Brining a whole turkey??

[BLACKJACK]

Thawing a 13 pounder out right now, getting ready to brine it for a 4th of July barbecue. I usually go pretty basic on the brine, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of brown sugar, sliced onion. I have a big plastic bucket to brine it in, it will probably take 16-20 cups of water to cover it. A couple of questions:

1) How long should it sit in the brine? I normally shoot for 24 hours, will it hurt to soak it for 48 hours?

2) Lots of brining recipes call for rinsing/soaking in cold water for a couple of hours - how much rinsing and 'setting' is enough before I throw it on the grill?? Not smoking the turkey, planning on indirect heat on my big charcoal weber.

Goal is a tender juicy turkey but not too salty!!

Thanks for any advice!!

[delcecchi]

Careful with the salt if the turkey is "pre-basted" or injected like so many frozen turkeys are, with "a solution to enhance...". They are already pretty salty.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I do anywhere from 24-48 hours. It shouldn't make too much difference. I always rinse after brining, dry thoroughly, and then stick back in the refrigerator for a few hours to dry a bit more. When I pull it out I do a thin layer of olive oil, and a rub.

[McGurk]

...dry thoroughly, and then stick back in the refrigerator for a few hours to dry a bit more...

Probably the most important step that many people do not have time for, as it makes the skin crisp up better. 24 hours uncovered IN A FRIDGE will tighten that skin up and make a big difference.

[eyeguy 54]

smoked 12 pounder last week. no brine. I injected instead. mmmmm!

[McGurk]

Spatchcock...Check it out.

Seriously.

[pike79]

Mcgurk is right I don't even brine or inject my birds before smoking them. Spatchcock them and smoke them breast side up they are perfect every time.

[eyeguy 54]

interesting. looks like too much work.

[BLACKJACK]

Careful with the salt if the turkey is "pre-basted" or injected like so many frozen turkeys are, with "a solution to enhance...". They are already pretty salty.

Thanks for the advice, went home and checked the thawing out turkey, its from Jennie-O, and it does say '9% by weight solution to tenderize and keep it juicy', ingredients were turkey juices, salt, potassium something, and sugar. Looks like my brining is done!!

I did find this on the internet when I was searching on brining; I had always wondered what brining did.

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Brining is like a marinade, as it keeps food moist and tender. Brining or salting is a way of increasing the moisture holding capacity of meat resulting in a moister product when it is cooked. Salt changes the structure of the muscle tissue in the meat which allows it to swell and absorb water and flavorings which results in a tender turkey or chicken once cooked.

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I buy whole chickens from a local farmer, some day I’m going to try one brined and one without just to see if it really makes a difference.

[BLACKJACK]

smoked 12 pounder last week. no brine. I injected instead. mmmmm!

Not a fan of injecting, I could see the lines in the meat from what was injected, kind of made me wonder what the heck was in there.

[eyeguy 54]

butter and lemon juice.

[BLACKJACK]

Probably the most important step that many people do not have time for, as it makes the skin crisp up better. 24 hours uncovered IN A FRIDGE will tighten that skin up and make a big difference.

Never heard of this but may try it!!! On these young birds the skin is so tender that its hard not to tear it when turning the bird.

[toughguy]

Spatchcock...Check it out.

Seriously.

Looks good. I have a couple of whole chickens I'm going to try. Thanks for the tip

[Jim Almquist]

Spatchcock...Check it out.

Seriously.

Funny, I have been doing it for years and now it has a name. Great way to cook a whole bird.

[BLACKJACK]

Turkey turned out good, cooked it a little longer than I wanted to, wanted to hit 165 degrees, was 170 by the time I checked it, too many beers I guess, but it still tender and not too dry. After the warnings here only brined it overnight, rinsed it good in the bucket, then let it sit in a pan in the frig for 6 hours - didn't really notice any difference with the skin tightening up.

Some day I need to do a side by side comparison, one piece of meat brined and one not brined and see which is better.

[toughguy]

Spatchcock...Check it out.

Seriously.

Cooked up a chicken this weekend after spatchcocking it. Put on a little olive oil and some seasoning and wow was it good! No more beer can chicken for this guy. Spatchcock is much easier to prepare for the table and took less time - about 45 minutes on indirect charcoal. Wife picked up a bunch of whole chickens for $2.50 each at Target a few weeks back so there's plenty more our freezer too. Thanks for the tip.