be used in a "natural" product. However, salt, sugar, and turkey broth can still be added and it will label as "natural".
HTownAg98
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5% salt solution works every time. It's low enough in salt that you can leave it in the brine overnight without making it too salty. Multiply the weight of the water by 0.05, and that's how much salt you need.
Duncan Idaho
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schmendeler said:

do you not ever keep fresh meats in your refrigerator more than 3-4 days?

Hell I'll keep a steak in the fridge for a week no problem.
tsuag10
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Duncan Idaho said:

schmendeler said:

do you not ever keep fresh meats in your refrigerator more than 3-4 days?

Hell I'll keep a steak in the fridge for a week no problem.
Yeah. Temp of your fridge makes a big difference too. Some people unknowingly have their fridge running around 40 F. Keeping it as close to freezing as possible makes a big difference. There are a lot of spoilage bacteria that can start to grow much faster around 40-42 F. Pathogens like Salmonella or E. coli still need warm temps to grow. Listeria (more common in cooked and processed meats) can still grow at 40-45 F.
schmendeler
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schmendeler said:

i'm doing a dry brine this year. we'll see how it turns out.


Turkey turned out really good. I got distracted and let the temp go too far but it was still juicy. The spatchcocking made it cook super fast.
aTm2004
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I did the Franklin one posted above on a 22# turkey, and it turned out freaking great! You know, when you BBQ and people give you compliments, you often think "yeah, you're just saying that" while you're finding every little flaw in it. Well, for this year's turkey, I found myself agreeing with them. The breast as super juicy and cut it with a fork tender. No gravy needed to make it edible.
ArticPenguin:
I am a middle aged lesbian with two children. In Texas, the GOP would love to claim I am an unfit parent and take my children.

Response when pressed for proof:
I actually have 6 links, and was getting super pissed the more info I looked up...So, look it up yourself, I am not going to fight about something I know to be true, to a person who would just as soon see me in prison or dead.
https://texags.com/forums/16/topics/2948036/replies/51680255
tsuag10
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AG
I did a salt, sugar, and sodium phosphate brine for a little over 48 hrs. Smoked it on an offset smoker for about 2-2.5 hrs and then transferred to a pan, covered it with foil, and finished it in the oven at 350 for ~4 hrs.

Here's what I would have done differently:

Should have soaked the bird in clean water for an hour or so before cooking. It was just the slightest bit too salty.

Smoked it for longer, and then finished it in the oven at 250-300 instead of 350 (or maybe don't wrap it at all). I didn't have a lot of smoke flavor, and it was all because of poor time management on my part. I should have started about 2 hrs earlier.

All in all, I gave it about a 7/10. The rest of the family gave it a 9/10.
Keeper of The Spirits
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I did salt, sugar, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. One dry brined, one wet brined in homemade stock with above spices mixed in. Both turned out great, one was better, but it was also in the back of the smoker so it stayed on longer to get to temp and I mixed up the dry and wet so I had no idea which was which.
bigboykin
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So, I hadn't heard of sodium phosphate in brines, but a quick goog shows that it is supposed to be an additive that helps with moisture retention. Pretty interesting. I'd be really curious if anyone has experience doing both with and without and could note any exceptions.

I didn't find anything immediately, but my search terms could've been too narrow. A bird brined in salt/sugar/spice seems to turn out delicious for me.... but I'm not opposed to elevating the deliciousness with a nasty chemical or two...
tsuag10
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I have a lot of experience using sodium phosphate in meat and poultry products (I work in the Meat & food industry). I would be willing to say that it improves moisture retention 100% of the time. It just depends on the texture you are looking for in the final product.

I too am interested to hear if anyone else has used it and what their thoughts are.
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