Do you brine your turkey?

I know everybody raves about it (Alton Brown had his Thanksgiving “Good Eats” episode on tonight) but I don’t like it.  I have done it a couple of times but to me it just makes the turkey salty making it seem more like lunch.

Are you a believer?

I have never brined a turkey before.  However, I listen to two podcasts (KCRW Good Food and a Whole Foods Podcast) and they are big believers.  I am going to try it this year and I will post back the results.
What ratio of salt did you use that made it salty?  Did you do a dry brine or a liquid?

Hi M,

I have never brined a turkey, but that’s only because I’ve never roasted a turkey!  I still rely on Mom to do that! 

I have, however, brined chickens when I roast them and I think they are SO much more flavorful and moist than un-brined chickens.

Your problem with saltiness can be alleviated by just using a less salty brine, I’d bet.

The brining “recipe” I use for chickens came from Cooks Illustrated magazine, so I just checked online to see if they had one for turkeys and this is what I found:

Cooks Illustrated Roasted Brined Turkey

We offer two brine formulas: one for a 4- to 6-hour brine and another for a 12- to 14-hour brine. The amount of salt used in each brine does not change with turkey size. If you’re roasting a kosher or self-basting turkey, do not brine it; it already contains a good amount of sodium. Rotating the bird from a breast-side down position to a breast-side up position midway through cooking helps to produce evenly cooked dark and white meat. If you’re roasting a large (18- to 22-pound) bird and are reluctant to rotate it, skip the step of lining the V-rack with foil and roast the bird breast-side up for the full time. If making gravy, scatter 1 cup each of coarsely chopped onion, celery, and carrot as well as several fresh thyme sprigs in the roasting pan at the outset; add 1 cup water to keep the vegetables from burning.

Serves 10 to 22, depending on turkey size

Table salt
1 turkey (12 to 22 pounds gross weight), rinsed thoroughly, giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

1. Dissolve 1 cup salt per gallon cold water for 4- to 6-hour brine or 1/2 cup salt per gallon cold water for 12- to 14-hour brine in large stockpot or clean bucket. Two gallons of water will be sufficient for most birds; larger birds may require three gallons. Add turkey and refrigerate for predetermined amount of time.

2. Before removing turkey from brine, adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 400 degrees for 12- to 18-pound bird or 425 degrees for 18- to 22-pound bird. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and use paring knife or skewer to poke 20 to 30 holes in foil; set V-rack in large roasting pan.

3. Remove turkey from brine and rinse well under cool running water. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure, and tuck wing tips behind back. Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Set turkey breast-side down on prepared V-rack; brush back with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roast 45 minutes for 12- to 18-pound bird or 1 hour for 18- to 22-pound bird.

4. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven (close oven door to retain oven heat); reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees if roasting 18- to 22-pound bird. Using clean potholders or kitchen towels, rotate turkey breast-side up; continue to roast until thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees and thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes longer for 12- to 15-pound bird, about 1 1/4 hours for 15- to 18-pound bird, or about 2 hours longer for 18- to 22-pound bird. Transfer turkey to carving board; let rest 30 minutes (or up to 40 minutes for 18- to 22-pound bird). Carve and serve.

Did you dry the bird after you brined it?, did you rinse it?

Jen & Judy, I don’t remember what recipe I use (maybe Alton Brown’s or another one from the Food Network).  I do remember that the salt ratio was about the same as the other recipes.

Shawn, I’m sure I rinsed and rinsed well.

Yes to make it not so salty, follow the concentration on your recipe and rinse really well.  There are a lot of recipes you can google up.  A word: look at the ingredients panel.  If the turkey has already had salt water added to it, you’ll see that on the ingredients. Fresh or frozen, it is going to have already been brined unless you get an untouched bird from your butcher or from Whole Wallet or wherever.  You will need some kind of container, like a cooler, and space in your fridge, unless you do what I do and *heavily* ice it down in a cooler overnight.  Brining improves the moistness of the white meat.  For lower sodium you can inject it with low sodium turkey broth instead; I have an inkling that the holes left by inject serve to allow it to dry out more during cooking though.

How did your brines turn out?

My turkey is still in the refrigerator and will be marinated overnight & rotisseried tomorrow.

Brining not only adds flavor to the meat ( all meats—not just poultry), but also has the added benefit of reducing the numbe of little bacteria type critters running around. It won’t get rid of ALL of them, so you still need to use common sense & safe food handling practices.

That being said—Kosher meat has been brined from the get-go. ‘Bout time the rest of the world caught up to us.