Brining Vessel: Need advice

Big Murth

I'm going to brine an 18lb. bird for T-Day, and about the only thing I've run across that I can immerse the gobbler in, is a large stainless steel pot that I used to make homebrew in. Is this a "reactive" material? safe and OK to use for the bird's swim time?
Thanks everyone!!
Big Murth

Mr Beer

Big Murth,
Your stainless steel pot is ideal for the brining. Stainless steel is for the most part non-reactive and will work very well for the ingredients used to brine. Just make sure that you can fit it in your refrigerator and that you clean it well before brewing with it again. I would suggest cleaning it with vinegar (after washing it well with hot water and soap) and allowing it to air dry prior to using it to brew with again. [p]Mr Beer

Big Murth

Mr Beer,
No immediate fear of needing the pot for brewing any time soon, as my brewing daze are behind me for the most part. Not enough time, and too many calories!! As I believe Nature Boy has said, "life's too short to drink cheap beer"-so I end up buying it already made, which is better for my waistline than having it laying around by the case. Thanks for the word!

Mop

Big Murth,LOL, that quote of Nature Boy`s is a good one!, I like that......I have never thought of it that way but it sure makes sense to me.....Off to thebeer store I go for some "Sleeman`s Silver Creek"........[p]Mop

MAC

Big Murth,
We have four cats. I have an unbelievable number of kitty litter buckets. I put a plastic bag in first, then the brine and last the turkey. It works well.

Gretl

Big Murth,
I bought a large food-grade plastic bucket with a cover from a local dairy. I think it cost all of three bucks. I have it labeled and taped shut so that Jim the resident handy-man/spouse won't use it for plaster or weed-killer or some other lethal stuff.[p]Here's another suggestion that I read but haven't yet tried: Get a big cheap-o styrofoam ice chest. Put the turkey and the brine in a double heavy-duty plastic bag, twist-tied shut. Pack the area between the bag and the styrofoam with frozen freezer packs; the kind you re-freeze and use again. The ice-cold water in the brine, the cold turkey, surrounded by the ice packs should keep tweety chilly enough that you don't need to refrigerate. I'm always looking for ways of saving fridge space. Of course by T-day and certainly by Christmas, it'll be cold enough here that I can use the back deck. Yikes, where did summer go?
Cheers,
Gretl[p]p.s. Stainless steel is nonreactive metal and will work very nicely. If you decide to use it, wash it and rinse it about a million times after using it for brining. I'd be more concerned about turkifying the beer than beering-up the turkey.

Unknown

Big Murth,[p]I see a lot of people are using "plastic bags".[p]Just dont use plastic "garbage" bags.[p]Not suitable for use with foods, pesticides you know. [p]

sdbelt

Big Murth,[p]I use a cooler...one designed for like 8 or 10 beers. Works well for me, and keeps the whole thing cool during the brine.[p]--sdb

Spin

Big Murth,[p]I use a 5 gallon insulated water cooler (like the kind you see on utlity trucks) with very good success. Add the bird and brine, then pack with ice in plastice bags. The bags hold the bird submerged and the cooler frees up precious fridge space.[p]Spin

BobbyG

sdbelt,
I'm a new BGE user and i'm going to attempt our Turkey for Thanksgiving day on the BGE. Do you have any pointers ? How do you brine a Turkey ? Any time you have to help is welcome.

Unknown

Big Murth,[p]Last year I purchased a two pack of turkey roasting bags. I placed the turkey in the bag (double bagged it for safety) and then poured the brine in. I put a twist tie on the top and propped the turkey up in my vegetable bin in the refrigerator (propping to keep the twist tied closure up so it wouldn't leak). Worked perfectly. No leaks. I saved the second bag to use this year.

Puj

Big Murth,[p]I use a 25 qt. plastic container with lid. Fits great in the frig too![p]Puj

BlueSmoke

Big Murth,
I use a combination of ideas below. What I think works best for a really big bird is to put a heavy-weight trash bag in an ice chest, put the "reusable ice things" in that. Then I put in a second bag, containing the turkey and brine. Close the lid - don't touch it for the duration. When you're through, pour the brine down the drain, put the "ice" back in the freezer and throw the used bags in the trash. (Love to cook - hate to clean.)

Mike Oelrich

Gretl,[p] Regarding the ice chest/plastic bag idea. Make sure you put the bag in the cooler first -- don't fill it up then put it in the cooler last. I believe I related my exploding turkey water balloon story here a couple times before . . .[p]MikeO

Timbo

Big Murth,
Stainless will do fine!
I work in a pork processing plant where we use over 90 tons of salt a week... much of it in brine based cure and all of it mixed and stored in stainless tanks.

Gretl

MikeO,
Oh, yes. A classic. I won't go that route!!

sdbelt

BobbyG,[p]I'll be brining mine with a recipe I use from the show "Good Eats". It's no longer posted on foodtv.com, so I can't give you a link.[p]Other than the brine, I'll try to keep the dome between 325 and 350, and cook until the breast reads 165 maybe 170. I'll cook it indirect in a drip pan.[p]I've never done a complete bird in a BGE. I've done a brined breast in a Weber smoker, and that came out very nice, and I've brined oven turkeys several times.[p]Surely there are others that will have more advice,[p]--sdb

Painter

sdbelt, Here's the link you were refering to.

Painter

Painter,
Sorry trying again

[ul][li]Alton Brown Roast Turkey[/ul]

jmadison

Big Murth,
had the same problem with a ham last Christmas .. went to Home Depot and bought a new white 5 gal bucket with a lid ..worked great ! but, I do like the cooler idea to free up frig space.