Well its not up but still in the fridge
Its about a 12 pounder and destined for the smoker
I am inclined to brine this baby, I did at Christmas and it turned out good
I am thinking 8 to 1 water to salt, add some citrus, garlic, pepper, brown sugar, onion, cranberries
Bring to a boil and cool off with some ice
Let rest and inject with garlic butter or something like that to flavor the butter
2 or 3 day brine or is that too long? This is going to the smoker Sunday after golf ( HEEEEEEEEE HHEEEEEEEEE ) cannot wait
A cup of salt for two quarts of water may be a bit much (unless you're planning on cooling it with a lot of ice). Most call for a cup per gallon although I usually go even a bit lighter than that. Overnight brine should be plenty, especially if you plan on injecting which will add even more moisture. Brine Saturday evening and it'll be ready to go when you get home from golf.
I agree with KH. The 'standard', if there is such a thing, is a gallon of water, a cup of Kosher/Sea salt and a half cup of some sorta sugar. You're on your own from there with spices. I also might go a little lighter on the salt.
If I recall correctly, there was a post a while back regarding the cranberries. I don't think they added much to the party.
A 24 hour brine should be fine.
Thanks
I was initially thinking 8 cups of water to 1 cup salt but will adjust and go even lighter than that
I am not a big fan of turkey but this makes it almost edible for me
I'll try to post pics. But, I have had two turkeys brining (along with a couple of boneless breasts and an extra chicken 'cause there was room in the two five gallon pails) since Monday morning.
Here is the brine I am using:
5 gallons of water
2 pounds kosher salt
1 pound InstaCure #1
2 pounds Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoon Maple Flavoring (can leave out if you wish)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (can leave out if you wish)
Brine for 4 to 5 days at 38-40 degrees. Rinse very well in cold water. Then rinse again.
into smoker at 130 for an hour vent wide open. Smoke for 4-5 hours at 140 with 25% vent. Then bump up to 165 to IT of 160.
It will be the BEST tasting turkey you have EVER consumed in your life! Not salty at all. Very moist. You can eat it cold, but my wife likes to put into a roaster and bring it up to 'normal' turkey serving temps.
And, yes, the recipe calls for a pound of InstaCure #1. Don't let that freak you out like it did me the first time.
Good luck!
By the way - this recipe is a variation of Rytek's - done it before and it is really, really, good.
1 pound of Instacure sounds insane
I do happen to have some curing salt in the fridge that is about a pound that I had from salami making a couple of months ago
Maybe I should try this
It does sound insane. But, after verifying this on the board (Habs and other vets were instrumental in eliminating my doubts) it is one pound of InstaCure #1...in the five gallons of water.
Take a leap of faith on this one!
For brining that is about the amount I use. I generally only make one gallon of brine at a time, so I use about 3 ounces. So if you look at it from that point of view, approximately 3 ounces per gallon; it doesn't seem that much.
Sodak;
I don't generally use a cure for poultry, but I have some friends that are harassing me to make State Fair Turkey Legs. They are smoke cured turkey legs. I think I will have to give in this year; they worn me down. I think I'm going to use your recipe.
Habs,
Too funny. I put what looked like a dinosaur (turkey) leg in the bucket on Monday as well. Ran into a buddy at the store and told him what I was doing. He tossed the package into the cart and said "brine this!" My original plan was to start taking the birds out of the bucket, and then, in front of my wife, just lift the leg out and tell her the InstaCure must have eaten away the rest of the bird! Brining will be done tomorrow evening.
Now I have to take pictures!
Getting ready to mix up the brine now
I am doing this and will add some citrus flavors for some extra zip
Betcha like it!
The bird is in the brine
I need a bigger brine container though !
But I will get by
Now the waiting .......
It might be a little late for you now, but I use a five gallon bucket that you can get from Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace Hardware, and line it with the XL ziplock bags you can get at Walmart. Then put your brine and turkey in that, and place that in a cooler with ice (or your fridge if it's big enough).
That is a great idea
I think I will have to out this in a cooler anyways as we are expecting a mini heat wave the next couple of days
and this baby will not fit in the fridge
I usually dont do birds this big but this is the second one in a year
I will have to do something
That is a great idea. I need to start soaking a country ham tonight - I'll do that very thing.
Thanks!
No problem. I'd probably buy a new one and clean it out real good because occasionally I do end up getting a pin hole in the ziplock.
Quote from: oakville smoker on April 01, 2010, 11:10:37 AM...I usually don't do birds this big...
I usually consider a "big" turkey to be over 16 pounds so a 12-pounder isn't that big - what do you usually get?
Anyway, I usually buy "medium" turkeys (12-14 pounds) and find that I can brine them in my 12-quart stockpot with less than a gallon of brine.
When smokin a turkey I try to keep the bird right at 12 lb for me the bigger birds dont take on the smoke as well and they take longer to brine with some spots salter than others.
This is my brine bucket, it even comes with a lid.
(http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww263/OU812_bucket/pork/Sep28_0007.jpg)
have the same bucket from King Arthur Flour.
