turkey disappointment

kim

I've done three frozen birds this summer that turned out juicy and flavorful. These were not brined and had only a butter paste rubbed under the skin. For TG, I decided to brine a fresh bird. This was 22#'s and I brined it overnight in 2C. kosher salt, 2 gal. water, 1 C. honey, some fresh thyme and garlic, etc.. I also rubbed a paste of butter under the skin. Cooked the same way as before, indirect with a platesetter 325-350. It took only 5 hours, with a breast temp of 165. The drip pan overflowed with juices that I wish had stayed in the bird. The meat was dry and there was no hint of flavor from the brine. Did I do something wrong, did I buy an "old" fresh bird? At this point I'm disappointed at brined turkeys.

mollyshark

kim,[p]5 hours seems an awfully long time to get to that temperature. Averages on brined birds seem to be hitting around 10-12 minutes a pound...much faster than not brined. I had a 21 lb and it hit 165 breast temp in about 3 hours. Yours has all the symptoms of overcooking. Have you checked your thermometer temp?[p]mShark

kim

MollyShark,
yes, I did. I've never done such a large bird, and prefer to do smaller hen birds. Perhaps that is it..I freaked at the size figuring it would take 5-5.5 hours. It seems odd to me though, that the pan juices overflowed. Do you think that cooking in 20 degree temps affects the outcome?

Tom Harmon

kim,[p]Anything over 3 hours for brined bird is suspect - brining and the added salt/h2o modifies proteins and makes the meat cook more quickly.[p]One caveat may be stuffing, if you had stuffing in the bird it will increase the mass and greatly increase cooking time, one of reasons Alton Brown mentions to NOT stuff the bird.[p]tlhrtp

mollyshark

kim,[p]No, not really. I've done stuff when it is 20 and 120 out and can't see much difference (except more likely to flash at 20!). Last year I did a 25 pounder and I don't think it took more than 4 hours. Something really strange here. I got some drippings, but not THAT much. Was yours injected or treated in any way? Many of them are and it is hard to avoid, but maybe something strange was put in yours.

Chuck

kim,[p]Is it possible that you thermometer was touching your turkey? Just an thought.[p]Chuck[p]

kim

MollyShark,
my bird was fresh untreated. I did not inject, however I did rub a paste of garlic, butter, and spices under the skin..1.5 sticks of butter! Guess I may have overdone that. Last summer, though, I did a 15#'er that was awesome. Made with the same rub but was not brined. This had little lost juices and was cooked to the same internal breast temp. of 165. I appreciate the feedback and will keep on egg'in!!

Ksdaddio

kim,
I have done 1 8lb turkey breast without brining, and 4 using a similar brine without the honey. They were all awesome! There was so much juice that we had to have towels around the board as we carved. My experience has always been that it takes less time than you would expect. Two 8lb breasts were done (160 degrees)slightly less than 3 hours. I even got up real early to make sure, and could have stayed in bed. The last time I had a bad experience as you describe was with ribs, and when I opened the lid, my thermometer had skewered on one of the ribs! I would have to agree with some of the others, it sounds like a thermometer problem. I use a Polder with a probe, besides the dome temperature. Sorry for the bad luck.