Thanks for the advice on brining!

16 years ago

A couple years ago, I asked for advice on the best method to prepare a juicy bird (whatever kind it may be). The responses here were pretty unanimous... brine it!

I did Thanksgiving today since I'm working on the actual holiday. Just my friend Larry (vegetarian, so he didn't try the turkey breast that I worked so hard on), and his 75 year old aunt. I wanted to make a nice juicy turkey... so I got out my flavor injector and attempted to insert a sauce that I made. Well, the silly thing developed a vacuum that I couldn't overcome no matter how many dirty words I uttered. I just couldn't get the plunger to push! Then I remembered the advice I got here and decided to go for an overnight brine. When I got up this morning, I plucked the turkey out of the brine and rinsed it off. Then I brushed the skin with butter and sprinkled herbs all around. Stuck in the probe thermometer and baked until it was done. Well, I've made a few turkeys in my life, whole and breasts, but this was the best one yet! It was so moist and flavorful and fabulous! I'm a brine convert! I'm going to try it on my next chicken too. I tried to make gravy with the drippings, but it was too salty. Would a brined carcass be OK for soup, or too salty?

I made the sweet potatoes, a great food processor white bread, homemade butter, and stuffing (which I did for aunt, because I don't like it and had never made it before). Cooking was fun because I got to play with my new knives... they wouldn't get the cooking forum seal of approval, but they are certainly an upgrade from the 10 dollar Big Lots set I've been using for 3 years. I cooked until 4 AM last night... which isn't unusual, I'm usually up that late watching Murder, She Wrote. Larry made scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie with pecans, corn pudding (fabulous) and tofurkey. It was a good meal!

A funny thing happened when I was making the butter. I put it in the tupperware and started stirring a little salt into it. Then I saw this film come up with the fork and butter was clinging to it. It was the SCREEN PROTECTOR FOR MY CELL PHONE! Boyfriend cleaned the kitchen for me and put the tupperware away assuming it was clean... I'd been soaking the screen protector in water to try to get the dust out from under it. When I lifted that thing up with the fork and saw the butter dripping off of it, I almost died laughing. Had to sit down for five minutes and recover.

It was a nice evening... we ate and talked and laughed... then I brush aunt's yappy dog and tried to coax unfriendly cats to be nice to me. The kitchen is only halfway clean, but I'm too tired and stuffed to finish; the mess will still be there in the morning!

Thanks again for the advice to brine, I'm going to be evangelistic about it now!

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Comments (11)

mustangs81
16 years ago
Bobby, sounds like it was a terrific meal with great company. And the screen protector story will have life in it for a long time.

I thought of you when I was at Big Lots and two ladies were shopping for a wedding shower gift and settled on some knives.

Sleep tight!
vacuumfreak
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Cathy, but I'd rather you think of me when you are vacuuming with your Dyson or dropping food all over the floor or burning yourself with the oven! I've stopped shopping at Big Lots as everything I've ever gotten there has been junk (microwave, trash can, floor shampooer, electric scrubber, knives, stock pots, and too many other things to mention). The only purchase I have been happy with from Big Lots was the chocolate candy bar, which worked just fine. I have the waist line to prove it! :o)

I just got a set of Farbarware knifes... I figured a 50 dollar set is better than a 10 dollar set. I know I should have gotten really expensive individual knives from Henckles or Whustof or some other such brand, but I don't want to spend crazy money during this economy. At least they are red and match the other things in the kitchen. So far, I'm in love with the mini santoku knife... it's sooo handy! From what I came from, I really feel like these knives are "good". It's all relative!

I wanted to post the brine and bread recipes in case anyone was curious.

The Brine

http://southernfood.about.com/od/wholeturkeyrecipes/r/bl61130c.htm

The Bread

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rich-White-Bread/Detail.aspx

The bread had a soft crust which I personally love. Though I have vintage, powerful, quality food processor, it was overwhelmed by the amount of flour in this recipe... the motor slowed and whined and the dough threw the blade off the shaft. So, be careful.. maybe do half of the recipe at a time or something.
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loagiehoagie
16 years ago
Bobby, just one opinion, and of course take it as you wish. Don't buy anything, or NOT buy anything because of THIS ECONOMY. Seriously. If you can afford a nice item that will last forever BUY IT!~. If you can't, no worries. But don't judge your purchases by the media's current economic scale.

