Turkey Brine

[mikeradio]

Hey habs

I will check my notes at home on the amounts of cure and salt, I have read so much information
on Turkey Brines, they are starting to run together.  ;D ;D  I did make notes in my smoking journal
as I made the brine.

The brine time was about 14 hrs

Do you have oz to tsp for cure # 1 or is it best to go by weight?

Thanks

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

Weight is best, but if you need to measure by volume; 2 tablespoons of Cure #1 weights close to one ounce (it's a little over an ounce but close enough to stay in the safe range of use). If you click on the below link and scroll down to Cure #1 there is a chart that has a fairly accurate weight to volume conversion. Just note that the amount of meat/fat is used only for measurement for sausage making or for dry cure application, but the volume to weight conversion is good for either wet or dry cure methods.
Curing Salts

When wet curing you have more latitude in the amount of cure you use, though brine times generally are adjusted accordingly. Generally you will see ranges of cure #1 as 1.5 - 3.0 ounces per gallon; but I have seen some amounts in Rytek's book that go as high as 1 ounce per quart. I use 3 ounces per 5 gallons when I am curing hams, but use 1.5 ounces per gallon for making corned beef/pastrami, thinner cuts of meat, and chicken parts. The amounts I mentioned in my first post are close to the conversion of use of TQ.

Also curing times are important; 16 hours is a long time for turkey legs. I would go by the guidelines that Kevin posted for chicken parts, but for turkey parts I would use the high end of the brine time; 4 hours.

[mikeradio]

Thank you Habs

After reviewing my notes I found my error, I used 1 1/2 cups salt instead of 1/2 cup
I had so many different notes and read so many recipes I got confussed  ;D ;D
I am glad I took notes as I made the brine.

I also agree I just cut back on the brine time.

Thanks everyone for the help

I will definitely try this again, even with the extra salt the turkey legs tasted great
I cant wait to try them with less salt.

Mike