Turkey breast brined for 72 hours: results

TRex

Okay, so it wasn't my intention to leave this 6 lb turkey breast in a brine for 72 hours--I put it in last Saturday night and intended to cook it Sunday afternoon. But, something came up Sunday, then Monday night was busy, Tuesday night was busy (I finally took it out of the brine at this point and put it in the fridge), and then I finally cooked it last night. I was afraid that it was either going to be just water logged or way too salty, but the results were very good. Three hours indirect at 320 F, removed at 161F internal, and turkey popper popped as the breast was resting on the counter inside. Just the right amount of juiciness (although I could have tolerated more), and almost no real heavy indication of salt. How could this be? Well, here's why I think everything turned out fine. I brined the turkey breast in the "John Ash" brine, which I poured into a large plastic cooler. I had to add about 10 more cups of water to fully cover the turkey b/c the cooler was too big (thus diluting the mixture). Then, each morning, I added ice to the mixture to keep the temp below 40F. Of course, this ice melted and so each day the solution became more diluted (less of a salt concentration). I think that this slowed down the osmosis rate and saved my turkey breast from becoming way too juicy or salty. I didn't think about this at the time, but this must be what saved me. Next time I'll use a smaller cooler and brine just overnight (with proper planning), but I was very happy that this "experiment" also resulted in a fine tasting turkey.

kim

TRex,
glad it turned out. I'm TRex, assuming this was a frozen breast, it was injected with a soution, 3-10%. If this were the case, could the solution neutralize the brine? Just a thought!

kim

TRex,
excuse my typing..to early in the morning for me!

TRex

kim,[p]The turkey breast was a fresh (not frozen) HEB brand breast that was "minimally processed," which I've learned can mean one of several different things. Since osmosis occurs until an equilibrium between brine solution and cell content is reached, I would think that brining a preinjected bird would either add just some salt (due to water removal from cells) or do nothing at all. I know some people on this forum have brined preinjected birds and they would be able to give you a better idea of what happens. By diluting my brine mixture, I may have simply forced the equilibrium condition sooner. The Naked Whiz posted a link to a great article on brining below which I've only skimmed but it seems to have a lot of really good information.