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Researching Brining Turkeys

Or maybe the title should say, "to brine, or not to brine".

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at seriouseats.com had an article dated 2009 and a follow-up in 2012 on brining, techniques, etc.  They are long articles but I like the fact that he's taken a scientific approach to this question and conducted some experiments to prove the theories. 

Article #1
Article #2

So my takeaway is don't brine becuase it creates a mushy watery flavorless meat.  But I really don't want a dry bird either, so just add salt?  Remove the skin to get the salt on the meat?  What about the interior?  If brining is so bad, and the store bought butterballs are all pre-brined, then how do all these people end up with dry tough turkey?  I don't get it.

My plan is to get a fresh bird this year, so the brine/salt/nothing decision is all on me I guess.

Also, a friend just did 2 turkeys last weekend and salted one for a few days and brined the other for the same amount of time. He stuffed both turkeys with cubed lemon, apple, orange, and onion then covered with bacon strips to protect from burning. Grilled at 300/350 for 3 hours. He reports that they came out really well and he couldn't tell the difference between the salted and brined turkey.  

Thoughts? 

Strongsville, OH

Comments

  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
    edited November 2014
    The key to not having a dry bird is to avoid over cooking it.  

    When the breast is 165*, get it off the grill. IMO, if you test in several spots and the lowest temp is 160*, that's ok if it has been 160* for a minute.  I don't recommend aiming for 160* in case you miss the cool spot when taking your samples.  Some other thoughts:

    Stuffing increases the chances of over cooking the breast because heating from inside the cavity is being blocked. Same with adding lots of fruit & veggies. I'd go easy on the amount that is added.  My wife really likes stuffing cooked in the bird, so now we get the stuffing as hot as we can handle before inserting it in the bird.  That helps a bit.  

    Some people put ice bags on the breast, while the bird is sitting out to let the thighs start warming up while breast stays cold and thus the breast will take longer to cook.

    Spatchcock raised direct with the back end of the bird over the hotter part of the grill also works, although you loose presentation points if you carve tableside.
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    @TheBrewerMoose‌- If done correctly brining does not produce a mushy bird, nor mushy pork for that matter. I brine both at times and love the out come. A note: The bird that your friend salted for days was brined. It's called dry brining. It produces almost the same end result as wet brining. Please note that I said "almost". A different process but the same mechanizim at work. Don't be afraid to brine. Is it totally necessary? Certainly not. Does it have its advantages? You bet your boots it does my friend. If you ever try it and do it correctly you will probably become a briner yourself. Again brining is not a must but it does offer one some huge advantages. Brining has spoiled me to the point that if I don't brine for some reason, I compensate by injecting. However most of the time I do both. A good brining followed by a healthy injection of melted butter. Just doesn't get much better than that my friend.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    If I am cooking breasts only I brine them. But for legs or wings or the whole turkey: no. 400 direct and raised.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    Butterballs are all brined last I checked the only way to screw it up is to wayyy overcook - but a lot of people manage to do it!

    I'm doing a fresh turkey this weekend. Haven't decided how to prep it. Probably too lazy to brine but we'll see.
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
  • Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

    Strongsville, OH