Brined Turkey for a buddy

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disco

Epic Pitmaster
Original poster
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Oct 31, 2012
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A friend came to stay with me for a few days and I had thawed a small turkey in the cooler. He said he didn't care about crispy skin, he just hated dry turkey breast. So, I decided to brine it.

My personal feeling on brining is that it affects the texture of the meat too much. If you don't overcook your turkey, it will be moist without brining. However, I wanted to make my buddy happy so I brined.

I mixed up the brine 

I made up a brine of kosher salt, brown sugar and some herbs. I let the bird sit in it overnight in the fridge.


I took it out in the morning and put it in a cooler with ice packs for few hours to dry.


I chopped up some fresh sage, rosemary and thyme (No Simon and Garfunkel cracks, please). I also chopped a large clove of garlic.


I mixed them up with olive oil.


Rubbed down the bird and pushed some under the skin,



I preheated the Bradley to its highest setting and started up some apple smoke.


I cooked it to an IT of 165 in the breast.


The skin had a great texture and colour and it tasted really good. However, I still think the breast gets a soft texture with brining. My buddy even said it was moist but he thought it was softer too. It was all eaten and a wonderful soup was made with the carcass.

Sorry about no cut pictures. She Who Must Be Obeyed threatened me if I took pictures while we were entertaining.

Disco
 
 
The skin had a great texture and colour and it tasted really good. However, I still think the breast gets a soft texture with brining. My buddy even said it was moist but he thought it was softer too. It was all eaten and a wonderful soup was made with the carcass.

Sorry about no cut pictures. She Who Must Be Obeyed threatened me if I took pictures while we were entertaining.

Disco
LOL Did you tell SWMBO that the pics where for the greater good of science and this forum??

Looks like an awesome bird Disco, well done. Personally I love to brine my birds, so I would have 'gobbled' that up...couldn't resist that one....
 
Yeah, women can get weird at times. Hey, I'm doing chicken quarters tomorrow for 150 and since some of them were older & frozen longer I decided to brine them, something I don't normally do, with a slight variation of JJ's brine which got good reviews from many. Now, I'm wondering if the right choice was made and hoping this brining doesn't come back to bite me in the arse. I intend to be mopping them on the open pit with the Cornell chicken mop, minus the raw eggs. Again, something I don't normally do but these are grilling over a big bed of coals. Of course, I'll second guess myself into a lather over this...tomorrow can't come soon enough..Willie
 
 
Yeah, women can get weird at times. Hey, I'm doing chicken quarters tomorrow for 150 and since some of them were older & frozen longer I decided to brine them, something I don't normally do, with a slight variation of JJ's brine which got good reviews from many. Now, I'm wondering if the right choice was made and hoping this brining doesn't come back to bite me in the arse. I intend to be mopping them on the open pit with the Cornell chicken mop, minus the raw eggs. Again, something I don't normally do but these are grilling over a big bed of coals. Of course, I'll second guess myself into a lather over this...tomorrow can't come soon enough..Willie
That Brine never fails me...BUT...Skip the Cornell mop and use my version. It was designed to work with my brine and there is no risk using the Raw Yolks as the Vinegar would take out any bacteria...JJ

Pit Chicken aka, Roadside Chicken

This Chicken is Grilled/Smoked and sold all across the country at Roadside Stands and at Firehouse Fund Raiser BBQ's. Here is my version

Pit Chix Basting Sauce

2C Apple Cider Vinegar

1C Olive or other Oil

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

2Lrg Egg Yolks

I always Brine my Chicken with my Families Favorite Brine and apply some Bubba Chix Rub. This is then Grill/Smoked over indirect heat at 300-325°F until the Internal Temp (IT) reaches 175°F. If the skin is not Crisp enough, a few minutes, turning frequently, over direct heat will get you there.

This stuff is Tangy with a Sweet and Spicy Finish. If you wish, instead of Brining, you can make a Double batch and add 1T Kosher Salt to half. Marinate the Chix for 4-6 hours with the salted half of the Brine/Basting Sauce then use the rest to baste during the Cook.

