Can we talk about BRINING a Turkey?

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

My daughter had an appendicitis attack on Tuesday and ended up in the hospital on Thanksgiving. She came home yesterday and wanted to cook her turkey today. Her friend mixed up a brine around 6pmlast night. She washed the turkey and put it in the brine with the instructions to remove it this morning, pat it dry and bake. The meat was juicy and tender, almost a little too tender. My husband thought it was slightly mushy. I like salt, but thought it was a slight bit too salty. It also released a ton of liquid when it was baking. My son-in-law was siphoning off liquid before it boiled over.

What's a good brine and how could we correct what those things that we found objectionable?

Featured Answer

annie1992

8 years ago

IT all depends on what you like, I've always said that taste is subjective, not objective.

I dislike Butterball for a variety of reasons. First, I'm ticked that they charge turkey price for the addition of salt and water. That 8% of my 20 pound turkey would be 1.6 pounds. Even at 99 cents a pound, that means I'd be paying $1.60 for salt and water. Second, they blast a big advertisement on their wrapping that it's "hormone free". Well of course it is, the government prohibits the use of hormones in poultry and pork and to me that seems very misleading. Third, they seem kind of "mushy", the texture is off for me.

The best turkey I've ever had was one that I raised myself and my stepson brined it, then roasted it, so that's the standard I hold all turkey dinners to. I like them brined, but I like salt, so there's that. Others may prefer something else and that's fine too.

Heck, some people don't even like turkey at all!

Annie

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Comments (23)

Olychick
8 years ago
It's possible the turkey she bought was already injected with brine. Check the label or the website for the brand and see if it has added "juices". I always brine my turkey and it's never too salty, nor does it ooze extra liquid.
Compumom thanked Olychick
Compumom
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That is very possible! It was a BUTTERBALL. I've never bought one before-- JUST LOOKED AND THEY are pre-brined and contain 8% solution. BINGO!
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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.
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annie1992
8 years ago
Ellen, Olychick beat me to it, I was going to ask if the bird was one of those commercial turkeys that contain "flavor enhancers". It seems that it was.

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, I hope she heals well and quickly.

Annie
Compumom thanked annie1992
artemis_ma
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I brined a turkey three years ago. Never again. Even though I rinsed the bird from here and gone, it remained salty beyond belief. Alas, it was a Whole Foods pricy heirloom bird. It came out moist and tender. But horribly salty. I will never brine a quality bird ever again.
Compumom thanked artemis_ma
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
Compumom, that is why I always buy a Butterball. I'm too lazy to do my own brine.
Compumom thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
artemis_ma
8 years ago
Hmm. Thanks for a good reason to steer clear from Butterball...
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Why, it's just salt and water like you would brine at home? They don't do the enhanced broth junk. I am 65 and I have only had two turkeys not a Butterball. One was a "free" one got as a turkey promo at the grocery years ago and this Thanksgiving because my grandson's wrestling team was selling smoked turkeys for a fund raiser. I will never do either again. It's back to the Butterball for me. They always turn out and taste delicious.
Compumom thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
Compumom
Original Author
8 years ago
Annie, my DD is a coupon queen. Therefore I know that she didn't pay extra for her Butterball, I'm fairly certain it was on sale or she had a coupon! LOL! ;-P
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
LOL, Annie, I certainty can't raise a turkey. My city won't even let you have chickens for eggs! I don't buy prebrined in any other meat, but I like the turkey brined and I have no place to do that. Also, by buying a brand, I can be sure that there isn't any dairy in the brine. My grandson is allergic to dairy. To me buying a Butterball is like buying the brands I like rather than whats on sale. I like French's mustard, Heinz catsup, Blue Plate, mayonaise, you get the idea. I do usually wait until they put them on sale just before Thanksgiving, but if I want one during the summer, I'll pay whatever.

While I am fortunate enough that I don't have to watch every penny on the grocery budget, I priced the heritage turkeys one year. There is no way I can pay that for a turkey! Maybe it is where I am. I just checked again, it is $180 for 15 pound turkey.

You are right about taste being subjective. As far a the labels, everything is doing the same thing. Gluten free is plastered on stuff that has and will never have gluten in it. It is all about marketing now.
colleenoz
8 years ago
Why on earth would there be dairy in _any_ brine? In any case, by brining yourself sure that would be the most certain way of ensuring no dairy is involved.

