Brined turkey or chicken

[St. Lou Stu]

I have a Jim Beam sometimes Jack Daniels Brine that is FANTASTIC pre-treat to deep frying a bird.

Pretty simple.
5 Gallons of water
A couple cups of salt (use as much as you think necessary really)
1 Bottle of Beam or Jack

Mix it all together in a cooler that is big enough to hold all of the liquid and the bird (keep 1/4 of the bottle of whisky for yourself if ya want). Keep it at a refrigerated/cool temperature. Soak over night. I usually do 24 hours.


Deep fry as you normally would. It will cook a bit faster.

[Smokin Gator]

Originally Posted by St. Lou Stu

I have a Jim Beam sometimes Jack Daniels Brine that is FANTASTIC pre-treat to deep frying a bird.

Pretty simple.
5 Gallons of water
A couple cups of salt (use as much as you think necessary really)
1 Bottle of Beam or Jack

Mix it all together in a cooler that is big enough to hold all of the liquid and the bird (keep 1/4 of the bottle of whisky for yourself if ya want). Keep it at a refrigerated/cool temperature. Soak over night. I usually do 24 hours.


Deep fry as you normally would. It will cook a bit faster.

Brother... that does sound good... but there ain't no way I am pouring a bottle of Jack or Beam on that bird. Now drinking it while I cook it is a whole nuther story!!

[dadof3illinois]

We cook a lot of turkey and chicken. On Thanksgiving day we have a big cookout early in the morning with as many as 16 birds cooking in about as many different ways. We've been doing this for the past 10-12 years so I think we're getting pretty good at it.

So far the Brined birds that are smoked seem to be the best followed by deep fried. Roasted birds still seem a little dry for me even after using a Brine for 24 hours.

The brine I use is pretty much the same as Smokin Gators except I add more sugar and some other spices. I've got a 10 gal bucket with a lid that works great for keeping the bird in during the brine process.

[Bubba - NJ]

The last chicken I didn't brine and man what a difference , my wife thought I bought a cheaper chicken , was dried out a little and not as flavorful . I'm gonna have to get me a vessel to hold a turkey for brining .

[TideRoll]

I first got serious about brining when I did my first beer can chicken, and I've tried it in a number of different ways since and agree that it is a real friend to the meat; moist and tender like few other treatments. I don't get too fancy with my brining solution since I generally follow up with a rub, but I do use brown or unrefined sugar to get a little richer sweetness.

[chris45set]

I have brined several turkeys for both oven roasting and smoking and highly recommend it.
I use the brine recipe from Emeril (scroll down for the brine)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...ipe/index.html
The orange and lemon helps with skin browning, especially in the oven.
I make the brine in a large turkey fryer, boil it to dissolve and blend everything, then add a 20 lb bag of ice to cool it immediately (allow for the extra 3+ gallons of ice in your container).
I have brined 4 turkeys at once for smoking using a large cooler.
My one caveat is I always brine for no more than one hour per pound of turkey, otherwise I find the meat is too salty.
Overnight is usually just about right.
This especially helps keep the white meat from drying out.

[livwire68]

I think I will have to do a test run on a chicken this weekend! Now weather to smoke, grill or put on the rotisserie. I may go even smaller and try some cornish game hens. Thanks for the info. all!