has anyone brined a turkey ?

[easyrider]

Has any one brined a turkey following the directions at the bottom of the archived forums and if so how was it ?
Thanks
Bill

 

[LisaH]

I tried it this past Thanksgiving. Best turkey I have ever prepared! Thanks Cat!

We bought a Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-less Turkey Fryer recently and I am going to try the same recipe with this fryer. Hope it will be even better.

 

[BevL]

I just cook mine the old fashioned way and brine it beforehand. Also, the best investment I ever made was a meat thermometer to make sure I don't overcook it.

 

[DeniseM]

There was a long thread about this before TG - use the "search this forum" button and search for turkey.

 

[UWSurfer]

I seem to be the only one in our extended family who makes a moist and juicy turkey and it's really very simple. After washing the bird very thoroughly, I use some olive or vegtable oil and rub it all over the bird using a paper towel to apply it. Once covered, I use a little salt, peper and sometimes a bit of poultry seasoning if it's in the cupboard, sprinkling it moderately over the bird. Put it in a roasting bag and pan and cook it at 350 degrees for the recommend time it states on the bag or worse case at the butter ball website for the appropriate weight.

It's worked every time without brine or frying.

 

[laura1957]

I seem to be the only one in our extended family who makes a moist and juicy turkey and it's really very simple. After washing the bird very thoroughly, I use some olive or vegtable oil and rub it all over the bird using a paper towel to apply it. Once covered, I use a little salt, peper and sometimes a bit of poultry seasoning if it's in the cupboard, sprinkling it moderately over the bird. Put it in a roasting bag and pan and cook it at 350 degrees for the recommend time it states on the bag or worse case at the butter ball website for the appropriate weight.

It's worked every time without brine or frying.

That is exactly what I do and I have NEVER had a problem with dry turkey.
The poultry seasoning sprinkled over the turkey gives a great flavor.

 

[GrayFal]

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85975&highlight=brine

 

[hotmike98]

found no difference

If you decide to do this, we found that putting the turkey in the brine solution was most easily done (for very large turkey) by putting it in a medium sized ice chest, and then putting the chest in the old refrigerator in the garage, as it takes up a lot of room.

I really think that the difference lies with the quality of theturkey itself. One year we got two frozen turkeys when the supermarket had a buy one get one free special. We brined the one for Thanksgiving. It was fine, but the ingredients for the brine solution were very expensive. We had the second turkey at Christmas, and even though it had been in the freezer a month, it was as moist and flavorful when cooked the conventional way. My mother always cooked hers in a paper bag from the supermarket--drippings from the roasting pan saturate the bag, and it self-bastes. You have to be careful the bag doesn't touch the oven or cooking element, or the bag can catch fire!

 

[DeniseM]

Mike - you should let your mom know that cooking in a paper bag is no longer safe. Today, paper bags are made out of recycled paper and have all kinds of impurities like chemicals and heavy metals, that you don't want in your turkey!

From the University of Minnesota:

Brown Paper Bag Method : Placing a turkey in a large brown paper grocery bag and cooking the bird at a very low termperature is another popular cooking method. Paper grocery bags were not intended to use as a cooking utensil, are not sanitary and may ignite causing a fire. The ink, glue and recycled materials in paper bags can emit fumes when exposed to heat. To make this method safe, replace the brown bag with a turkey-size oven-cooking bag. Follow the manufacturer’s cooking instructions and put the bag in a pan large enough so the bag does not hang over the sides. Cooking turkey at tempe ratures below 325 degrees is unsafe. When using this method, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This method produces a moist-heat cooking environment. A thermometer can be inserted right through the plastic into the thickest part of the thigh. The turkey is done when the temperature reaches 180 degrees F.

She can get the same exact result, safely, by using a Turkey cooking bag which is sold for this purpose.

 

[hotmike98]

Denise, I was just going to add this info, after reading through the thread re Cat's brining method (much simpler than the one I used, which has about $38 of other herbs and spices). Apparently the paper bags are chemically treated to prevent roach eggs from hatching! Gross! Anyway, Mom rarely cooks anything that won't fit in the microwave these days, so we are ok. Happy Holidays to everyone!

 

[DeniseM]

Mike - I've used Cat's brining method and it turned out great, but I also have just used a cooking bag, basted the turkey with real butter, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, and stuffed the cavity loosely with celery, onion, and apple, and it came out great too. My family can't tell the difference.

 

[rapmarks]

I used Cat's recipe yesterday.
It was the most fantastic turkey we have ever had.

I spent 69 cents for a box of kosher salt and used a garbage bag to brine the turkey.