turkey quality

[bucketmouth64]

My turkey didn't turn out as good as last years. I flavor injected it and cooked it on a rotisserie. Bird was more dry this time. The only difference is the turkey. I didn't get a butter basted bird, and I got a market pantry bird from Target instead of a name brand. My question, is there any difference in the quality of a bird whether it is a store brand or a name brand? Maybe I just got a bad bird. What does butter basted bird mean and does this make a difference? Thanks for the replys.

[Jim Almquist]

It sure sounds like you did everything right and then some. I have tried Jenno's and Butterballs and really found no difference other then price. The only ? I have is do you brine your turkey at all. If I use just plain salt water I will brine for 24 hours and if I have a flavored brine I will go 48 hours.I always let my digital thermometer tell me when to pull my bird and when I bring it in I will let it rest for a 1/2 hour which gives me time to prep my gravy. I always put one of those small aluminum trays under the bird while it is cooking on the rotisserie and put in some chicken stock in it so the dippings have something to land in and create a great base for your gravy.

[bucketmouth64]

Is brining just soaking the turkey in salt water? Never done this. What does it do to the bird? How different is this versus rubbing bird down with salt? I went by the pop up thermometer in the bird instead of using a regular thermometer. Can't remember what I did last year, maybe the pop up had the cooking too long.

[fishinchicks]

A brine is a liquid (water, apple juice, etc) that salt is dissolved in. Most will cook their salt and water for about 5 minutes to dissolve the salt. Look for a recipe the first time, just to make sure you have proportions correct.

I brined a grocery store brand turkey this year, and it turned out great. The meat was moist on the first day as well as the leftovers. It was a 24 lb turkey that was brined for about 24 hours.

If possible, put a good instant read thermometer in the thigh, and wait for it to reach 180 degrees. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and you should be good to go.

This method should work on other poultry as well.