Brine or not to Brine??

[Jerry Lee]

Do turkeys always have to be brined first due to long smoke time?
I just ordered a BS,so this is all new to me.Thank You

Jerry

[bsolomon]

Welcome to the forum.  Bradley smokers do a very good job of keeping moisture inside the foods being cooked, and many have had good results without ever brining.  However, brining really accomplishes two things - it reatins moisture inside the meat, and it can add flavor to the finished product.  There is a really good brining discussion on our "project" forum:

http://susan.rminor.com/smokers/curing/curingandbrining.htm

Personally, I like the added flavor of the brining, and I tend to brine all fish, and most pork and poultry (although duck didn't seem to benefit).  Since a turkey is literally a "big" production, you might want to practice on some chickens first - less brining time and less smoking time, so your reward comes sonner with less worry.  Here's my suggestion:

http://susan.rminor.com/smokers/WhoHowWhy/firsttime.htm

[Habanero Smoker]

I just want to add, if you want to maintain moisture in your turkey, and you don't have time and/or space to brine; purchase kosher turkeys (and/or chickens), they are already brined. Another thing you can do is purchase self basting turkeys (you don't want to brine a turkey that is self basting). What I am seeing more often in the supermarkets are whole preflavored turkeys and chickens, that have been injected or tumbled in a flavored brine solution; such as Cajun, hickory, barbeque and other flavors. These can be a time saver, if you don't have any problems with artificial flavoring.

The above does not give you control of what flavors that are added to the brine, but it does save time and space. You can always apply spices and herbs under and on the skin to give it you personal touch.

[Jerry Lee]

Thanks for the info

Jerry

[JJC]

Hi Jerry,

Just wanted to say welcome to the Forum--you can tell from BSolomon and Hab's advice that this is a really friendly place to be!  Let us know how things turn out . . .

John
Newton MA

[Jerry Lee]

Thanks for the welcome,this is a great forum with a great bunch
of guys and a vast amount of info.
I can spend hours reading on this site,Ask my wife!!

Jerry