# turkey brine



## clintconaway (Nov 15, 2009)

I would like to brine a turkey breast to add a bit of flaver however all I can find at turkeys with 15-20% solution  can I brine with say a half a cup of salt per gal of water rather than a full cup to avoid the saltyness of a finished product, or can I get by with no salt at all?  Is the salt a kind of catilyst?


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## fire it up (Nov 15, 2009)

You could go lighter on the salt but if you don't have enough salt in your brine it won't brine properly.
I would just go for a regular brine, use slightly less salt but not ny much because anything in the turkey will come out as the brine liquid and flavors do their job by flowing in and out of the meat.


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## travcoman45 (Nov 15, 2009)

*Slaughterhouse Poultry Brine ** By Tip Piper of Hillbilly Vittles*
*1 ½ Gal Water*
*½ C Salt - Kosher*
*½ C Dark Brown Sugar*
*2 tsp Garlic Powder*
*2 tsp Onion Powder*
*2 tsp Cajun Spice (Louisiana Cajun Seasoning*
*2 tsp Celery Seed*

*Slaughterhouse Poultry Injection*
*½ Pkg Good Seasons Italian Dressing*
*2 tsp Garlic Powder*
*2 tsp Celery Seed*
*2 TBS melted Butter (non salted*
*2 C Apple Cider*

*Slaughterhouse Spritz (Good fer everthin!)*
*8 oz Apple Cider*
*6 oz Water*
*4 oz Whiskey*
*2 oz Cider Vinegar*

This is popular round here, also lower in salt cause I can't have that much no more.


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## natdiamond (Nov 15, 2009)

Actually, I've used up to 2 lbs of salt in a 5 gallon bucket before. The salt does not flavor the meat. Just make sure to wash the turkey very well. The salt is on the outside. But you will be surprised how all that salt does not make the meat salty.


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## fire it up (Nov 15, 2009)

Have tried Tip's brine and injection and both were excellent!  
I'm not kidding, some of the best poultry I have made was using his recipes, and that injection...I wanna just inject a whole batch of it straight down my throat


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## seenred (Nov 15, 2009)

I too recommend Tip's recipe highly.  It helped me make the best bird I ever smoked.


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## mballi3011 (Nov 15, 2009)

Go with Tip's brine and injection recipes I have used them on turkeys and they are really good. You can tweak it if you want but for the first time use it exactly like the recipes say and then tweak them if you feel the need. I haven't changed a thing and I have used it a couple o times.


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## sumosmoke (Nov 16, 2009)

Here's another vote for Tips recipe's. They are tried and true on the forum!


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## beerthirty (Nov 16, 2009)

I asked that same question on this forum about a month ago and Tip came to the rescue with his recipe and it worked out great! Best yard bird I ever had. I did sub apple juice for water though (it was cheap).  Injected with the brine and soaked for 2 days. (Didn't mean to soak it that long however I didn't get to smoke my bird the day I wanted to). I cut the backbone out of the bird and smoked at 325-350 and worked out great.


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## richoso1 (Nov 16, 2009)

Tip's brine is right on the $$$. Also light on the salt. You can't lose on this one.


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## av8tor (Nov 25, 2009)

For the *2 tsp Cajun Spice Louisiana Cajun Seasoning  *something like Tony Chachere's okay?  Please clarify the tsp=teaspoon?  Seems like not enough so just checking in case it is TBS=tablespoon.


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## travcoman45 (Nov 25, 2009)

tsp in my recipes be teaspoons, yer just addin subtle hints a flavour, helps but dosen't cover up the turkeys flavour.

Tbl is Tablespoons fer my stuff.

Tony's should work just fine.  The louisiana brand is what I get here.

This is not a spicey brine er injection, ya can always add more if ya like.  I'd start with the original recipe an then work it ta yer likin.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I sell a fair amount a poultry an don't change things cause the customers are happy with the recipe.  But, different folks like different blends so feel free to experiment!


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## travcoman45 (Nov 25, 2009)

You guys er makin me blush!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  An that ain't easy through all these whiskers!

Thanks guys, I'm always glad ta share an hep whenever I can.