I would squirt the Sauce on with a Sports Bottle about every 15-20 minutes and used all but 1/2 cup that I took to the Table to add a fresh Punch of flavor. Great Stuff!...JJ
 
 
LOL Did you tell SWMBO that the pics where for the greater good of science and this forum??

Looks like an awesome bird Disco, well done. Personally I love to brine my birds, so I would have 'gobbled' that up...couldn't resist that one....
Thanks but I don't think questioning the missus was my best choice at that moment.
 
Yeah, women can get weird at times. Hey, I'm doing chicken quarters tomorrow for 150 and since some of them were older & frozen longer I decided to brine them, something I don't normally do, with a slight variation of JJ's brine which got good reviews from many. Now, I'm wondering if the right choice was made and hoping this brining doesn't come back to bite me in the arse. I intend to be mopping them on the open pit with the Cornell chicken mop, minus the raw eggs. Again, something I don't normally do but these are grilling over a big bed of coals. Of course, I'll second guess myself into a lather over this...tomorrow can't come soon enough..Willie
I see another post in the making.
 
That Brine never fails me...BUT...Skip the Cornell mop and use my version. It was designed to work with my brine and there is no risk using the Raw Yolks as the Vinegar would take out any bacteria...JJ

Pit Chicken aka, Roadside Chicken

This Chicken is Grilled/Smoked and sold all across the country at Roadside Stands and at Firehouse Fund Raiser BBQ's. Here is my version

Pit Chix Basting Sauce

2C Apple Cider Vinegar

1C Olive or other Oil

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

2Lrg Egg Yolks

I always Brine my Chicken with my Families Favorite Brine and apply some Bubba Chix Rub. This is then Grill/Smoked over indirect heat at 300-325°F until the Internal Temp (IT) reaches 175°F. If the skin is not Crisp enough, a few minutes, turning frequently, over direct heat will get you there.

This stuff is Tangy with a Sweet and Spicy Finish. If you wish, instead of Brining, you can make a Double batch and add 1T Kosher Salt to half. Marinate the Chix for 4-6 hours with the salted half of the Brine/Basting Sauce then use the rest to baste during the Cook.

I would squirt the Sauce on with a Sports Bottle about every 15-20 minutes and used all but 1/2 cup that I took to the Table to add a fresh Punch of flavor. Great Stuff!...JJ
Thanks for the recipes.
 
 
That Brine never fails me...BUT...Skip the Cornell mop and use my version. It was designed to work with my brine and there is no risk using the Raw Yolks as the Vinegar would take out any bacteria...JJ

Pit Chicken aka, Roadside Chicken

This Chicken is Grilled/Smoked and sold all across the country at Roadside Stands and at Firehouse Fund Raiser BBQ's. Here is my version

Pit Chix Basting Sauce

2C Apple Cider Vinegar

1C Olive or other Oil

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

2Lrg Egg Yolks

I always Brine my Chicken with my Families Favorite Brine and apply some Bubba Chix Rub. This is then Grill/Smoked over indirect heat at 300-325°F until the Internal Temp (IT) reaches 175°F. If the skin is not Crisp enough, a few minutes, turning frequently, over direct heat will get you there.

This stuff is Tangy with a Sweet and Spicy Finish. If you wish, instead of Brining, you can make a Double batch and add 1T Kosher Salt to half. Marinate the Chix for 4-6 hours with the salted half of the Brine/Basting Sauce then use the rest to baste during the Cook.

I would squirt the Sauce on with a Sports Bottle about every 15-20 minutes and used all but 1/2 cup that I took to the Table to add a fresh Punch of flavor. Great Stuff!...JJ
Yeah, have that printed out with the brine so will take a GIANT LEAP OF FAITH (LMAO) and use it. Using a mop for flair rather than a squirt bottle...for some reason they're expecting a side show to amuse themselves while I sweat my ass off. So, pictures of the 'tar & feathering' sometime early next week if I don't pull this off. By the way, the walk in smelled terrific this morning as I went to drain off the brine, a very good sign, so maybe this will all work out......Willie
 
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