How to brine a turkey

Roundman · June 2004

Hey All,[p]How do you brine a turkey from my earlier post this was a suggestion. I have never brined anything I'm new to cooking and I only cook on a BGE. Thank for any help. I plan to cook my turkey this weekend.[p]Roundman

Smokin Joe · June 2004

Roundman,
Try this link. One of the nice folks who post here pointed me to it a while back. It is extremely helpful! A great option when cooking chicken or turkey. Joe
[ul][li]Brining 101 Link[/ul]

QBabe · June 2004

Roundman,[p]Here's what I did....[p][p]Maple Brined Turkey[p]For the Brine...[p]2 cups kosher salt
6 cups hot water
6 quarts cold water
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
18 black peppercorns
8 bay leaves
6 strips lemon zest (about 1 1/2 inches x 1/2 inch)
6 strips orange zest (about 1 1/2 inches x 1/2 inch)
5 whole cloves[p]Pour the salt and hot water into a large deep nonreactive pot and stir until the salt dissolves. Mix in 6 quarts of cold water and the maple syrup. Add onion, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, lemon zest, orange zest and cloves. Let the brine cool until it’s at room temperature. When the brine is cool, place turkey in 5 gallon food-safe bucket and pour brine over it, making sure to submerge it completely. Take a gallon ziploc and fill with ice cubes. Lay the filled ziploc bag on top of the turkey to weigh it down. Cover with lid and place in refrigerator overnight.[p]Set up the egg for indirect cooking (platesetter, firebricks, whatever you use). Stabilize the cooker at 325°. I usually don’t add any extra smoking wood, as poultry takes on smoke very easily, but if you prefer a smoky bird, add wood now.[p]For the drip pan and the bird...[p]6 tbsp. butter, melted
2-3 sliced onions
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
2-3 quartered oranges
2-3 quartered onions[p]Remove the bird from the brine and rinse well. Place the bird in a v-rack breast side up and put in a drip pan filled with chicken broth, water, melted butter and sliced onions. Stuff the cavity with quartered oranges (do not peel) and onions. Place polder probe in thickest part of the breast and put in cooker. If the wing tips start to brown too much, cover with aluminum foil. Baste with liquid from drip pan every 30-45 minutes (I use one of those long tubular things with the bulb at one end that sucks liquids into it rather than a brush). As liquid accumulates in the cavity area, use the baster to remove them from there and add to the drippings in the drip pan. Cook until the breast reads 162° (the little pop-up thingy may not have popped yet, but that’s ok). Remove from cooker, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.[p]My 20 lb bird took about 5 hrs at 325°.[p]Tonia
:~)[p]

QBabe · June 2004

QBabe,[p]Oops...forgot that I brushed the bird with some of the melted butter too and sprinkled with salt, pepper and parsley flakes. Then added what was left to the drip pan before putting the whole shebang on to cook...[p]Tonia
:~)

Unknown · June 2004

Roundman,[p]Here's another link:

[ul][li]Brinning[/ul]

mad max beyond eggdome · June 2004

Roundman,
notwithstanding what everyone else said, but IMHO i'm not sure why you even need to brine unless you want to . . .i've done 19 - 20 pound turkeys in the egg. . .treated it like it was the oven, i.e. put the turkey in a traditional roasting pan and roasted it exactly like i would in the oven. . .times, temps, etc. . .i pour about 1/2 a bottle of white wine in and over the bird just before roasting and between that, the couple of sticks of butter i rub on the bird and the moisture retention of the egg, it comes out unbeleavably moist. . .[p]one trick i learned years ago, that i've passed on here before, is, about 1/2 an hour before you are ready to the turkey in the egg (or oven), take a 1 gallon plastic bag full of ice and lay it over the breasts (of the turkey) for about 20 minutes. . .this lowers the breast temps so that they will be done at the same time the legs are done and keeps the breast meat from drying out. . .it really works great. . .

How to brine a turkey

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