I brined a turkey this Thanksgiving
 

I'm not much of a cook, but I'm trying to pick a few things up. I figured I would give brining a try. I made a cranberry-orange brine, which turned out pretty good. It kept a lot of the moisture in the turkey, and gave it a pretty good flavor. Anyone ever try brining before?

Did you soak the turkey in the brine or just baste it?

We've never tried brining before but today my wife stuffed the turkey with orange and lime wedges. The citrus wedges didn't have any effect (either pro or con) as far as I could tell.

Soaked it for about 12 hours. It turned the turkey a nice shade of pink, but the color didn't go much past the skin. The flavor wasn't overpowering, but you could definitely taste a hint of citrus and cranberry, especially in the white meat.

I've brined the past two years. Love it and will do it every year now. I don't think Alton Brown even thinks about cooking a turkey without brining. Alton Brown is my guru.

I love Alton.

I haven't brined a turkey yet for the simple reason that I can't figure out how and I don't have a big enough container to hold it in. I know AB used one of those big thermos drink things, but I don't want to buy one just for brining. Who knows, maybe I'll give in next year.

I did an herb butter this year and put it underneath the skin on the breast meet. Holy crap was that moist turkey, and the gravy that it produced was superb.

I love thanksgiving.

Who needs brine? Just rub it with curing salt, let it sit for a day or two, and then smoke it. Tastes awesome.

anyone deep fry their turkey? we have done it for a few years now and it is awesome!

We've brined a chicken before and as I recall it was very good. We had to soak it for something like 24 hours and it was juicy as could be.

When I say "we", I actually mean my wife. She's a very good cook and usually doesn't involve me in any important kitchen happenings and we're all better off because of it.

What is curing salt and where do get it? Can I just use coarse kosher salt?

I usually brine the turkey, but I wasn't in charge of it this year. I did buy our own turkey that I want to smoke tomorrow.

I like to use Morton Tender Quick Salt:

http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/p...enderquick.htm

Don't use table salt. This is much different. Specially formulated for curing meat. We buy it at Albertson's, but not all grocers carry it. You may want to call around first.

I pour some in a bowl and then just spoon it over the bird and rub it around until it is evenly applied. As for how much to use, you just learn by experience. But it is tough to get too much on. Just apply liberally over the entire bird. For a turkey, it doesn't hurt to put some on the inside of the bird. The salt will naturally penetrate the meat over time.

We normally do chickens this way. We put the salt on the night before and let them cure overnight in the fridge and then smoke them for 5-6 hours. They taste wonderful. We generally do 2-3 at a time and then use the leftover smoked chicken in salads, quesadillas, etc.