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Posted: Yesterday 8:32:20 PM EST
| For Thanksgiving it’s just my wife and me, and I picked up an 11-pound turkey from Costco. I’ve smoked, deep-fried, injected, and baked plenty of turkeys over the years, but I’ve never actually brined one. I’m not sure I have enough fridge space for a full wet-brine setup, so I’m open to ideas on how to prep and cook this bird. I’m considering using a large storage-type container if it’ll fit in the refrigerator. Also curious what people recommend adding to the brine. |
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Do your brine in a cooler with ice. Spatchcock, brine, inject, set it in a bed of veggies and apples, rub it with your favorite spice blend and smoke or roast. I normally do one of each. |
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I do a “dry brine “ as salt per weight of bird, forget the ratio at the moment. Then warm up the next day and fry, this year we’re doing tallow from a local processor, have done peanut oil in the past. The dry brine technique removes the need for a large container and the water diluting what little flavor a turkey has to begin with. |
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Originally Posted By smokinghole: I do a “dry brine “ as salt per weight of bird, forget the ratio at the moment. Then warm up the next day and fry, this year we’re doing tallow from a local processor, have done peanut oil in the past. The dry brine technique removes the need for a large container and the water diluting what little flavor a turkey has to begin with. I also dry brine. You avoid the hassle of a big vessel, ice, and all that mess. The texture is way better too. Use tablespoons of kosher salt and two tablespoons of baking powder. |
I did it this way last year and not only did it turn out better than ever before, the time it saves is awesome. I’ll Never Make Turkey the Old Way Again Basically you butcher the bird before you cook it and this way you're able to cook the white meat and the dark meat separately so they can both reach their full turkey potential. Would recommend. |
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Man…Food Lion had turkeys for .29/lb Saturday with a $35 purchase. My regular grocery pickup was about $50 so I got a $38 turkey for $3.89. I never get lucky like that. Truth be told…$3.89 is what a turkey is actually worth. Anyway, brine it in salt water and either smoke it, grill it slow, bake it, fry it, or boil it….nah….don’t boil it. |
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Dry brine. Spatchcock. Then either A. Bake it use a leave in thermometer with an alarm set for 163 degrees. Pull it immediately & allow it to rest for 20 minutes Or B. Smoke it use a leave in thermometer with an alarm set for 163 degrees. Pull it immediately & allow it to rest for 20 minutes |
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Originally Posted By flippflopped: Man…Food Lion had turkeys for .29/lb Saturday with a $35 purchase. My regular grocery pickup was about $50 so I got a $38 turkey for $3.89. I never get lucky like that. Truth be told…$3.89 is what a turkey is actually worth. Anyway, brine it in salt water and either smoke it, grill it slow, bake it, fry it, or boil it….nah….don’t boil it. Turkey soup is a great. |
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I think brining has been covered. For cooking I've done oven, oil fryer, green egg and rotisserie. Oil fryer, green egg and rotisserie all produced great results. Rotisserie on the weber is the easiest and cleanest for me. The main bonus was keeping the oven space free for cooking the side dishes. |
| If it's a good turkey you don't need to brine it. Put it in the smoker for 10-11 hours. |
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| Wife got a 14 lb. bird from work last year and we thawed it out for a few days and wet brined it for a day. We put in in the fridge overnight to dry out a bit, seasoned and buttered it in the morning and smoked it on the pellet smoker. Best turkey I have made. I forget what temp I did it at but I'll be doing the same thing again this year. Just want do decide on temperature. I'm the only one eating that cares about the skin so there is that. |
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If you want to still cook it whole the pizza stone method helps even out the temp of dark and white meat. https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/6174-yes-you-can-have-the-perfect-turkey https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/6174-yes-you-can-have-the-perfect-turkey |
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Originally Posted By Michigan_Man: I did it this way last year and not only did it turn out better than ever before, the time it saves is awesome.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afj0hCF_wmEBasically you butcher the bird before you cook it and this way you're able to cook the white meat and the dark meat separately so they can both reach their full turkey potential. Would recommend. We've been doing our bird the Sonny way for a few years now. Excellent results. IYKYK 😉 G |
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Defrost at least a day longer than they tell you to. My fridge stays very cold and it takes longer. I use the Zatarain's Cajun Injector. I like Tony Chacheres seasoning, but their injectable marinade is inferior to the Zatarain's. Then use an electric turkey roaster. My turkeys were always dry and disappointing in the oven. My MIL always had great turkeys, and she uses an electric roaster. I bought one three years ago, and it is a cheat code for perfect turkey. I also rub some butter on the skin periodically as it cooks. And season it with poultry seasoning and salt inside and out. I put a couple of carrots and celery stalks loosely in the cavity and discard them when it's done. Might try an apple this year. |
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Originally Posted By Jambalaya: Defrost at least a day longer than they tell you to. My fridge stays very cold and it takes longer. I use the Zatarain's Cajun Injector. I like Tony Chacheres seasoning, but their injectable marinade is inferior to the Zatarain's. Then use an electric turkey roaster. My turkeys were always dry and disappointing in the oven. My MIL always had great turkeys, and she uses an electric roaster. I bought one three years ago, and it is a cheat code for perfect turkey. I also rub some butter on the skin periodically as it cooks. And season it with poultry seasoning and salt inside and out. I put a couple of carrots and celery stalks loosely in the cavity and discard them when it's done. Might try an apple this year. Yip. |
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| Easy. I dry brine with Tony's Cajun seasoning salt. I rub it very generously inside and out, put in the fridge overnight, maybe 24 hrs- keep bird dry- then next day smoke on a real pit, spritz with apple juice occasionally. The family eats the entire bird and nothing is wasted. Not too complicated prep and results are fantastic. |
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