Anyone "brine" a turkey before?

[zagafi]

Go to Williams-Sonoma and buy their brining mix and brining bags. It doesn't get much easier and the results are divine! And *only* brine fresh turkeys--the frozen ones already have stuff injected in them (and don't taste nearly as good!)

 

[monkeyboy]

one time



as a Frat joke

 

[MrsToad]

I was wondering about that too.
I think we will buy a small regular turkey and try the brine thing and also buy a Butterball in case we mess the other one up.
We are our 40's and 50's and DH and I have never cooked a turkey before. Our parents are passing the baton to us and I don't want to mess it up. We are also getting a big Honeybaked ham so at least we will not go hungry - if that's ever possible at Thanksgiving.

I actually called the Butterball hotline a year ago to be sure about the brining. They will be a good resource for you at www.butterball.com (even if you don't buy a Butterball). The biggest mistake I made with my first turkey was that I left the "parts" in the neck and back-end cavities! I am still teased about that one!

I'm sure your turkey will be fine and you'll be able to freeze all those "just in case" left-overs .

 

[mickeysaver]

I cooked for my inlaws last year and took a stab at the brine process. The turkey breast was amazing. My honey's Dad said that it was the best turkey that he had ever eaten.

I got two aluminum roasting pans and used them for the process. I took the defrosted breast and took all the bagged and misc parts out. In the pan, I put in diced onion, dried cranberries, celery, then I added the kosher salt, orange juice, lemon juice, sliced lemons, fresh cracked pepper and sugar. I made stuffable pockets under the skin of the breast. I made sure that there were cranberries and lemon slices in the pockets. The turkey breast then went into the bath. I covered it with aluminum foil and set it into the fridge overnight. The following day, I turned the breast over and recovered and returned it to the fridge for another night. On the big day, I took the other roasting pan and cut up leeks, onions, celery, carrots, added parsley, rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, paprika, and sprayed the bird with Pam butter flavor. It was soooooooo good. It browned up perfectly and was so flavorful. I don't think that I could ever cook a non-brined turkey for the holidays ever again. Maggie

 

[Kae]

We do AB's recipe also including the way he cooks it. It is the best.

Kae

 

[micki7337]

We do AB's recipe also including the way he cooks it. It is the best.

Kae

Same here. Last year was the first time we used it and it was a hit. There wasn't one piece of turkey left!

 

[MrsNick]

Since I work full time, I don't have the energy to brine the turkey (just too big, and with all the groceries in the fridge for the other parts of the meal, I just can't rearrange the fridge to brine the turkey).

However, every person who has eaten my turkey always comments on how moist it is.

So (drumroll please) the lazy woman's guide to a moist and delicious turkey:

1. Buy a fresh turkey, not frozen (I buy Maplecrest - which has the added bonus of a pop-up timer. I know, 'real' cooks will say they are bogus, but they're a good rule of thumb).
2. Buy two small turkeys, not one large turkey, if you are feeding a large group. Smaller turkey in my opinion is more tender. Plus, smaller turkey cooks faster.
3. Buy Reynolds oven bags. They are an enormous time and energy saver. First of all, the bird cooks faster. They keep the bird moist. You don't have to baste. Fail proof instructions to cook the bird come in the box with the bags. And for anyone who is a total babe in the woods, there is a toll free hotline. They make cleanup soooo easy. When a friend of mine told me that they worked well, I was skeptical (just seemed too gimmicky, too good to be true). But, since she was a former roommate, and I knew she was a 'real' cook, I tried them and found that they are terrific.
4. This is how I like to season my bird, but everyone has their own favorite recipe: I make a paste out of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and parsley. I season the entire outside and inside of the bird with this paste. I stuff the bird with onions, lemons and bay leaves. Bird goes in the bag in a roasting pan. Whole thing goes in the oven, and I don't bother with it again until the timer pops up. In the meantime, I make the other parts of my Thanksgiving dinner, and "sip" on some wine

And that, my friends, is my recipe for the lazy woman's (read happy woman's) Thanksgiving Turkey. No need for brining, basting or aggravation. Haven't had a dry turkey from the day I started using those bags!

 

[Poohnatic]

Yes, I'm a 'briner' (from the Alton Yahoo group, lol) and it makes a huge difference. As AB would say "your patience will be rewarded"-it makes for a very tasty bird.

To give you an idea: my DH HATES turkey with a passion. If I brine it, he's there making turkey sandwiches later that evening and complaining there's not enough white meat.

However, we've having honeybaked ham. I end up doing turkey sometime after the holidays.

Suzanne

 

[DisnyMama]

Here's another for Alton Brown's Brine method. My sister has done it 2 years now and it makes all the difference in the world. Her Italian MIL who is a typical takes over your kitchen and absolutely wonderful lady ( I just love her) is even impressed and she only likes her own cooking.

You should go for it. I am going to be on my own this year (but Ds will be home after Thanksgiving for the leftovers) and I think I may give it a try myself. You can never have too much turkey!!

 

[Southern4sure]

I will have to ask DH for the details but he brined a turkey a few yrs ago with a mixture of Jack Daniels, apple juice, water and I dont remember what else exactly. He went to a local store bakery and asked for a 5 gallon bucket with lid since the bakery throws them away (their icing comes in these buckets). He brined it for half a day and all night. The next day he smoked it using Jack Daniels chips (barrels used to age the whiskey then chopped up). It was the best turkey we ever had.

 

[icebrat001]

I did once, I must have done something wrong because with all that work, it still tasted the same

same here.