Should I rinse the "marinade" off a turkey?

[leroy77]

I am doing a test run for thanksgiving. I bought a garlic and herb marinade from the grocery store (3 bottles) and added about 2 gallons of water (enough to cover the bird) I brought this to a boil and let it cool to room temp. Then put the bird in and put it in the fridge. Everything I have read on the internet says I should rinse "brine" off of the bird before putting it on the smoker or it will be too salty. The stuff I bought is a "marinade" and I'm not sure if it should be rinsed off before I put it on the smoker? If anyone has tried this or has any input please let me know, I want to put the bird on the smoker Friday morning so I can have some turkey sandwiches for the deer stand!

[reinhard1]

Leroy, first of all i have never done what you have with your turkey. marinades to me are different than brines. brines normaly are a mixture of salt, brown sugar, and spices. so, brines should be rinsed off. however i would just take the turkey out of the marinade mixture and let the excess liquid inside the cavity drip out and then just put it on the smoker. the marinade on the skin thats left will just add to the flavor of the turkey. you have already dilluded the marinade somewhat already by adding the water. personaly if you like the flavor of the marinade you bought, i would brush some on strait up on the turkey before putting it on the smoker. good luck.

[McGurk]

I just throw it on with the marinade still on, no need to rinse it off. Make sure if you are applying it during the smoke that you leave the bird on after the last marinade brushing so that it has a chance to cook also. Ditto to what Reinhard said; rinse off a brine.

[thirdeye]

If your test run doesn't give you the flavor you want, you can always inject some of the marinade too.

In fact, when I brine poultry I usually inject some of the brine as well as soaking the meat. It cuts down the time a little.

[Ice Shack Baby]

I agree with the last 3 posts, these guys are heavy hitters in the cooking world. I agree especially with injecting the turkey. It sounds like the marinade is watered down so you won't be dealing with too much flavor.

I would not have watered down the marinade and used it at 100% and turn the turkey in the marinade every few hours or so. I would also inject the bird with 100% strength marinade as well. I have cooked hundreds of turkeys and injected them quite a few times with marinades at a catering restaurant that I used to work at. We used to do 150-200 turkeys every Thanksgiving. I have also injected the gravy packets that come with the turkey as well.

[leroy77]

Thanks for all the input everyone, I'll give it a try and let you know how it turned out next week!

[pushbutton]

I don't agree with them at all...so much so....that you should follow their advice just to prove me right....then you should drop off that terrible tasting bird at my place on your way up hunting Good call on the trial run, turkey day will be a good one!