# Can you brine Turkey and Chicken together?



## hondo (Sep 23, 2017)

I'm guessing it is not recommended but I am curious. I guess I would ask the same about beef and pork. I never thought about it before as I just paid attention to the anything to chicken cross contamination.

What say you?


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## pc farmer (Sep 23, 2017)

Poultry together will be fine.  Beef and pork together will be fine.

A cure brine?


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## bdskelly (Sep 23, 2017)

What Adam said. You can mix poultry with no problem. So what's on the menu pal? B


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## pops6927 (Sep 23, 2017)

In Curing Brine, you have to maintain species with species.  Poultry with poultry (chicken, turkey, grouse, duck, etc.).  Beef with beef.  Pork with pork.  Otherwise you are mixing different bloods together.  As the meat absorbs ingredients, it is expelling blood and plasma.  And that can cause cross-contamination.  No different than not washing the meat block from chicken to pork to beef.


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## pc farmer (Sep 23, 2017)

Pops6927 said:


> In Curing Brine, you have to maintain species with species.  Poultry with poultry (chicken, turkey, grouse, duck, etc.).  Beef with beef.  Pork with pork.  Otherwise you are mixing different bloods together.  As the meat absorbs ingredients, it is expelling blood and plasma.  And that can cause cross-contamination.  No different than not washing the meat block from chicken to pork to beef.



Thanks pops.  I thought beef and pork was ok together.  Now I know.


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## bdskelly (Sep 23, 2017)

Pops6927 said:


> In Curing Brine, you have to maintain species with species.  Poultry with poultry (chicken, turkey, grouse, duck, etc.).  Beef with beef.  Pork with pork.  Otherwise you are mixing different bloods together.  As the meat absorbs ingredients, it is expelling blood and plasma.  And that can cause cross-contamination.  No different than not washing the meat block from chicken to pork to beef.



So George. 
Just to be clear. Not a good idea to brine or brine / cure pork and beef together or even lamb. But tossing a chicken duck and turkey in the same tub is not a problem. Correct my CowTown pal? B


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## hondo (Sep 23, 2017)

I should have titled this with Pork first given the forum.

I am doing a smoke that will have a Turkey, Turkey legs and Chicken thighs. My brining setup is a 5 gallon bucket and I wanted to just toss the chicken thighs into the bucket at the end of the turkey brine ans take them all out at once. If I could not do that I would have to go get another bucket. Not a big deal but then my curiosity took over and I had to ask.

<y smoker is a MES30 that I just set up ans have a week to play before cooking the bird.


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## SmokinAl (Sep 24, 2017)

Pops6927 said:


> In Curing Brine, you have to maintain species with species.  Poultry with poultry (chicken, turkey, grouse, duck, etc.).  Beef with beef.  Pork with pork.  Otherwise you are mixing different bloods together.  As the meat absorbs ingredients, it is expelling blood and plasma.  And that can cause cross-contamination.  No different than not washing the meat block from chicken to pork to beef.


Thank-you for that info Pops!

I would have never guessed that you couldn't mix meats in a curing brine.

I've never done it, but if given the opportunity I think I would have thought it would be OK.

Saved again by one of the more knowledgeable members on here!

Thanks again!

Al


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## chef jimmyj (Sep 25, 2017)

Cross-contamination just does not matter...IF and only IF...The food will be cooked. Example...You are making Chicken Soup. You gather all the ingredient, cut up a whole bird, onions, carrots and celery on the same board, same knife. Is there a safety issue? NO. While true that the veggies have been contaminated with Salmonella, who cares! It's all going in the pot for a 3 hour simmer at 190.

Most cheapo Hot Dogs are made of a mix of Beef, Pork and Chicken. You think these meats are stored and processed in separate rooms, on separate equipment? NO...One line to grind, season, mix, stuff and cook. Cross-contaminated RAW Wheenies? Yes but again, they will be cooked so no issues.

With all do respect to Pops, same applies to Brining mixed meats. The cross-contamination occurrs but it just don't matter...All the meat will be Cooked to internal temps of 145°F, Ham or Canadian Bacon, or higher. At an IT of 145 held 9.2 minutes, a far shorter rest than anyone gives, the Salmonella on or even IN injected and Brined Pork, Chicken or Beef has a 7log reduction, that's only ONE bacteria cell in a 10 million sample is still alive. Nothing that can hurt you. Add the bacterial growth inhibiting or straight out Killing effect of Salt and Cure in a Brine and, what is there to worry about? There are a ton of threads on the subject, all over the web, that say " Don't mix because of cross-contamination " and when challenged the answer is, " Better Safe than sorry..." Bottom line...There is not a single SAFETY issue mixing meats in a brine. I hope this helps...JJ


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## pops6927 (Oct 7, 2017)

Very true, JJ, but with an exception; what the non-experienced user does, so that is why you must use cautionary rules.  We can _assume  _that they are cooking to min. 145° internal immediately after removing from the curing brine, but you know what they say about "assume" - makes an ASS out of U and ME.  There are some that don't cook to 145° internal, or cold smoke for 45 hours before hot smoking, or 'let a pellicle form' for 24 hours out of refrigeration or who knows what.  As a rule of caution, it is best NOT to mix species to avoid such _assumptions.


chef jimmyj said:



			Cross-contamination just does not matter...IF and only IF...The food will be cooked. Example...You are making Chicken Soup. You gather all the ingredient, cut up a whole bird, onions, carrots and celery on the same board, same knife. Is there a safety issue? NO. While true that the veggies have been contaminated with Salmonella, who cares! It's all going in the pot for a 3 hour simmer at 190.

Most cheapo Hot Dogs are made of a mix of Beef, Pork and Chicken. You think these meats are stored and processed in separate rooms, on separate equipment? NO...One line to grind, season, mix, stuff and cook. Cross-contaminated RAW Wheenies? Yes but again, they will be cooked so no issues.

With all do respect to Pops, same applies to Brining mixed meats. The cross-contamination occurrs but it just don't matter...All the meat will be Cooked to internal temps of 145°F, Ham or Canadian Bacon, or higher. At an IT of 145 held 9.2 minutes, a far shorter rest than anyone gives, the Salmonella on or even IN injected and Brined Pork, Chicken or Beef has a 7log reduction, that's only ONE bacteria cell in a 10 million sample is still alive. Nothing that can hurt you. Add the bacterial growth inhibiting or straight out Killing effect of Salt and Cure in a Brine and, what is there to worry about? There are a ton of threads on the subject, all over the web, that say " Don't mix because of cross-contamination " and when challenged the answer is, " Better Safe than sorry..." Bottom line...There is not a single SAFETY issue mixing meats in a brine. I hope this helps...JJ
		
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