Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

[mike64]

I know there's a lot of iboaters with excellent bbq skills...

We're having some people over for a bbq on Sunday and I had an extra turkey we got from work at Thanksgiving, so I took it out to defrost. I've brined turkey for bbqs before and it turned out great, but I've used Amish style turkeys that didn't have anything done to them.

This turkey's been injected with a solution of something, which I assume means it already has a lot of sodium in it. But I'd still like to brine it to add some flavor, like some bay leaves, thyme, black peppercorns, etc. I also want to soak it in water to help defrost it, since I took it out kind of the freezer kind of late in the game (late afternoon Wednesday). How should I handle the salt? Cut back by half? No salt at all? But then it's not really brining, is it?

 

[rbh]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

If it is going to be rotiserized (SP) Have you ever tried a pound of chips and smoke it????
I have yet to brine anything, havent learned that trick yet, but do enjoy smoked fowl (apple chips)

 

[Droopy]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

It figures my first post on a boating forum would be about turkey...

Anyway, my first attempt at brining (and then smoking) a turkey turned out awesome. I used the directions for "Making Turkey Brine" (It's a link in the text of the page) with really good results. It even talks about what to do if you want it less salty, although I didn't think it was salty to begin with. Just very juicy and tasty!

Good luck,

John
'88 Bayliner Capri 2150 Bowrider
OMC 5.0l

 

[aspeck]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

The bird can only soak up so much salt (to a point this is true), so you don't have to worry too much about the amount of salt at this point in the game ... use the amount you normally do for a brine. Boom's Brine is a good one for birds, but on a grill it will come out black and burnt looking because of the sugar in it.

You can pretty much do anything you want with the brine ... I prefer kosher salt or sea salt for the brine because I like the flavor better, but that is a personal preference. Add some citrus peel to the brine for a nice, distictive taste, and cook the brine first to pull the flavor from the seasonings into the brine.

Have fun, experiment, and ENJOY!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Another tip is do NOT brine for more than 8-12 hours it changes the texture of the meat.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Another tip is do NOT brine for more than 8-12 hours it changes the texture of the meat.

Actually, that's the main point of brining. Can't make meat tender without changing the texture. Twelve hours is plenty though. What's always worked well for me is a simple 1-1-1 formula. One cup each of salt and brown sugar for every gallon of water. I always cook it long enough to dissolve the solids then add ice until it's cool enough to safely immerse the bird in. You can start with that and add all sorts of neat stuff if you want to infuse the bird with different flavors. The sky's pretty much the limit. Also, if you want to finish thawing the bird safely brine it one of those big water coolers like the phone company guys have on their trucks. Alternatively, you can brine the bird in a five gallon bucket in the fridge if you have room. Okay, I'm getting hungry.....

 

[Philip_G]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

I usually do a cup of kosher salt per gallon of water, and I brine for 1hr a LB.
some people put sugar and spices in, I've done that before but don't find any benefit so I stopped and just do salt.

Usually I do it around thanksgiving time so I just put the bucket outside to stay cool, you're on your own in the summer.

smoked turkey sounds pretty good right now, maybe I'll have to join you and make one for myself

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Agreed incoop but I brined for 24 hours once and it changed the texture to something more like rubber. It wasn't as moist and tender as it should have been.

I used Boomyal's recipe and have for several years now and its always perfect if you don't brine past 12 hours in my opinion.

But you know what opinions are like...

 

[lncoop]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Agreed incoop but I brined for 24 hours once and it changed the texture to something more like rubber. It wasn't as moist and tender as it should have been.

I used Boomyal's recipe and have for several years now and its always perfect if you don't brine past 12 hours in my opinion.

But you know what opinions are like...

Indeed I do, and I agree on twelve hours. That's the magic number.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Agreed incoop but I brined for 24 hours once and it changed the texture to something more like rubber. It wasn't as moist and tender as it should have been.

I used Boomyal's recipe and have for several years now and its always perfect if you don't brine past 12 hours in my opinion.

But you know what opinions are like...

12 hours tops for us as well.
You guys are making me hungry now !!!!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

BTW a link to the brine http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=181912&highlight=turkey+brine

 

[mike64]

Re: Brining a turkey for BBQ questions

Thanks for all the great replies. I cut back on the salt for the brine, but only by a little. Smoked it with applewood chunks yesterday for 8 hours. Turned out awesome

Hope everybody else is having a great Memorial weekend!