To brine or not to brine.... that is the question

[thebraketester]

turkey..... brine? Not brine?

Thanks

Rich

[rsbmw]

I would point you in the direction of my favourite meat-related website

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck...

[davek_964]

I've done the Nigella brine several times in the past with good results. Usually sits in a bucket in my conservatory - which is a handy large second fridge in winter - for 24 hours before cooking. Problem this year is it's just too mild and I'm not comfortable leaving it out of the fridge for long. So mine will be brine free.

Mind you, we got it from a farm shop at about a zillion pounds per kg, so I reckon it should still be lovely!

[thebraketester]

yeah they are not cheap are they. Seems like a waste but I know its gonna taste amazing

[48Valves]

I have injected a brine for the last couple of years which allows me to keep the bird in the fridge. This year I'm going to try a flavored butter injection.

[21TonyK]

48Valves said:

I have injected a brine for the last couple of years which allows me to keep the bird in the fridge. This year I'm going to try a flavored butter injection.

Mines in a wet brine. Tomorrow it comes out to dry overnight with a herb butter injection as well.

Be interesting to see how much it can improve a catering grade (ie. 4.49 a kilo breast)

[cornet]

Here are the options IMO:

• No brine : will be fine as long as you don't over cook it
• Wet brine : will be the most moist but reduced flavour as the water will dilute the taste
• Dry brine: more moist than no brine, will increase the flavour of the turkey

Personally I'd go for wet bring and spatchcock the bird as it will cook more evenly. Add some baking powder to the dry brine and will help crisp up the skin.

[thebraketester]

Ok think I'll go with dry brine. So am I reading right, basically just salting the skin??

[cornet]

Yup chuck loads of salt on it - 3-4 tablespoons of kosher salt (1.5 - 2 tablespoons if you only have table salt) + a teaspoon of baking powder. You might need less or more depending on the size of the bird. You basically want a good covering - don't forget the inside!


Stick it in the fridge, on a rack if you have one, either uncovered or lightly covered with foil overnight (you want the skin to dry out a bit).

Have a look here for more details.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/quick-and-dirty...

He say's 1/2 cup (6.5 tablespoons) of kosher salt but I reckon US turkeys are somewhat larger than ours and he does say you might not even use 1/2. Based on my experiments with Chicken you can put a lot on before the meat tastes salty.