Recipes > Poultry

Turkey Selection and Preparation

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teesquare:
BTW - this thread is now a sticky…GREAT TOPIC Dee!

I like to brine with a basic +plus brine:

For every 1 gallon of water I add:

3/4 cup Kosher or Sea Salt

1 cup brown sugar

ground dill, rosemary, garlic, pepper, chives sage and time - all to smell…. Brine for 1- 3 days.
 You can add wine or beer to the brine if you like - I just like a traditional  turkey. Hard to believe - but true.. ;D

Place turkey in a plastic bag large enough to hold it and the brine, and tie shut. Enough brine to cover the turkey and submerge it in the brine. The container that you place the bag in can be a 5 gal. bucket, as long as you put ice in the bottom, and cover the tied shut bag containing the turkey and brine.

Last year I bought a 5 gal. Igloo water cooler  on wheels and with a an extension handle.( Really useful when it is full. )

This gives me more insulation, and a safer condition to brine in - without taking up space in the fridge. Just hang the temp probe form your favorite remote digital thermometer, and occasionally monitor the temp. during your brine.

I hope to see more ideas from the members on other methods. Always experimenting ;).

MJSBBQ:
I use a small Igloo cooler myself. I do a simple brine with about a gallon of water, cup of sea salt, and a cup of brown sugar. Heat on stove until dissolved, then put bird in cooler with solution and pour on some ice. I leave in over night and then rinse off.

I normally just put some salt and pepper on the skin as my rub. Then into TBE. Simple and reproducible great turkey!

No problem just washing out cooler when done with hose and soap later.

Pappymn:
I always brine my turkey. I will be spatchcocking one for the Mak. And the other I am going to cook in the oven like Julia Child......all cut up. I like to do two smaller birds instead of one big one.

Savannahsmoker:
This is my Bird Brine, Rub and Injection if anyone is interested
Butterball recommends to allow at least 1 day of REFRIGERATOR thawing for every 4 lbs.

Three days prior to cooking, make the brine.

This brine is a combination of different brine recipes added to the main recipe taken from Alton Brown’s recipe.
1 Gallon vegetable stock
1 Gallon water
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups kosher salt or sea salt. (2 cups without the Tender Quick)
2 Tbsp. Tender Quick (if the meat will be in the danger zone to long when smoking)
1/2 Tbsp. candied ginger
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ground cumin
4 good-size ‘branches’ of fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. of ‘cracked’ black peppercorns
1 Tbsp. allspice berries
2 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. of Tabasco sauce
Heat until all is dissolved and to chill we refrigerate it overnight.

Two Days prior to cooking is for adding the bird to the brine.

Add the following to the brine, two medium-size lemons that were chopped, squeezed and smashed to release all of their flavors and stir well.  Submerge the Bird head first and refrigerate for 24 hours.  I put a sanitized brick wrapped in foil on the bird to keep it submerged.

One Day prior to cooking is for air drying.
Rinse the bird well in cold water and dry with paper towels.  Air drying in the refrigerator for 24 hours makes for a crispier skin.  Salting the skin also helps.


Day of cooking and it is time to do the rub, injection and cook that mohunker.

The Rub
4 Tbsp. granulated dry orange peel
6 Tbsp.dried sage
6 medium garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
4 Tbsp. paprika
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Rub inside and out and if you like under the skin.

Injection
1/2 cup EVOO
1/2 Apple Juice
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tsp. garlic powder
2 Tsp. onion powder
1 Tsp. ground bay leaf
1 Tsp. ground thyme
1 Tsp. ground sage
1 Tsp. finely ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for a few minutes while stirring. Do this a hour or two in advance to allow to cool.  You want to make sure the mixture is well mixed and that herbs are small enough to fit through the injection needle.
Shoot it from top to bottom and left to right and cook that mohunker.

cookiecdcmk:
I have used Savannahsmoker's brine and method several times and it makes the best turkey that I have ever eaten.  It has quite a few ingredients, but the bottom line is that it works.  Make your family happy for Thanksgiving dinner.

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