Amount of brine for just a turkey breast?

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young one

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
58
11
Delray Beach, FL
Hi All,

           I"m planning on smoking  my first turkey breast and a fattie this weekend, The posted recipes for brine are for a big bird, and I'm only doing a breast. Can anyone tell me how much to cut the brine recipe down to, I don't need a gallon of the stuff.

Also has anyone tried using the brine in a food vacuum sealer container to cut down on brine time? Id rather smoke today and not wait overnight!

Thanks
 
How much does the breast weigh?

You may find that 1 gallon won't be enough to submerge the breast, depending on the size and shape of the container you'll be using. A vacuum container will help reduce brining time, but for a piece as thick as a turkey breast, I'd still brine at least 8 hours. If you had the large ziplock bags, you can reduce the amount of brine drastically. I use bags for brine-curing corned beef pastrami alot, and a 5 gallon bucket for yard birds, large amounts of pork ribs, and also for pairs of pork butts.

Have a great smoke!

Eric
 
It's a 5 lb breast,

and I just realized it wont fit in my vac container so I guess I'd be using the gal ziplock baggie
 
Ah, OK, you may have to squeeze it a bit to fit the narrow tip inside and get the bag closed, but it should be the job. I don't like to throw stuff away, so I'm not a big fan of bags unless I can't help it.

Eric
 
Eric has got you covered.

Just remember the Qview
biggrin.gif
 
I used 2 qts water and 1/2'd the ingredients fit nicely in a 1 gallon ziplock, brined it in fridge with recipe link posted in forum from cookshack.com for 24 hrs and shes ready to smoke!

will post picts when done.
 
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