Brining

[T.Dubya]

Hey Everybody,

I h
It has been awhile since my last question, so I guess I am learning, slowly.
I do have one simple question - a TURKEY question, seems to be a common topic lately  ;D.

I have a trial Christmas turkey in brine right now, however, the weather has been terrible here. -24C and snowing/blowing. The bird is going on day 3 in brine, I am starting to worry that it has already sat in the brine too long.

Would it make sense for me to pull the bird out of the brine and let it sit a day before I smoke it? I read a few posts about doing that and some people don't recommend that at all.


What is everybody's opinions?
Cheers
TW

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi T.Dubya;

Welcome to the forum.

I generally only brine about 1 hour per pound, using either organic or minimally processed poultry. There are many that brine 2 - 4 days, but a lot depends on the salt content of your brine. The more salt, the less time you will want to brine.

If you are sure you will be smoking/cooking within the next 24 hours, take the turkey out of the brine and give it a quick rinse, and pat dry inside and out. Place it in the refrigerator uncovered for at least 8 - 12 hours. This allows the brining process to continue, and equally distribute throughout the turkey. It also helps dry out the skin and form a pellicle, which helps with smoke penetration and adhesion, and also aids in crisping the skin.

[T.Dubya]

Thanks Habanero!

Weather has finally cleared and will be smoking it this afternoon - has been sitting in he fridge as you described since yesterday afternoon. Any advice for if I were to smoke it tonight and reheat it on Friday for dinner? The reason I ask is a friend has invited me to a Christmas Potluck and I figured it would be cool to bring my turkey. Just don't want to embarrass myself with a dried out bird.

Thanks!

[Saber 4]

Thanks Habanero!

Weather has finally cleared and will be smoking it this afternoon - has been sitting in he fridge as you described since yesterday afternoon. Any advice for if I were to smoke it tonight and reheat it on Friday for dinner? The reason I ask is a friend has invited me to a Christmas Potluck and I figured it would be cool to bring my turkey. Just don't want to embarrass myself with a dried out bird.

Thanks!

Habs has you going in the right direction, if outside temp is still an issue you can hot smoke for the smoke period and move to the oven or an SRG type unit to finish it up. I deboned mine and put the individual parts in vacuum bags to reheat in a water bath so I don't loose any moisture. Others will have their methods to list as well, just pick what works best for your situation.

[Habanero Smoker]

The important part is to get the turkey cooled down as fast as you can. After the time I smoked/cooked a turkey the night before, after 9 hours in the refrigerator it was still warm. Needless to say I discarded it. I now buy bags of ice, after the turkey has been cooked, I place it in a brining bag, seal it tightly, into a cooler and cover it with ice, and replace ice as needed until it is cold, and then I refrigerate.

Reheating a whole turkey, I place it on a rack and into a roasting pan with some chicken broth, and cover with foil. Reheat at 325°F until an internal temperature of 165°F, I also tried to uncover for the last 45 minutes to an hour, or when the turkey get around 150°F.

[T.Dubya]

Thanks Saber and Hab
Turkey turned out awesome! will post pics later tonight!!

[wkahler]

-24C...............where are u at because i DO NOT want to go there LOL!!