Within the same batch then the usual cause is using older cukes mixed in with fresher cukes. Older cukes are softer, more porous, and so absorb much more of the salt in the brine. It is one of the main reasons using only fresh picked cukes is recommended. Did you taste the brine before adding it? Sometimes if it is too salty going in you can add a smidge of sugar to the brine first. Dave

Your brisket was tough due to the cooking method. It is very important to realize that by cooking a beef brisket to 195 degrees F DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN A TENDER BRISKET. "How" you arrived at that final temperature is the whole secret. You must VERY slowly approach that final temperature by cooking it at about 225 degrees (never never any higher than 250 absolute max). This is what's called LOW AND SLOW smoking. "Magical" chemistry related things will happen to the fat and collagen when you cook it this way. Those very "flavorful" and "tenderizing" chemical reactions will not occur to any great extent by cooking it any other way. If you try to hurry the process along.....the magic will not happen. And believe me you don't want to miss the magic. IMO, brining a fresh brisket that is to be smoked is absolutely ridiculous. Brining will in no way shape or form produce a better tasting brisket than one that is cooked "Low and Slow". Low and slow means cooking at a low temperature around 225 degrees F for a long time. A good test to see if a brisket is done is to press your finger into the fattiest part of the meat. If it is soft and your finger doesn't have a problem penetrating, it's ready! In the future, take your brisket and season it literally JUST BEFORE you smoke it. Use Toni Chachere's Mo Spice seasoning mix if you can find it. It has less salt in it. DO NOT brine nor season your brisket the night before. There are very specific reasons for doing it this way. Smoke it with some chips (apple-wood is best) only for the first hour or so of the process. Keep the temperature in the cooking area around 225 until it is done. I cook mine to about 180 degrees then use the very reliable and accurate finger poking test. This very simple procedure will produce the most tender, the most juicy, and the most flavorful "beefy" tasting piece of meat that you have ever eaten. The external and internal fat whithin the brisket is "magically" broken down into a "sweet" tasting chemical sugar that only occurs at certain low temperatures. The fat that does not melt away will become "to die for" good tasting.....but, very unhealthy to eat too much of it. The converted fat residue that remains inside of the brisket muscle fibers will impart that wonderful beefy taste to the meat. And the collagen will have broken down to make the meat very tender. You simply CANNOT rush this process and try to hurry it up to arrive faster at the 190 desired end point. The brisket will be done when it passes the poke test. Again, the magic will not occur if you rush this process. FYI, an 8 pound brisket will take about 10 hours to get to that tender/juicy point. This is "extremely" easy to do in a temperature controlled "electric" smoker. However, it most certainly can be done on a BBQ pit. The real brisket experts over in Texas do it all the time. Sorry to hear that your brisket did not come out well. The cooks at Cook's Illustrated don't know much about cast iron pans either. Dan Semper Fi-cus

BF and I had our TG dinner the weekend before, so ate leftovers on the actual day. I sure LOVED that! We got a free turkey and it was just one of those injected ones and I just roasted it and it came out good. I rubbed it with Mrs. Dash garlic herb salt free seasoning and stuffed it with apples. The only thing that was a problem is neither my meat thermometer or the pop up one on the turkey seemed to work because it was overcooked but not registering the right temp., so I dunno. My thermometer never seems to be accurate so I really have to find a better one. The white meat on the breast was a tad dry, as per usual but frankly I think it was good enough, that is pretty much the nature of white meat anyway. We got a lot for sandwiches which I ate on my homeade ricotta caraway bread-yum. I made sweet potatoes with pineapple glaze, a dish I had forgotten about and I think I will make it again. Easy peasy, not too cloying sweet but not bland either. Just added a small can of pineapple tidbits to a dish of diced fresh sweet potatoes, a TBLSP or so of brown sugar, a bit of butter and some candied ginger, and then baked it with the turkey for about an hour. Delish. I finally found a stuffing I like. It was over the top rich and fattening but since I only make this type of thing once a year, worth the splurge. It was an Italian style dressing and I got the recipe from chef Fabio Viviani, which sounds like a made up name to me but I actually enjoy his show and some of the recipes. What I like about this dressing was it has almost no sage and I am not a sage fan! I used a mix of spicy fake sausage and some all natural pork and rice sausage that I get, instead of the italian sausage that the recipe calls for. Ingredients 8 cup(s) French baguette or Italian pane rustica, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter 1 cup(s) diced yellow onion 2 cup(s) chopped cremini mushrooms 1 teaspoon(s) dried basil, crushed 4 tablespoon(s) Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided 3 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed 1 cup(s) shredded provolone cheese (I used a mix of shredded Italian cheese and that was it, way less) 1/3 cup(s) grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese - (See note above, I did not use all the cheese called for in the recipe, way over the top) 1 cup(s) sour cream (I only used about 1/3 cup) 1 cup(s) store-bought or homemade beef broth (I used vegetable broth) Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Add bread to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms. Season with salt, pepper, and dried basil. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 8-10 minutes until the moisture is evaporated and the onions and mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the mushroom and onion mixture to the bowl with the bread and allow to cool slightly. In the meantime, in the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. (I used already cooked sausage) Into the bowl with the bread, mushrooms and onions, add the provolone and Parmesan cheeses, sour cream, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and beef broth. Add the cooled sausage and stir to fully combine. Pour the stuffing into a 9- by 13-inch baking pan and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes until brown and crispy. To serve, spoon the stuffing into a serving bowl. Here is a link that might be useful: Chef Fabio Viviani's sausage mushroom stuffing

Adding potatoes to a too salty soup or sauce will not make it less salty. That is an old wives tale. Once the salt has dissolved it can't be removed. A potato, or a carrot or a piece of turnip etc. will taste salty because it absorbed some of the salty liquid. But the remaining liquid will still be just as salty. The only way to reduce the salt is to add more liquid to dilute it. Depending on how salty your soup is, just increase the recipe 25% to 50% omitting extra salt. Ann