Good Eats is an awesome show, the recipe that TheSanDiegoKid listed is from that episode.
I've done it twice, and it is a great technique for having a delicious, moist turkey.
Good Eats is an awesome show, the recipe that TheSanDiegoKid listed is from that episode.
I've done it twice, and it is a great technique for having a delicious, moist turkey.
Keeping the Jack Daniels on the side??
Very similar to the recepie we use for pork.
Never waste good whiskey on a bird!!!!
lolI forgot to mention that I warm a little of the water (2 cups) to melt the sugar and salt and then cool it off overnite in the fridge before adding it to the rest of the brine recipe. Make sure your turkey is completely thawed and make sure the brine is very cold before putting your bird in. Food poisoning is a nasty, nasty holiday surprise.
I found it too salty last year. I will not do it again.
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sometimes the excess salt taste can be because the bird was not rinsed completely after the brining, or was left in the brine too long.
Don't know about your experience, but maybe this is why?
The SanDiegoKid already posted this recipe but if you want the whole thing and a video of how Alton Brown of the Food Network does it, here is the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
It is outstanding!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
It is outstanding!
A good bet on it being too salty is you didn't use a "fresh" bird. All the Butterballs and Honeysuckle Whites have a brine injected into them.
Read the label on the cheaper brands because if you brine one that already has the solution in them they likely will taste like a salt block.
Read the label on the cheaper brands because if you brine one that already has the solution in them they likely will taste like a salt block.
You can't go wrong following the Alton Brown - Good Eats method and recipe, especially if you are deep frying the bird. If deep frying, rinse and dry thoroughly to ensure no exploding fryer issues.
Why that's your problem right there! Being a city slicker who's on the road 100% of the time I bought me one of them there Buttersuckles. It was a premium bird, so it said, but I can see what you're sayin'. I'm springin' for the old time roaster like my Granny had this year. Kick it old style. See where that gets me.
Oh, and the saving grace last year...I also baked a root beer glazed ham that was out of this world! Try that if you haven't...your family won't want any turkey, though.
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I guess I'm late to the party, but here's the brine I've used a couple times. I got it out of a book and then modified to my liking:
6 quarts water
1 cup kosher/pickling salt
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup (Sam's has 32oz bottles for the best price)
1 1/2 cups Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon
2 1/2 tablespoons ground mustard
2 large bay leaves
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
2 1/2 tablespoons rosemary (prefer fresh, but dried will work)
Add all ingredients to pot and bring to boil. Decrease heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (this part is important, do not go from heat to the fridge or you'll heat your fridge up). After room temperature refrigerate prior to adding turkey.
The cooling process may take 6 hours. Refrigerate over night prior to adding the poultry.
I then smoke my turkeys over cherry wood and Hasty Bake lump, real wood charcoal (I've done some experimentation with the charcoal and found Hasty Bake to be the best of the 7 or 8 lump charcoals I've found locally).
I made this brine today, getting ready to put it in the fridge. I'll probably ad my turkeys Sunday afternoon and start smoking early Tuesday.
6 quarts water
1 cup kosher/pickling salt
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup (Sam's has 32oz bottles for the best price)
1 1/2 cups Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon
2 1/2 tablespoons ground mustard
2 large bay leaves
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
2 1/2 tablespoons rosemary (prefer fresh, but dried will work)
Add all ingredients to pot and bring to boil. Decrease heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (this part is important, do not go from heat to the fridge or you'll heat your fridge up). After room temperature refrigerate prior to adding turkey.
The cooling process may take 6 hours. Refrigerate over night prior to adding the poultry.
I then smoke my turkeys over cherry wood and Hasty Bake lump, real wood charcoal (I've done some experimentation with the charcoal and found Hasty Bake to be the best of the 7 or 8 lump charcoals I've found locally).
I made this brine today, getting ready to put it in the fridge. I'll probably ad my turkeys Sunday afternoon and start smoking early Tuesday.
This is the first year I'm going to brine one as well.
I'm going to follow this recipe, watch about the last half of the video. Kinda corny at the first, but good information.
Turkey Brine Video
Seems like the most important thing in the brine is SALT. Everything else is just extra.
2nd most important thing is to rinse all brine off turkey before cooking.
Gonna do a trial run on a small bird this weekend just to be safe.
I'm going to follow this recipe, watch about the last half of the video. Kinda corny at the first, but good information.
Turkey Brine Video
Seems like the most important thing in the brine is SALT. Everything else is just extra.
2nd most important thing is to rinse all brine off turkey before cooking.
Gonna do a trial run on a small bird this weekend just to be safe.
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