Posted: 11/21/2012 7:18:22 AM EDT
| I do kosher salt, brown sugar, honey, garlic. Looking to change it up a little this year in prep for smoking our birdie. Anyone have any secret recipes? |
|
I'm smoking with mesquite wood.
First off, a 48 hours brine is preferred, and you're already too late for that. But by all means, put it in now. For my brine this year, I used the standard 1 gallon boiling + 1 cup salt + 1 gallon cold method. I also add the standard sage, rosemary & thyme herbs, a tablespoon of each will do ya. I use stock for the boiling part instead of plain water, and use a beer (pale ale works well) in the cold part. This year, I also threw in some dried cranberries and apple chips to the boil. They'll rehydrate and release their sugars which gives you a subtle extra layer of flavor. Brining is principally for moisture control and seasoning, though you never want to miss an opportunity to also add flavor. I also segment my bird for the smoker. Take the haunches off whole, pull the wings, and cut the tail end of the spine off. You'll have just the "football" of the whole breast, and two enormous haunches for the dark meat. Much better cooking times and results when a smoker is involved. And let's face it: who cares that it's not whole, right? I also segment the 4 pieces of wing and those get pulled off the smoker after about 90 minutes and turned into hot wings for lunch. |
Having brined turkey vs. non brined, it's good, but a far bigger flavor difference is roasting the bird on a bed of mirepoix. Obviously if you do both you'll be even awesomer but I'll put my mirepoix bird with garlic butter under the skin up against any other non-smoked bird. To include deep fried. 
Smoked is a whole 'nother dimension of awesome. |
|
Finally got it done: 18lb bird Gallon boiling water 2 cups kosher salt 4 chicken bouillion cubes 1T thyme 1T rosemary 1T Sage 1tea marjoram 1T black pepper 3 bay leafs 1T Old Bay (i use it for everything) 1T minced garlic 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup honey Covered bird with ice (like 5lbs?) Dumped hot brine over it Covered with cold water Added one Dogfishhead 60 Minute IPA (and drank one for working so damn hard) Pecan and cherry wood for the smoker tomorrow morning. Also smoking some home made kielbasa. Thanks for the help guys!
|
| I never did a turkey, only pheasant and salmon. I do it in a 5 gallon bucket and soak the meat in the brine for at least 24 hours, 48 hours preferred. About 3 gallons water, add enough salt to float an egg. However much salt that took, add that much sugar and an equal part brown sugar. 1 cup Wild Turkey, handful of black pepper and another handful of red pepper flakes. Sometime I add some cock sauce. The idea is to get the sugar into the cells of the meat, so instead of liquid in there, it is a gel. Turns out pretty good, especially with sockeye and alder smoke. Maple is good, also. |
piss on its leg to show your dominance first. 
then do what everybody else said to do. 
i have never brined a turkey. i always have to go to grandpa's house and eat it they way he cooks it; plain jane, no seasoning, dry as shoe leather. but boy o boy, it sure is good. 
|