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## springer (Nov 25, 2009)

I see a lot of people who are brining their birds in a plastic bag. Is it just me or does it seem like a turkey is way to big for even the biggest freezer bag you can get? Maybe these are really small turkeys? 

Anyway would this work: 

The only container I have big enough to fit my 13lb bird with a gallon and half of water is a stainless steel kettle. BUT...that will not fit in the fridge. So what about putting a freexer bag full of ice in the kettle and leaving out side somewhere secure where critters cant get at it (shed)? Would this work?


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## txbigred (Nov 25, 2009)

I've got mine brining right now using Trav's recipe. You can always go to a fast food burger joint and ask if they have any empty 5 gal. buckets, that is what I use...they get their pickles in them so you know they are food grade.

Dave


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## travcoman45 (Nov 25, 2009)

Yup, ya gotta watch what ya brine in, some plastic bags er treated with pesticides an such. If it ain't a food grade plastic (bag er bucket) please don't use it. Maybe nothin would happen, but I don't wanna find out either.

Stainless steel is fine, don't use aluminum, an as long as ya can keep the temps from 36° - 38° it will brine just fine. Get much below 36° an it slows the brine process, get lots lower then that en it will almost stop. Don't get much higher then 38° cause a the risk of spoilage.

I can get some real large zip bags from time ta time from my food supplier that work well. I use a frostin bucket I got free from the local mega mart bakery. Rinse out well an work great, has a tight fittin lid on it to.

Also, some folks brine in a well washed cooler.


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## woodsdog (Nov 26, 2009)

I have a dumb questions.  

What comes first? Brine then inject? or Inject then brine?


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## travcoman45 (Nov 26, 2009)

Brine it, then inject.


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## eman (Nov 27, 2009)

Fixin ta cook my first batch a brine , Got a 13 lb bird ta smoke tomorrow or sunday. 
 If y'all  know me ya know i cant leave well enough alone ,
 had to add ta tips brine. 1 tsp cayanne , 1tsp lemon pepper and 1 tsp powdered crab boil.
  Hopin for a spicy bird at the end.
 will also add some heat to the injection and the spritz . Thanks Tip!!!


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## travcoman45 (Nov 27, 2009)

Yer more then welcome.  I hope it comes out just like ya wan't!


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## daddyzaring (Mar 23, 2010)

How long on the brine?


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## travcoman45 (Mar 23, 2010)

I brine most a my stuff over night.  Seems ta be bout right.


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## mnola917 (Mar 31, 2010)

Is this brine at all spicy?  I'm smoking my first turkey for Easter and I dont want ANY spicyness.  I love it, but the family doesnt.


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## wildflower (Apr 9, 2010)

Do we have a rub for Mr. T????


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## promisekeeper (Apr 9, 2010)

Brining in a cooler with some ice has worked for me. I've seen articles where some folks clean out a drawer in the fridge and do it in there. I haven't mustered up the courage to spring that one on my wife. She lets me keep fish bait in there in the summer and I don't want to lose my priveleges! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   My family doesnt like the spicy either, so I'd have to go easy on the Cajun. My brine is pretty similar except instead of Cajun, I load it up with Rosemary. Love that Rosemary taste on poultry! I think I'm gonna grow some this year. Brined turkey was awesome in the oven...can't wait to do a smoked one!


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## daddyzaring (Apr 9, 2010)

I have a 2 and 3 or 4 gallon stock post I did my brine in.

Is poltry the only thing that you can brine, that it helps with?


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## travcoman45 (Apr 9, 2010)

Well, little late on the response, but no, it ain't spicey at all.

I use a citrus rub on my poultry, nice taste an all.  I use my brisket rub (sorta a universal rub a mine) that has a bit more bite ta it.

I brine in 3 an 5 gallon food grade buckets what I got from the bakery in the supermart.  Course I got a icebox just fer smokin stuff.  Ya can use the cooler to, just put the ice in bags so it don't dilute the brine an keep the temp around 36° ifin ya can.


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## danielh (Apr 10, 2010)

I will agree on the above brine... Perfect.  Best birds I've done were with it, rubbed with the same cajun you throw in the brine, and then injected with a cajun/butter mix.  

