To Brine or Not to Brine a Turkey

[smoker pete]

Forever and a day I've contemplated the age old question : " ... to Brine or NOT to Brine a Turkey ..." Turns out that until I attended the California BBQ Association's University "Authentic BBQ Advanced Class" it was always ... NOT!! Well I have seen the light, tasted the results and it prompted me to definitely give brining a shot.

My local grocery store had Bone-In Turkey Breasts and Turkeys on sale so I gobbled up 3 breasts for a great price of $9 each - No matter what the weight. Picked out the largest ones and saved over $30.

Simple Turkey Brine:

1 Gallon of Water
1 cup of Sugar
½ cup of Sea Salt
1/3 cup of Brown Sugar
1 ½ cups of Apple Juice
Laury's 12 oz Herb & Garlic Marinade

Into the fridge to brine overnight. A general rule to use for brinning is around one hour per pound. This breast was 9.4 lbs and was brined for 14 hours.

Removed breast from brine and rubbed on/under skin with EVOO and Jan's Dry Rub. Preheated the MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet Grill to 230ºF with Hickory pellets.

Setpoint to SMOKE (~180ºF) for 2 hours. Bumped the temperature to 325ºF until the Internal Temperature hit 165ºF. Rested under a foil tent for 20 minutes.

You can see just how moist the Bone-In Turkey Breast turned out and the flavors were exquisite!! Can't wait to use the leftovers to make a big batch of Turkey Tetrazzini ...

The money $shot ... Some Brined Turkey Breast, portion of Rice garnished with some tasty Gravy, a Salad with fresh ingredients from the garden (tomatoes and cucumber) ... I may never smoke/cook another Turkey without brinning it first. If you've been hesitant to brine a Turkey and/or Chicken I recommend you brine one the next time and see for yourself the benefits of brinning!!

 

[Rip]

Looks great Pete! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Big Poppa]

I never brine

 

[roburado]

After having brined chicken parts for a Thomas Keller fried chicken recipe, I don't think I'll ever do it another way. That being said, I still don't know what I want to do for a turkey or just some chicken on the MAK. I did some great thighs on the MAK with just some rubs, and they were wonderful. Brining is just a logistic pain in the butt for me, but goodness, the results are amazing. That was the best fried chicken I have ever had.

 

[squirtthecat]

Lookin good, Pete!

Ditto on the logistics, it takes a bit of extra work and a lot of extra room in the fridge. But there is a noticeable difference..

 

[TentHunter]

I've never brined a full turkey. With spatchcocking they turn out unbelievably moist without brining.

However, I do like smoked turkey legs that have been brined with a bit of curing salt in the brine to give them an almost hammy quality with pinkish meat. If you've ever had smoked turkey legs at carnivals and such you know the kind I'm talking about.

 

[ITFD#15]

I brined a hole turkey last Christmas and it was perfect, a little more work but worth it in my books.
As well in this area any of the competitive cookers are brining there chicken and most of them are taking part in Canadian and US competitions.

 

[FLBentRider]

I tried brining once, now i brine every turkey since.