I have put off some purchases myself because of worries, so I can understand the trepidation, but for minor items (relatively) I would go ahead and make yourself happy with whatever you wanted.

Buying a fancy sportscar, etc. is a different animal, although if you have the means I wouldn't even reject that!
mustangs81
16 years ago
Yeahbut Bobby, you can't buy appliances and kitchen gadgets at BLs. But BLs is great for gift bags, greeting cards, garden carp, holiday decorations, toiletries, Muir Glen tomatoes, chips, toys, baby wipes, office supplies.

OT--is it okay to use my Dyson to vacuum the lanai (cat hair, dirt from outside)? I emailed you privately but I don't think it got to you.
kframe19
16 years ago
Couple of hints for dealing with making gravy from a brined bird...

When you add liquid to the pan to get the browned bits up, after skimming the grease, but before adding the thickener, add a couple of potatos sliced nice and thin and simmer on low for about 20 minutes. The potatos will absorb a fair amount of the salt.

Simply lift the potatos out and discard them.
vacuumfreak
Original Author
16 years ago
Of course, Cathy... unless the dirt is wet. When you vacuum the bare floor, do you use the bare floor tool that came with the machine, or the upright part with the brushroll off?

Kfame, thanks for saying that. I'd heard potatoes can remove salt from things, but I didn't know if it was an old wives tale or not. By the time I mentioned the word potato, my friend Larry was trying to help me and he said the potato should be cooked before trying it and I said it didn't matter. We just ended up adding so much milk and flour and diluting the gravy so much that we had almost a gallon of the silly stuff. The salt level was fine, but then the taste was kind of ruined!
trsinc
16 years ago
How much salt did you use per gallon? I've been brining chickens for a few months now and have found that I like 1/4 cup salt per gallon of water. However, these chickens already have 3 % sodium.

I haven't found the drippings from this to be too salty, and it is still enough to flavor the bird and make it nice and moist.

I'm brining my first turkey right now. Started it yesterday to cook tomorrow. We'll see how it turns out. It was a no salt added turkey so I used 1/2 cup per gallon of water. Plus ice which has diluted it over time...

I've seen all kinds of combos on the net so I've just been winging it to see how they turn out.

I don't know how salty your drippings were but wine might help as an addition. I find it takes away SOME saltiness. I love a red wine, garlic, rosemary gravy/sauce. But, I prefer that for chickens. I'm a purist when it comes to turkey for some odd reason.
trsinc
16 years ago
Duh, duh, duh,

I just re read the thread and visited the site you listed.

That's a lot more salt than I've used. I bet the turkey was great!!! But I can see how the drippings were salty. You can experiment with chickens over this next year to see what comes out best for you then use that ratio for your next turkey.

I love brining too. Sometimes I get busy doing other stuff and leave the chick in the oven for too long. If it's brined it doesn't seem to mind. :-)
asolo
16 years ago
FWIW....vacuumfreak's site for brine mixture is pretty close to many others I've read. Basically 1-2 cups of Kosher salt per gallon. Seems like a lot to me but everyone says it works. Also, all my more-experienced friends say to rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with fresh water before roasting.

Here is a link that might be useful: brining turkey -- what concentration? See Page 2
beanthere_dunthat
16 years ago
Bobby, it sounds like what Thanksgiving should be -- good company, fun, and good food. (The BF cleaned the kitchen? Wow, sounds like a keeper!)
asolo
16 years ago
Why?

FWIW....my opinion of results: Finished bird not superior, just different -- as in saltier than unbrined. Plus the drippings were so salty as to be unusable -- a huge disadvantage for gravy-hounds like me. The stuffing inside was borderline inedible compared with extra stuffing done separately. IMHO, the time, effort, and mess involved certainly not worth it. I regard as net loss. Been roasting turkeys for thirty years. This was first brining -- and last.

Followed instructions to the letter. (It's not that complicated, after all) Thoroughly rinsed with fresh water inside and out. Same fresh bird from same butcher as I've used for years with consistently excellent result before this.

Thanks for the advice on brining!

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Thanks for the advice on brining!

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