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Recipe To Brine or NOT to Brine

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by cis689, Nov 19, 2012.

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To Brine or Not to Brine

  1. Soak it baby!

    3 vote(s)
    60.0%

  2. Nah, waste of time.

    2 vote(s)
    40.0%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. cis689

    cis689 Slightly Tilted

    Hey guys,

    I have the task every year of cooking the Thanksgiving turkey. Now, my birds usually come out perfect every year, but my man Alton Brown says "One MUST brine!" Never tried it and was curious if anyone here brines before roasting and could share an opinion?

    Thank you!!
     
    cis689, Nov 19, 2012
    #1
  2. Ozmanitis

    Ozmanitis Trust in your will and Hope will burn bright!

    Location:
    Texas USA
    My birds usually came out pretty good without Brine. But there was a mark improvement when I started too. So I would definitely brine the turkey, ham, anything I roast. I brine
     
    Ozmanitis, Nov 19, 2012
    #2
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Absolutely brine. It works wonders for turkey or chicken.
     
    Borla, Nov 19, 2012
    #3
    • Like Like x 1
  4. cis689

    cis689 Slightly Tilted

    Thanks Oz.

    Also, what do you brine in? I was thinking a styrofoam cooler I guess. It is a 19lber
     
    cis689, Nov 19, 2012
    #4
  5. Ozmanitis

    Ozmanitis Trust in your will and Hope will burn bright!

    Location:
    Texas USA
    I use an old BIG cooking pot. works like a charm
     
    Ozmanitis, Nov 19, 2012
    #5
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    5 gallon bucket worked awesome for us last year. Bought one new an cleaned it with alcohol first, no soap products. We used Alton Brown's recipe.... Amazing. I'll only brine now.
     
    Japchae, Nov 19, 2012
    #6
    • Like Like x 1
  7. cis689

    cis689 Slightly Tilted

    Don't have a cooking pot that big. So, a cooler with a couple bags of ice sitting overnight would be ok? (outside the frig)
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2012
    cis689, Nov 19, 2012
    #7
  8. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I like brined turkey, but I like unbrined turkey, too. Usually, when my family does a brined bird, it's because it's going in the smoker. To me, the smoker makes a difference too.

    If you decide not to brine, make a compound butter out of minced herbs and butter. Shove this between the skin and the bird. Don't skimp. Melt some of the compound butter on the stove for basting. Every half hour or so, baste the bird with the butter. It makes the skin extra crispy and delicious, and keeps the turkey moist.

    In terms of food safety, a cooler should be fine.

    Also, for large projects like this where people want to clean cooking vessels/food prep vessels without soap, I really recommend this stuff: Amazon.com: One Step No-Rinse Cleanser: Home & Kitchen It's percarbonate based and made for the homebrewer. We use it to clean all of our growlers, water bottles, whatever we don't want to use soap on because it might leave an aftertaste or because it's difficult to wash.
     
    snowy, Nov 19, 2012
    #8
    • Like Like x 1
  9. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    Be sure to check the label of the bird you buy.
    If it's a kosher bird it's already effectively salted and brined.
    Also many commercial turkeys come pre-injected with a delightful concoction of chemicals that season and add moisture. They're essentially already brined too, although not in anything you would generally choose to eat.
     
    fflowley, Nov 19, 2012
    #9
    • Like Like x 2
  10. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    fflowley, you brought up a point I was also thinking about. The provenance of the bird impacts taste far more than people might think. When my MIL buys a turkey, she gets one from a local market that carries birds that were raised humanely, without antibiotics, and aren't injected with loads of crap. It makes a big difference--those turkeys are delicious!
     
    snowy, Nov 19, 2012
    #10
  11. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I don't brine. I find that brining just adds water to the bird. I never have dry turkey or chicken because I don't over cook them.

    The key to a good turkey is cooking to temperature. Get yourself a probe thermometer and cook the thighs to the right temp. The main problem with Turkey is that breasts and legs are done a different temperatures. If you can insulate the breast for the first stage of the cooking that will help as well (I used a wine and butter soaked cheesecloth).

    The best method is to break down the bird and cook it all separately, but most like to see the whole bird at the end.
     
    Charlatan, Nov 19, 2012
    #11
    • Like Like x 2
  12. cis689

    cis689 Slightly Tilted

    Foil the breast of the turkey only and tuck the legs. Helps some.


     
    cis689, Nov 19, 2012
    #12
  13. ROBOT_PARADE

    robot_parade New Member

    I brine. It's not just about the moisture, but also flavor - the brine seasons the bird all the way through, along with whatever else you put in the brine. As far as receptacle goes, a giant plastic bag works wonders.
     
    robot_parade, Nov 20, 2012
    #13
    • Like Like x 1
  14. mixedmedia

    mixedmedia ...

    Location:
    Florida
    I'm not cooking the turkey this year, my daughter is.
    And she is brining.
    It's nice to see my girl taking the reins of Thanksgiving.
    Therefore I'm all for brining. Go brining!
    (has never had a brined turkey before, but is sure it makes an edible turkey, i mean, it's turkey. what could possibly go wrong?)
     
    mixedmedia, Nov 20, 2012
    #14
    • Like Like x 1
  15. cis689

    cis689 Slightly Tilted

    Thanks MM, Do let us know how she did :)
     
    cis689, Nov 20, 2012
    #15