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Brining the Thanksgiving turkey.
By Kristen | November 12, 2007
Show of hands — who’s done this before?
On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s the Pain In The Ass factor for this?
Topics: Ho Ho Holiday Cheer, Questions, My First Time |
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November 12th, 2007 at 11:36 am
It’s incredibly easy and totally worth doing.
The only trouble is if you have a small fridge. Although I know someone who once brined a turkey in a brine bag in a trashbucket full of ice in his car. That’s probably more aggravation then it’s worth, but assuming you have a container large enough to hold the turkey and water and space in your fridge for it to sit overnight it is 100% worthwhile. Turkey responds to brining really well — even if you overcook it a little it’s still juicy. Go for it, you haven’t lived until you’ve brined and air-dried your turkey. Start a couple of days early, brine it, then let it dry in your fridge before you cook it.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
My son once brined a turkey that was then put into a smoker outside and slowly cooked by smoking. It was tasty, but in that case the turkey meat was firm, more (as he said) like delicatessen turkey than freshly roasted turkey. It may have been the fault of the smoker or of the combination of smoking and brining.
OTOH, I always brine shrimp before I cook them.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Our only real trouble was when we were living in Manhattan. Oven too small. We actually cooked our turkey with the door slightly ajar and a wet towel draped over the top to keep the heat in. It was delicious.
It’s actually all of the other stuff that is challenging. It’s time consuming but not hard. If you want to relax on the sofa with a hot toddy, the PITA factor is a good 8. If you like spending all day cooking and all afternoon eating, then the PITA factor is a 3.
We brine our turkey overnight. We dry it, salt and pepper the inside. We stuff it (don’t yell at me, I’ll brave salmonella for delicious any day of the week and twice on Thanksgiving). We put sage leaves under the skin. We rub butter on it. We put a folded up cheesecloth drenched in white wine on top. We start it in a pretty hot oven. At 45 min-hour we turn down the heat and begin basting with melted butter/white wine (recipe from Martha Stewart). We continue every 1/2 hour til done.
November 12th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it. We brine all birds now. I even did a goose a few weeks ago, they are notoriously dry, and with the brine, it was amazing.
My MIL always buys these HUGE turkeys (25lbs) and then cooks it into sawdust. ALWAYS. I keep telling her, ya gotta BASTE it, but she’s too busy watching 5 different tv channels to care. Anyway, since *I* did this and the bird was wonderful, she has also started. No matter how hard she tries to make it horrid, the bird is still awesome.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I have. It’s easy but I don’t think it made that much of a difference. Some, but not a huge, huge amount there I feel like it is 100% needed each time I make a turkey.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Some additional detail for those of you kind enough to comment so far:
I’m driving to my mom’s house on Tuesday, which gives me maybe 36 pre-Thanksgiving hours to brine this turkey (which will be 20-23 lbs.).
Alyce, if you could tell me more about the butter/white wine basting combo, that would be great.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Oh, I also meant to say that the better the turkey, the less it needs brining.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
You could go with a kosher turkey, I believe they are they are already brined! And ALYCE!!! YOU ROCK MY WORLD! I have never brined a turkey ONLY because I refuse to roast my bird unstuffed. (Some things are sacred.) I am now fortified, so brined AND stuffed it shall be!
November 13th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Alton Brown brined a turkey last night on Good Eats. He put it in a large insulated Igloo cooler, the tall cylinder type that football teams use for Gatorade (I know there’s a real name for this but it escapes me at the moment).
Anyway - you should be able to find the info on Food TV’s webpage.
I’ve never attempted to brine one, but I am going to try the wine/butter/cheesecloth method this year. A bottle of wine and a stick of melted butter…how can that be wrong?
November 13th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Martha Stewart’s “perfect roast turkey” for the oven temperature and basting directions we use: http://tinyurl.com/2p2u7n
We also brine (Alton Brown) and stuff (my mom).
It’s been 5 Thanksgivings now and we wouldn’t do it any other way. If it ain’t broke…
November 13th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
I brine every time I do turkey. I use 3/4 cup kosher salt per gallon, then either bourbon and sage, thyme and peppercorns or coffee and molasses (1 cup and 1/4 cup per gallon). Brining not only allows more moisture in the bird, it also gets flavor into the meat instead of just sitting on top of it. I smoke the turkey with cherry wood, also.
Kristen, you’ve got plenty of time to brine it. I use a 5 gallon bucket, and I put ice water in it. If it’s cold enough I just put it in the garage, in a cooler of ice so it’s around the bird. Otherwise, I put the bird in a brining bag in a cooler filled with ice. I also inject the bird with olive oil or butter and a bit of bourbon.
I’ve done the cheesecloth, but I’ve soaked it in apple cider. The white wine sounds really good.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:50 am
You won’t believe the difference brining will make! mmmm….
I think you can use a yard/leaf trash bag in lieu of any special “brining” bag.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Ive done it and find it to be easy as pie…
Mmm. Pie.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I did last year for family and friends. The spousal unit, who claims she didn’t really like roast turkey now raves about my turkey. Can’t wait until this year when I shall brine again.
And yeah, it was a PITA… especially Le Big Ole Brining Bucket inna fridge… but this year, brining bag will be used.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
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November 21st, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Oh, baby! Brining is most definitely worth the effort, even if it’s only a chicken! I use 2 limes, 2 lemons and 2 juicy oranges in the brine mix, along with brown sugar and some salt. MAN, is it good!!! We don’t use any other method anymore!
November 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm