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

Just me, one dog, and seven cats. The bird will be first done on a Weber grill. Charcoal with some hickory wood... indirect heat. Wings for snacks, breast meat for sandwiches, and the rest with carcass will be boiled for chili meat. Dolly dog gets all the skin unless I nibble some extra crispy parts. Cats get a bit of lean meat because they are household members. Boiled clean bones will go out to the garden where Mr. Possum will munch them down. Chili meat will be cut half and half with beef... round roast. Enough for about four pots of chili so most will get bagged and frozen for later. I have a 12 quart chili pot so it takes a couple pounds of meat for a batch. Work gives me this turkey every year. I like boiling the carcass because it uses the bird down to the last bit. My oldest sister is doing T-day and Grandma is doing T-day part two. Making chili out of most of my turkey is a fitting way to eat it up. : ) lyra

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.

Most home brine recipes are an overnight or 24hour total event. A bit of sugar, sometimes vinegar, tamari, and aromatics like bay leaf, peppercorns, herbs and spices. Enhanced brines are usually frowned upon in chicken and turkey as it adds weight to the final price per pound. Such a long brine can make meat tender on the verge of mushy if too long in a brine. Why pre-brining gets a bum rap for the most part and called 'enhanced'. TJ's does do a play with words making some things seem better than an actual natural processing un-inhanced. So not sure if that applies. My limited experience with TJ's is close to excellent in meats and fish. Just not convenient to my location. I think its been a couple years now. I do get the appeal for families needing quick packaged frozen foods better than most groceries. It should be listed on the packaging if you have easy access to your local store. Probably just a salt brine. Maybe a google search will come up with some reviews. Not sure many here have the experience your seek. Mine will be warm, fresh kill/plucked, while I wait and watch if I want, lol.