Need a good turkey brine
 

All,

I am brining the thanksgiving turkey this year. I have a recipe from Alton Brown's book, but its not really what Im looking for, as it imparts a bit of a sweet flavor. I'm looking for something a bit more savory than sweet. Any other hints/tips for brining would be much appreciated.

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

VR,
I usually go with a gallon or so of veggie broth if i plan ahead (h2o is fine if i forget to buy the broth). 2 oranges and 2 lemons cut in half. 1 c of kosher salt (or some other rock salt). a full pack of the poultry herbs that you get at safeway. bring this all to a boil. cool and add ice. put the turkey in a garbage bag and the garbage bag in a ice cooler in the garage. pour brine liquid into garbage bag. tie closed, pack with ice around it and leave for 8-12 hours.

things to make sure of: 1) you start early enough to adequately cool off the liquid before it goes to the bird. 2)you use rock salt instead of table salt. (or, if you use table salt, you only use 1/4 the volume). trust me on this one. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
3) you start early enough to allow you to take the bird out of the brine early enough to dry off completely. this takes an hour or so, and you don't want puddles of water in the bird when it's in the oven trying to brown up.

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

Heard this on my ride home from work today. Link

start with a fresh turkey that has been cleaned and washed

combine 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 gallon chicken stock, 1/2 gallon vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic, 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce, 1 cup of honey, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon of cloves in a large stockpot and bring to a boil, then simmer for approximately ten minutes - remove from stove and chill in fridge (overnight if possible)

to brine the turkey, you'll need lots of ice in a clean cooler (although some have combined everything in pots or extra strong trash bags!) line the cooler with plastic wrap, then put down a layer of ice and then place the turkey on the ice breast down

combine your brine ingredients with 1 gallon of ice water and pour over the turkey - cover the turkey with a layer of ice, close the cooler (if possible then place it in the fridge)

let the turkey soak in the brine mixture undisturbed for 6 hours, then turn the turkey over and let it soak an additional 6 hours - remember no part of the turkey should be above the brine

after its soaked in the brine, remove it and rinse thoroughly and throw away the brine

i always melt one pound of butter and then let that cool (but not resolidify) - i then use a turkey syringe and inject the melted butter into various parts of the turkey, concentrating most of my injections to the breast - i also loosen the skin from the meat and place bacon strips, fresh rosemary and some fresh sage between the meat and the skin, then i coat the skin with peanut oil

at this point, bake the turkey according to instructions and get ready to enjoy the moistest turkey of all time

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

Make sure you put a [censored]ton of salt in there, then just add whatever flavors you like.

If you want savory, you could experiment with cumin, sage, rosemary or whatever you prefer.

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

Salt and water works pretty good.

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

decent info here:

TURKEY HELPER

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

Lots of good links right now at barbecuebible.com (stephen raichlen's site)

http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/v...e80d2fec8b4acf

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

My gf's family swears by brining theirs with a stout-based brine. Will try to find out the recipe, but here's one from Emeril's website...although it is pretty effing involved.

Emeril's beer brine and turkey giblet gravy

2 quarts apple cider
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 cups kosher salt
1/4 cup black peppercorns
1 tablespoon juniper berries
4 bay leaves
Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4 quarts dark beer
One 8- to 10-pound turkey, neck and giblets reserved for gravy
3 cups chopped yellow onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Emeril's Original Essence
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Directions

Combine the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves in a large pot or bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Combine the mixture with the beer in a 40-quart cooler, or large plastic container. Place the turkey in the brine and, if necessary, weigh down with heavy dinner plates to completely submerge. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Spread the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Add the turkey neck to the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels and place on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.

Combine 1 stick of the butter and the Essence in a small pan and melt over medium heat. Remove from the heat. With a pastry brush, baste the top and sides of the turkey with half of the butter. Roast for 30 minutes.

Baste the turkey with the remaining seasoned butter, reduce the oven temperature to 300° F. and roast for 30 minutes.

Baste the turkey with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Return to the oven and roast until golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160° F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer, basting once with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock.

Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer to a platter or cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Melt the remaining tablespoon butter with the olive oil in a medium heavy pot over medium-high heat.

Add the reserved giblets and cooked turkey neck, and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add half of the vegetables from the roasting pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the remaining 3 cups chicken stock and any juices accumulated in the roasting pan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, add the sage, and simmer briskly until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the neck.

In batches, pulse the liquid and solids in a food processor into a thick liquid. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing against the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible and transfer to a gravy boat. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

To serve, carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

Glad I'm not cooking tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!

ScottieK

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

While I can see where you're coming from re: the sweetness, Alton's turley recipe is by far the best turkey I've had. My wife and I hosted Xmas dinner at our place a couple years ago, and we got raves on the turkey.

Re: Need a good turkey brine
 

[ QUOTE ]
All,

I am brining the thanksgiving turkey this year. I have a recipe from Alton Brown's book, but its not really what Im looking for, as it imparts a bit of a sweet flavor. I'm looking for something a bit more savory than sweet. Any other hints/tips for brining would be much appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am assuming the recipe in the book is the same as the one here? My wife just made this this morning...it smelled so good I was about ready to guzzle it! Not sure if she modified it at all though.