I'll throw the bird in before bed, and pull it out the next morning before the smoke.  So roughly 8hrs.


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## jirodriguez (Nov 22, 2010)

Springer said:


> I see a lot of people who are brining their birds in a plastic bag. Is it just me or does it seem like a turkey is way to big for even the biggest freezer bag you can get? Maybe these are really small turkeys?
> 
> Anyway would this work:
> 
> The only container I have big enough to fit my 13lb bird with a gallon and half of water is a stainless steel kettle. BUT...that will not fit in the fridge. So what about putting a freexer bag full of ice in the kettle and leaving out side somewhere secure where critters cant get at it (shed)? Would this work?




 A good time of year to give this thread another bump! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





For plastic bags, look for the ziploc 5 gallon bags, usually sold near the plastic storage totes. They will hold a big 20+ lb bird no problem and still leave room for brine. I put my bird and brine in the ziploc, then put it in a big ice chest and cover it with a 20 lb. bag of ice. Let it sit in the garage overnight, and smoke it the next day - usually only about half the ice melts, so it is staying plenty cold.


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## raptor700 (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks for bumpin' this thread! Definetly some good info here. If everyone reads this thread, then no one will have a bad bird on T-Day!


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## wingnut (Dec 9, 2010)

*I am putting together 'Mr. Tips' SLAUGHTERHOUSE POULTRY BRINE.  My question is, do you mix the ingredients dry or is there some cooking needed?*

*  *

*TIA  Larry*


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## jirodriguez (Dec 9, 2010)

Since my pots hold 1 gallon of water I mixed 1 gal. water with everything else and heated it just enough to thouroughly dissolve the salt and sugar. Then set it aside to cool. Then when I put my turkey in the 20 gallon ziploc bag I added the brine in the pot plus another 1/2 gallon of cold water to have the 1 1/2 gallons of water listed in the recipe.

You do not have to heat it if you don't want to, but a lot of people do just to make sure the sugar and salt dissolve well.


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## tbakko (Dec 9, 2010)

+1 for Tip's


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## travcoman45 (Dec 9, 2010)

I warm half the water an mix in the ingriedients (no need ta boil), it helps bring out the flavours a bit more, then just add the rest a the water.  It's best ta add the poultry inta a room temp er cooler brine.


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## delarosa74868 (Dec 21, 2010)

travcoman45 said:


> I use a citrus rub on my poultry, nice taste an all. I use my brisket rub (sorta a universal rub a mine) that has a bit more bite ta it.
> 
> Citrus rub? Sounds like that would be good!  Is the recipe a secret?


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## travcoman45 (Dec 21, 2010)

Well, sorta, but here be the jest of it:

Citrus Poultry Rub

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Salt

2 TBS Lemon Peel Granules

2 TBS Orange Granules

1/2 tsp Chipolte Pepper

2 TBS Oregano

1 TBS Onion Powder

1 TBS Garlic Powder

1 TBS Black Pepper

Grind to a powder.


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## dwdunlap (Nov 8, 2016)

Question:

The turkey brine and injection recipe sound great and I want to try. However, my finicky anti smoke family would veto smoked Turkey for sure. Traditional roasted or nothing!

So I am wondering why the brine and injection wouldn't be excellent for roasted Turkey too?  I have been brining the bird a couple of days for years and it makes incredible turkey. So I don't see why this recipe wouldn't be fantastic too. Would I want the injection as well or would that be too much for an oven turkey? 

DWD in Richardson


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## curry nichols (Nov 11, 2016)

I tried a new Brine today:

1.5 Gal Water

.5 cups Kosher Salt

.5 Cups Brown Sugar

2 tsp Celery Salt

2 tsp Rosemary

2 tsp Thyme

2 tsp Sage

Brining a 3 Lb Butterball Boneless Turkey Breast.  Will update - Putting it in the Primo with Pecan and Lump Charcoal


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## jakester (Nov 11, 2016)

On the  *Slaughterhouse Poultry Injection  *has anyone tried substituting broth or some other liquid for apple cider?


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## jakester (Nov 11, 2016)

Does anyone around here do a dry brine?


