Turkey Brining

[Old Boar]

I am doing several deep fried turkeys for the local Police and Fire Stations for Thanksgiving day. Research has found numerous variations on the Brine. Need expert opinion on the following:

Liquid: Water, Vegetable Broth, or combination of water and fruit juices.

Salt: 1 cup/gal., 1/2 cup/ gal., or 3/4 cup Kosher/gal.

Time: 6 hrs., 8 hrs., 12 hrs., or 18 hrs.

The other spices and herbs are no proglem, just the above variations were found in numerous receipes.

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!

[md4958]

Originally Posted by Old Boar

I am doing several deep fried turkeys for the local Police and Fire Stations for Thanksgiving day. Research has found numerous variations on the Brine. Need expert opinion on the following:

Liquid: Water, Vegetable Broth, or combination of water and fruit juices.

Salt: 1 cup/gal., 1/2 cup/ gal., or 3/4 cup Kosher/gal.

Time: 6 hrs., 8 hrs., 12 hrs., or 18 hrs.

The other spices and herbs are no proglem, just the above variations were found in numerous receipes.

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!

Boar,

go to www.foodtv.com

search for roasted turkey and Alton Brown.
Use the brine he gives, not for the deepfried turkey, but the roasted. It is excellnt!!!

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by Old Boar

I am doing several deep fried turkeys for the local Police and Fire Stations for Thanksgiving day. Research has found numerous variations on the Brine. Need expert opinion on the following:

Liquid: Water, Vegetable Broth, or combination of water and fruit juices.

Salt: 1 cup/gal., 1/2 cup/ gal., or 3/4 cup Kosher/gal.

Time: 6 hrs., 8 hrs., 12 hrs., or 18 hrs.

The other spices and herbs are no proglem, just the above variations were found in numerous receipes.

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!

That looks like Alton Brown's recipe. Cant go wrong. Brines are pretty flexible. You can always try it on a chicken to see if you like it with less or more salt.

[mosesbotbol]

Don't do broth.

I don't like to brine for more than 4 hours; I prefer short times with a stonger solution. The longer it brines, the more the texture of the turkey changes. It become stringier and saltness is reminds me of processed food.

If you want to add something to the brine, try some ground tumeric or ground annato seeds; they will add some nice color to the meat.

The brine is amazing... I tried what Alton did, can't go wrong there.

[skibumdc]

I used Alton's recipe years ago but doctored it up a bit using Bourbon as part of the liquid. NICE flavor.
I always recommend using liquors or beer in cooking.

[bigswol2]

Injections with Creole butter =Yes
Brining for Deep frying =no

Maybe I've done something wrong in the past but I don't recommend brining a turkey that's going to be deep fried at all. I tried it one year and was not nearly as happy with the results. We either use Cajun injector marinade or make an injection solutions from scratch. I do find ibrining very beneficial when roasting or smoking a turkey though. Just my 2 cents.

[Squid]

Originally Posted by bigswol2

Injections with Creole butter =Yes
Brining for Deep frying =no

Maybe I've done something wrong in the past but I don't recommend brining a turkey that's going to be deep fried at all. I tried it one year and was not nearly as happy with the results. We either use Cajun injector marinade or make an injection solutions from scratch. I do find ibrining very beneficial when roasting or smoking a turkey though. Just my 2 cents.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by bigswol2

Injections with Creole butter =Yes
Brining for Deep frying =no

Maybe I've done something wrong in the past but I don't recommend brining a turkey that's going to be deep fried at all. I tried it one year and was not nearly as happy with the results. We either use Cajun injector marinade or make an injection solutions from scratch. I do find brining very beneficial when roasting or smoking a turkey though. Just my 2 cents.

Makes sense.

Becareful with brining, too long of brine makes the turkey taste like processed meat. Certainly juicy, but not the kind texture I like and can get too salty.