I always get a free range turkey and brine it. And it's always moist and delicious. I use Mark Peel's recipe. but with half the salt.
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
I haven't room or a pot big enough to brine a turkey.

You would be amazed what they add whey (which is dairy) to. His mother gave him a piece of gum several years ago. It had whey in the coating. She had no idea there was milk in a piece of chewing gum! EPI-Pen/ER trip in one bite! Whey is in the coating on McDonald's french fries.
sushipup1
8 years ago
I haven't room or a pot big enough to brine a turkey.

Use an ice chest.
colleenoz
8 years ago
I was going to say, I use my cooler.
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
I'll just stay with what I like. Thanks.
User
8 years ago
I prefer a dry brine ... a pre-salt, followed by 2 days of fridge air-drying.
dirtmechanic
8 years ago
Does anybody know how the Turkey was cooked 200 years ago? Would you then also have an Idea if that deliciousness had anything to do with the Turkey being offered up as the National Bird by Benji Franklin? Just curious, but whether butterball or not, my hickory smoker has made me curious about "DAMN Thats good turkey!"
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
8 years ago
"colleenoz

Why on earth would there be dairy in _any_ brine? In any case, -----"

May be that why they call them Butterballs?

dcarch :-)
javiwa
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
CindyMac: I've been using a modified version of Alton Brown's brine for the past 8-10 years, but we weren't going to be home the day before Thanksgiving (it's a 24-hour brine). So, I tried a modified version of Melissa Clark's NYT dry brine with salt and lemon zest (and I added minced garlic and chopped sage): OMG, fantastic! I won't go back to a brine solution -- dry brining is so much easier and yummier.

ETA: linked to Melissa Clark's/NYT recipe.
Sherry8aNorthAL
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
NO. There is no dairy in a Butterball. It's just a name. I checked the label and called the company years ago. But that IS why I stick with a name brand. Y'all have fun and brine all you want. I like mine. My family likes mine. We don't like spices, onion, lemon, or a lot of salt. The Butterball has the same amount per pound in every bird I buy. It is just enough to make it juicey without tasting the salt. I even add salt to mine on my plate.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
DH needs to watch salt consumption so he went looking for a non-pre-brined turkey. It was difficult.

Most all turkeys for sale were already brined. Turkeys labeled as "natural" maybe non-pre-brined, but the label should define what it means by "natural", as it can mean different things.

One of the Butterballs types was non-brined; he ended up with an organic "natural" turkey from Whole Checkbook because it was the size he was looking for. The sodium content was the intrinsic sodium content of turkey with no salt added (meat/poultry contains sodium).

He said it had more of a turkey flavor, more detectable because the flavor was not masked by salt. I being a vegetarian will take his word on that.
annie1992
8 years ago
Sherry, I'll never raise one again either, the darned thing cost me $45 to raise, and that doesn't count any of my time or labor. Plus it was supposed to be "organic" but every single poult got infectious sinusitis and had to have antibiotics every day for the rest of their lives, until they were big enough to eat. So much for organic, LOL. They were certainly delicious, though. (grin) They were also the single dumbest creature I've ever encountered. I didn't think anything was dumber than a chicken, but turkeys made it.

As I said, everyone likes what they like, and Butterball sure isn't hurting for customers so a lot of people must like them. I won't turn one down, I just like turkey, but it's not my first choice. Fortunately my local Amish community will raise me a turkey, fed with non GMO feed, no antibiotics and nothing added. They ask me which day I want it and it's killed and packed on ice that day until I pick it up, and the price is similar to the local stores. Yes, I know that's not an option for everyone and I sure wouldn't pay $180 for a turkey either, not even for Thanksgiving!

I know "everyone" sticks whatever "issue of the day" disclaimer on their labels and I'm always annoyed. It just seems dishonest. I will give Butterball extra points for earning their American Humane Certification seal, as that's a voluntary participation and I don't think any other poultry company has managed to do that.

dirtmechanic, I'm sure that turkeys were done over a fire or in a fireplace 200 years ago, so that's probably something like a smoked turkey!

Annie
sushipup1
8 years ago
And the turkeys of 200 years ago certainly weren't the behemoths we have today.

Can we talk about BRINING a Turkey?

annie1992

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Can we talk about BRINING a Turkey?

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