Just brined a turkey for the first time

16 years ago

I bought a 3lb boneless turkey breast to fix for supper. Next time I know I will have to buy a bigger one or just a regular turkey, there was hardly anything left.

I have been reading, and watching the cooking shows about brining these, but have never tried it before. Now I am not a meat eater. Especially not turkey. I might eat a bite or two at a meal, and thats it. But I actually ate a small portion of it, and everyone else liked it real well. I also squeezed some butter under the netting and some carrot slices,onion, celery and topped with a couple of bay leaves, then sprinkled on some sage and thyme. Also placed the same in the dish under the turkey. Roasted 1/2 way then turned it over to finish. It was nice a moist, and smelled so good cooking.

I also used the recipe by annie1992 for cinnamon rolls.Which tasted fantastic. Thanks annie. My hot rolls turned out fabulous this time. I used my usual amish bread recipe, but instead of water used milk, and threw in a small 1/4 c of plain yogurt. I had put this in my biscuits the other day, and they were the best I ever made. Raised up nice and tall and flaky. So I figured what the heck. I also kneaded the bread some by hand as well, instead of relying completely on my kitchenaide. Supper was great.

I just have to keep visiting here and learning more.Thanks guys.

Tammy

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

User
16 years ago
Tammy, sounds like everything came together for the perfect dinner.

If you like what brining does to the meat, you might also like Judy Roger's pre-salting method. I was a brine advocate until I tried presalting and now that all I will use. Works for just about every cut of meat. Much easier too than dealing with a pail of water.
annie1992
16 years ago
Tammy, I'm glad your cinnamon rolls and dinner came out so well, it sounds delicious.

I really like turkey but seldom cook even a turkey breast for just me. You know, I ought to try brining a duck, I haven't done that yet...

I make my own yogurt so there's always some in the fridge and I often add it to baking recipes, it adds a nice flavor and moisture, so I agree, you had a very good idea.

Something about today, we're talking about cinnamon rolls everywhere here!

Annie
Related Discussions
Crab Boil in Turkey Brine - How Much?
Q
Comments (14)
Basically you want to use the smallest container possible, however... all I have is a big 5-gallon bucket from Home Depot so I have been using that and it works well. I purchased a turkey with no additives, basting, or injections and labeled as "minimally Processed". I removed all of the giblets, neck, etc. and washed it real good under cool water. I then laid it on the counter for a few minutes while I mixed the brine. I estimated it would take 2 gallons of water to cover my turkey and I was correct. I added 2 cups of kosher salt and 2 cups of sugar to the mix and I stirred it for about 5 minutes to make sure everything was dissolved. I added 3 TBS of Zattarains shrimp and crab boil which is basically oil from thyme, margoram, bay, and several other spices. As I said before, I will double the crab boil next time since I could barely tell it was there during eating it. I then submerged the turkey into the brine mix and put a heavy plate on top of the turkey to help it remain submerged since it has a tendency to float. I then removed one of the shelves from my fridge and put the whole bucket inside to kjeep it below 40Â°. If your fridge is too small you can also just keep ice packs down in the water to keep it cold. exactly 14 hours later you are ready to smoke or roast the turkey. Let me know if you have any questions... I am not an expert but this is what I did after much research and it came out perfectly. Good Luck!
...See More
Question about Brining a Turkey
Q
Comments (31)
DC, you don't get a "salty tasting bird". You get a seasoned bird. You aren't getting a salty taste. dcarch got it. I didn't mean your bird will be TOO salty, just that it won't have anything else going on except the salt. Other than a saltier bird or piece of meat, what can you possibly get if you add salt? One might call it "seasoning" but salt is salt. You'll get the flavor of whatever you add. So if you smoke the salt for example, you'll get a slightly smoky taste. And if you include some chili powder, you'll get a bit of kick. It's impossible to rub salt on ribs or chicken or steak and not have it penetrate - that's the entire point of doing it, no matter what you call it. The flavors are completely different if you only use salt as opposed to other ingredients. I brine or use dry rubs for pretty much every meat and it all depends on what outcome you want. In this case and in fact in most cases, I WANT the other flavors in the meat, or I wouldn't add them. If you marinate a piece of steak or turkey in a combination of soy sauce, wine, honey, ginger, anise, and garlic, you'll get all those flavors even when you grill the food. But if you just rub with salt, and we do that often enough, you'll only have that. That's OK if it's all you want, but I kind of like things that are more fun. Just got done making the brine for this turkey BTW - apple cider, salt, honey, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden. We're having Korean guests and they're used to slightly sweet/salty flavors with meats, so it should be fine.
...See More
Brined turkey = salty gravy?
Q
Comments (9)
sorry it took me a bit to get the recipe back out. we did not follow measurements exactly (it's a martha stewart recipe from the 2008 holidays mag) but did use 1/2 750mL dry white wine, 2 quartered onions, 2 TBS Bouquet Garni herbs (from Penzeys) 6 bay leaves, 2 TBS peppercorns, 6 peeled crushed garlic cloves all added to 7qts of water heated up to dissolve 1/2c salt & 1/2c sugar. i used one of the ziploc XXL bags added everything to a cleaned turkey and put the ziploc in a cooler w/ a 10 lb bag of ice for 24 hrs w/ an oven thermometer that has a probe and remote sensor to monitor the temp didn't get too warm. our turkey was barely thawed when we started and we brined for 24 hrs, it smelled sooo good i worried the dogs would get into the cooler. dh baked the turkey w/ all the available veggies we had and he of course poured off the fat in a separator. BTW i ate the last of the gravy sunday and it was even tastier after a couple of days! DH is still talking about his gravy lol ~ liz
...See More
Cooking a farm-raised turkey for the first time
Q
Comments (11)
I have cooked a fresh farm raised turkey for the last 8 years. Here's my two cents worth: I don't brine or salt the turkey. I hate the texture brining gives the bird and I'm sensitive to over salty foods. I make a compound butter with butter, garlic, paprika and beer or white wine. I rub the compound inside the bird and place some under the skin everywhere I can fit it. I melt the remainder to use for basting. Placed turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, add a little wine or water to the bottom of the pan and place in preheated 450 oven, close the oven door and reduce the heat to 275. I baste the bird every hour or two until an instant read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 160-165. You are looking to get a finished temp of 165. The bird will continue to cook while resting covered with foil. Resist the temptation to overcook. These birds are less fatty and have no solution added so the margin for error is smaller. Remove the bird from the oven and cover with foil. Allow the bird to rest for 30-40 minutes. Carve and serve. There is very little extra juice for gravy with these birds as they are not injected with sodium solution. I usually roast some necks, backs and wings with celery, carrots, onions and garlic and make stock a few days ahead of time for gravy and stuffing. Also they seem to cook faster than store bought birds. For example for me a 40 lb. unstuffed bird cooks in about 6 hours.
...See More
tammyinwv
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the link Ann_T. I bookmarked your site for the next time. I have to admit, if i was using a full size turkey, holding a large pot in the fridge for brining would be impossible for me. With 6 adults and a 3 yo old to feed, my firdge is usually pretty full.