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## vol47 (Nov 28, 2016)

I used this method this year and wasn't impressed.  It wasn't bad...but not nearly as good as the last 3 or 4 years.  As my wife said, nobody didn't like it, but nobody said it was the best they'd ever had like they usually do.

I'll post my recipe in the next few days.


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## jakester (Nov 29, 2016)

What method did you use?


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## vol47 (Nov 30, 2016)

jakester said:


> What method did you use?


I use a cup of salt per gallon of water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, handful of peppercorns, 1/3 cup (or so) of Italian seasoning, and boil it all to infuse the herbs.  Before putting it on the smoker, I rub butter under the skin and put onion, celery, and carrots in the cavity.  No injection.  Mop occasionally with apple juice.

I cook it on a rack over a foil pan with a box of chicken stock and the neck and giblets in it.  I pick the neck meat and throw and it and the giblets in food processor (so my wife and kids don't recognize it) to make gravy with the drippings.  It's rich and smokey and delicious!  Almost like smoked foie gras gravy!

I followed the Slaughterhouse method all the way and it just wasn't as moist or flavorful as it usually is.  I wonder if less salt makes that much difference?  It did have a beautiful color!  I will probably use the spritz recipe again.

The gravy was still awesome.


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## max78 (Dec 1, 2016)

Thank you for posting that Cajun recipe!!! I'm so looking forward to trying it out, I have been looking for a good Cajun recipe for poultry!!!

As for a container, I use a BPA free cooler and a few ice blocks to brine the larger stuff.


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## myownidaho (Dec 1, 2016)

I typically do a full breast at around 6lbs. My brine is:

1/2 gallon water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5-6 cloves of chopped garlic
One cup of fresh chopped herbs
2 tsp black pepper

I don't heat the brine because it mixes pretty well when shaken in a 2 gallon bag. 24 hours in the brine, dry it and let it air for an hour. Rub it with olive oil and then four hours on fruitwood at 250.

One of the keys I've found is to seperate the skin from the breast so the brine can penetrate fully.


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## r2 builders (Dec 10, 2016)

Jumping on an old thread but I have a question about injection.
When using an injection recipe that has butter it clogs the needle of my syringe.
Can I heat the recipe  to better liquefy the injectable?


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## teamlarryboy (Dec 16, 2016)

Gonna try it!


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## deernutz (Dec 21, 2016)

r2 Builders said:


> Jumping on an old thread but I have a question about injection.
> When using an injection recipe that has butter it clogs the needle of my syringe.
> Can I heat the recipe  to better liquefy the injectable?




I have had the same problem. I am going to try it with clarified butter. Maybe it wont clog as much with the solids removed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## r2 builders (Dec 21, 2016)

I just tried an injection recipe using butter.
After I heated the mix I strained it twice through cheesecloth. 
The Injection then worked fine, no clogging.


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## trcheese (Dec 26, 2016)

Thanks Tip! This was a hit tonight with the family.  It worked out great, except I have way too much spray left. Can I freeze it?













IMG_1984.JPG



__ trcheese
__ Dec 26, 2016


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## smokn noobie (Jul 18, 2017)

I attempted a brine once on a pheasant and it was terrible.  Super salty and did not taste good.  Now I'm afraid of brines.  Is there a super simple easy brine recipe/instructions for first timers for a 6-7 pound turkey breast I want to smoke?


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## myownidaho (Jul 18, 2017)

smokn noobie said:


> I attempted a brine once on a pheasant and it was terrible.  Super salty and did not taste good.  Now I'm afraid of brines.  Is there a super simple easy brine recipe/instructions for first timers for a 6-7 pound turkey breast I want to smoke?



My basic brine for turkey breast is:

1/2 gallon water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar

You can add anything you want to that. I usually add a pile of chopped garlic, fresh chopped herbs and some black pepper. All of 
that goes into a two gallon ziplock bag in the fridge for 24 hours. Make sure you run your fingers under the skin so the brine can penetrate.


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## rowsteve68 (Nov 18, 2017)

myownidaho said:


> I typically do a full breast at around 6lbs. My brine is:
> 
> 1/2 gallon water
> 1/2 cup kosher salt
> ...


Have you or has anyone tried a brine made with cranberry juice or apple cider for a boneless turkey breast?


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