Use when brining salmon and just put a luncheon plate inside to keep everything submerged
Quote from: Rich_91360 on April 01, 2010, 02:03:57 PM
have the same bucket from King Arthur Flour.
Use when brining salmon and just put a luncheon plate inside to keep everything submerged
The plate thing works great.
(http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww263/OU812_bucket/pork/Sep28_0006.jpg)
If you inquire around restaurants, or fast food places; often you can get a 5 gallon food safe container with a lid from one of those places for free or at a minimal charge. They generally either recycle or throw them away.
Don't forget to rinse well...the bird that is...after brining. I'm taking mine out tonight. 4 1/2 days soaking should be enough. I'm going to refill the buckets with plain water tonight and start the smoking/cooking process tomorrow morning. Camera is charging right now.
4 1/2 days seems like an awful long time in brining solution. Have you done it this long before.
Yes I have done this before. I was actually going to leave it in for five days. But, based on the size of the turkey 4 probably would have done it. Both birds about 12-13 pounds. Rytek recommends 5 days for big birds.
The product has been removed from the brining buckets and put into the smoker. Two 12 or so pound turkeys. A couple of turkey breasts rolled and tied. A chicken ('cause it fit in the bucket) and a dinosaur leg my friend told me to toss in! Unlike most everyone here, I built my own smoker and use chunk wood to generate the smoke. But, I do have an adapter for the Bradley generator and plan to implement it one of these days.
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/DSC01418-1.jpg)
My smoker cabinet is in an addition to my wood shop. This makes the "hobby" a bit more tolerable living in the Dakota's. The PID I built, to control the heat element, has been holding steady at 130F for about an hour and 15 minutes after loading the birds, etc...
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/DSC01419.jpg)
So, now that the product has dried off enough, it's time to start adding the smoke. Here is the smoke box. The steel plate lid is removed and off to the side. You will note it sits outside my shop and the smoke is piped directly into the smoker cabinet. From the cabinet it is piped directly up and out of the shop through a special chimney.
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/DSC01423-1.jpg)
Here's what I plan to use for smoke. Fifty percent cherry chunks and fifty percent apricot chunks. Will smoke for about 4+ hours at 130-140F
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/DSC01412.jpg)
You can see a series of vent holes in the bottom of this picture where the smoke is beginning to roll. That's a slide draft and I light the wood from below using a propsane torch then close the draft to keep it smoking rather than on fire. Smoke is rolling and will keep checking it (that's where a Bradley is nice) every 15 minutes or so to make sure things are going well. Time to put a lid on and clean up my kitchen mess!
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/DSC01425-1.jpg)
The neighbor has already been over to see what's for supper! Loves the smoke! Will post more when the birds are closer to done.
Looks like a pretty "cool" (pardon the pun) setup.
Wow, nice setup. I think I would drink to much beer if I had to keep tending to the wood chunks that often!
So, how did the turkey turn out?
My turkey is out of the brine this morning and gone for a quick swim to release some of the brine
Butter / beer / garlic / onion / lemon injection is ready
now I have to decide what to smoke it with
Followed the recipe I provided earlier to a "t" and this is what happened. Took the stuff out of the smoker after about 12 hours total. IT of everything was within a couple degrees of 160F. Vacuum bagged this wonderful looking chicken for camping food later this month:
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/EasterSmokeSmokey019.jpg)
Here's the dinosaur leg and rolled breasts. We are one rolled breast short because the third one provided much needed nourishment last night! The breasts have been sliced into lunch meat and, along with the leg, have all been vac packed. Don't worry Bears Fan, I'll bring you a sample tomorrow!
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/EasterSmokeSmokey024.jpg)
And here are the wonderful ladies of the evening. One is frozen as we speak for camping food...the other, in the slow roaster today for the Easter dinner. They don't have to be heated, obviously, but my wife (corporate) likes them served warm. I cannot tell you all how juicy these things are! No salty flavor. Just a real nice flavor. Again, see the recipe earlier in the thread. I'm very curious to see how Oakville's turned out...
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/EasterSmokeSmokey020.jpg)
And finally, another dog made it through the back door on Saturday. This one is my son's puppy...he named her Smokey! Seems appropriate for the weekend activities!
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/sodak/Smoking%20Turkey%20Easter%202010/EasterSmokeSmokey003.jpg)
Everything is good. In more ways than one. Hope everyone had a good Easter.
Sodak,
I'll bring some of my weekend smokes and we can compare and swap notes.
Sodak
You are the man ! this was amazing
Akk reviews from 9 guests were this is the BEST turkey I have ever eaten
19 pounds for 9 people and there is enough left for a couple of sammies and the carcass is now creating some soup
if you have not tried this all, this is the only way to make this birds !
Sorry, under the constraints of time, no pics
Carvng a bird, smashing taters, pumelling turnip and getting it all on the table, it was forgotten
A cardinal sin yes, but a damn fine dinner none the less
Thanks! Glad you and your guests enjoyed.