Annie, I was afraid I was making a mistake adding it, and didnt even know how much. I added about 1/2 c to my biscuits. Its ncie to know it wasnt a truly wacked out idea,lol
Tammy
annie1992
16 years ago
Tammy, I often use homemade yogurt in place of buttermilk in biscuits and pancakes, I just replace the buttermilk with the same amount of yogurt and it works very well.

Definitely not wacked out, LOL.

Annie
User
16 years ago
And.....you can also use sour cream. I often sub sour cream in recipes that call for milk, cream, buttermilk or yogurt.

Ann
tammyinwv
Original Author
16 years ago
Wow, I would have thought sour cream would definitly leave a taste. I know I have been making biscuits for years. They were always pretty good, not much difference including the times I "made" buttermilk w vinegar and milk. But the 1/4-1/2 cup of yogurt addition made them fantastic. Wish I would have taken a pic. I rolled them out about an inch thick, and they raised up to about 2.5" thick, and nice and moist and flaky. They even looked great.
Tammy
User
16 years ago
Tammy, I made scones earlier this week and added soft goat cheese to the mix. Added a wonderful flavour.

When I'm out of buttermilk I make the substitute with milk and lemon. I'm not a big vinegar fan and for me it leaves a noticeable taste.

Ann
annie1992
16 years ago
I make buttermilk out of either vinegar or lemon juice, which ever happens to be handy, LOL. But if I have a quart of yogurt and it needs to be used, in it goes!

Ann, I usually dislike goat cheese but I got some local goat cheese made in Manistee and it's very nice, not musty tasting at all, I was very impressed. Makes me glad I tried that sample at Russo's, in spite of my usual opinion of goat cheese!

Annie
tammyinwv
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all the wonderful ideas.
Tammy

Just brined a turkey for the first time

Comments (9)

User

annie1992

Related Discussions

tammyinwv
Original Author

annie1992

User

tammyinwv
Original Author

User

annie1992

tammyinwv
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Just brined a turkey for the first time

Comments (9)

User

annie1992

Related Discussions

tammyinwvOriginal Author

annie1992

User

tammyinwvOriginal Author

User

annie1992

tammyinwvOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

tammyinwv
Original Author

tammyinwv
Original Author

tammyinwv
Original Author