Brine or no Brine??

Never ever brined a turkey and I will die never having brined a turkey.

I like the taste of turkey..

OH E, :pinch: Are you trying to get him all twisted up?? LOL But I do have to say I agree with Pete. I Do not like brined stuff and that is why we quite buying meats at the grocery. If I want Ham I will buy Ham, I do not want my turkey, chicken or anything else to taste like ham I want good clear clean meat that taste like it is supposed to. I will probably never brine a turkey either. that is why I spent $$ on a fresh one when Hanifords had some for $15.oo. I about died to do it but that is hubbies big treat every year LOL and the only thing he asks for sooo..... besides with the egg it is kind of defeating the purpose aren't you??
The only person that will know if you like it is you though. I have tried it and did not care for it so that is where my 2 cents come from

Only Brine if your turkey has not been injected. Other wise too much salt

Gosh Pete only 38??? :ohmy: I thought at least 70 or 80???

I've had one brined turkey. My BIL did one for Christmas a few years ago. It was unbelievably moist, not the least bit salty, nor "mushy".

See the post just a little earlier today re: dry brining. LA Times article on the process. I'm going to do this then roast ala Mad Max.

Yes and I still prefer the taste of turkey all by itself.

Moist and Tender you will get on the egg, especially if you follow Max's technique.

Our recipes are different, but we do pretty much cook it the same way.. Go Figure

Are you brining a fresh bird or one that has been frozen. All the ones I found frozen say they are injected with a 5 to 8 % solution. Will brining be over kill?

I've brined for the last few years. This year I elect not to. But I will inject with Cajun Butter!

that sounds interesting, do tell?

I brine all poultry white meat and looking at all the responses here, you need to do a side-by-side to see what's best for you. In early fall, I ran polls on several cooking forums about brining turkey breasts and the results were 55% to 60% in favor of brining. Here is a great article (pro brining) from Cathy Thomas from the Colorado Springs Gazette written in 2002. You will recognize many of the sources quoted. There is also a brining write-up on my cookin' site.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_/ai_n10011189

All that said, I think there is an area of caution that should be explored here. Followers of Max's recipe rave about the quality of the gravy produced from a Mad Max Turkey. Now, not being a gravy man I don't know if the drippings from a brined turkey will affect the flavor or saltiness of the gravy.

Celtic Wolf wrote:

You win!! My wife (the one that diesn't cook) just came home with a Frozen Turkey and it's injected with the 8% solution..

Guess she forgot the "FRESH" part of the request.

Hmm Technically I still have never brined a bird. Honeysuckle did it :woohoo:

HONEYSUCKLE???? :woohoo: :silly: HONEYSUCKLE Pete???? :P :silly: Ok I am about rolling on the floor
he he honeysuckle LOL you are just a teddy bear aren't you! LOL he he

oh... I thought that was a little sugary for you :huh:

Just got back from the grocery where I almost had the same experience. My favorite store had three kinds of fresh turkeys, Honeysuckle, Butterball and free range. The free range were nearly double the price. I grew up on Honeysuckle turkeys, so I asked for one. My "fresh" turkey was frozen hard as a rock. Butcher said it was a requirement for transportation. Okay, I guess I can accept that, but then I read the package and saw the "self basting solution". I asked to see a Butterball. The fresh Butterballs said that they were all natural "minimally processed". I switched to a Butterball.