Did you Brine your turkey

Fads come and go. Food is no exception. (anybody foam their cranberries? ) Anyway, I've seen some oh so current foodies claim that they no longer brine their turkey for reasons that are not clear to me. But I thought I'd ask anyway. I just finished cleaning up a really delicious thanksgiving meal that included a remarkably tasty and juicy herbed brined roasted turkey. Very little leftovers (too bad really, I look forward to them) because it was that good. So - do you brine or not?

Yes....I used Kosher salt.

[Robin Garr]

So - do you brine or not?

We didn't have turkey yesterday, and in fact, to quote our pal Barb, "I didn't cook a lick."

But I'm going to step out on a limb here and say that I've never been whelmed by brining. I've tried it a number of times on both turkey and pork roast, and while I've never actually done a side-by-side kitchen research experiment with brined and unbrined prepared and sampled together, I just honestly didn't see enough benefit (if any) to justify the extra time and effort.

I don't know if this is relevant, but I generally don't buy agribusiness pork or turkey ... I'm 98 percent likely to get both in relatively natural form from local producers through farmer's markets or specialty markets. In those cases, at least, I'm very satisfied with the unbrined results.

I'm not trying to troll or get an argument going here - no, really! - but I'd be curious to hear the other side of this debate. I'm willing to try it again, but I've done so enough times that I don't think my findings were just a fluke.

Robin,
Man, you've been using the wrong salts.
BP

[Robin Garr]

Man, you've been using the wrong salts.

Hoo boy! Here goes another thread!

I'm not trying to troll or get an argument going here - no, really! - but I'd be curious to hear the other side of this debate. I'm willing to try it again, but I've done so enough times that I don't think my findings were just a fluke.

I'm not a fan either Robin of brined pork or poultry. In fact, I don't ever order a pork chop in a high end restaurant anymore because it seems they are all brined and very salty at that. The moisture it creates doesn't woo me because it seems to be "watery," not the kind juicy moisture that comes from a perfectly cooked bird or chop. Does that make sense?

A few years ago I was eager to get on the brining bandwagon for Thanksgiving, and with that, my husband (always the traditionalist) "suggested" that we make two turkeys that year (in case the brined one was inedible.) As I said in my thread asking people how they are preparing their turkeys, we didn't like the brined one at all. It tasted kind of like the turkey you'd buy in the grocery store deli. It was an all natural, un-injected bird to begin with. But the other bird that we both favored so much by comparison? A Butterball! No one will ever call me a food snob again, huh? We both grew up on them, and I guess that's the flavor/texture profile we both crave at Thanksgiving. And the bonus was, this year our store offered them at .49 cents a pound with a $25 store purchase.

We have brined turkey with great success. It is an awful lot of trouble, particularly for Thanksgiving when much else is going. My much easier recipe (posted elsewhere) is about all we can handle on T-day and it tastes great too.

Maybe on another occasion we will try brining again.

But the other bird that we both favored so much by comparison? A Butterball!

Don't feel too badly, Carrie. Some blind turkey taste test results I've seen had similar results; Butterball came out on top, even against pricier free range, organic birds.

I don't take a position - I'm not all that fond of turkey to begin with.
Give me a good roast chicken, any day.

I didn't brine because I got a free turkey, a 26# Jennie-O, which had already been innoculated with some kind of solution or the other. Brining, however, ain't so bad if done correctly and not overdone. It's a taste, time and mood thing for me. If your turkey comes wrapped, read the bag and skip the brining if, like mine, your bird has basting solution added.

My mother always brined chicken ... probably without knowing she was brining. Any kind of chicken, whole or parts ended up in a bowl of salt water for a couple of hours to "clean it." And you couldn't beat my mother's chicken

ALWAYS! I've been brining my birds for 20 years. In addition, I also cook using indirect heat over charcoals and fruit woods. The bird is always succulent and tasty. A flavor and taste experience that suits my palate. But, I don't think it needs to be justified either way. You either like it or you don't. Ain't life GRAND?!

I think the more I read about brining, the more complicated it gets. I believe that more than 24 hours for a 14 lb bird may well create that "lunch meat" kind of watery saltiness which I don't care for. But 24 hours with loads of herbs gives a magnificent herbed roasted flavor that I've just not gotten with any other way (we've tried deep frying, grilling, roasted with cheesecloth soaked in butter). The brining is the only sure fire way for me to get white meat that's juicy and flavorful every time. We used a fresh, range raised turkey (not frozen). The weather cooperated beautifully so I could put the bird and brine in a bag then in a cooler and leave it outside overnight so it was fairly effortless. Also, I've been roasting for 1/2 hour breaast up, most of the roast breast down, last 20 minutes or so breast up. Then I rest it at room temp breast down 20 minutes or so before carving. So that helps too. No question it's a PITA but a grand spectacle to have it carved on the platter. Hope your thanksgiving was fun.

[Jenise]

Howard said:

I believe that more than 24 hours for a 14 lb bird may well create that "lunch meat" kind of watery saltiness which I don't care for. But 24 hours with loads of herbs gives a magnificent herbed roasted flavor that I've just not gotten with any other way

Precisely my experience, Howard. likewise, 8 hours for a chicken. And like Carrie, I rarely order pork in restaurants for the same reason--they're overbrined and, I suspect, purchased that way in little pouches from the restaurant supplier for the purposes of extending shelf life. Just like, I presume, was the duck breast I ordered the other night at a local restaurant. It was so juicy that it wouldn't brown, so there was no crisp skin or interesting exterior, and so overly tender that it didn't taste or feel like duck. YUCK.

But I also want to address Carrie's comment about the Butterball effect: I laid in bed last night thinking about my $60 "heritage" turkey with it's offputtingly rich ultra dark dark meat and wondered if I wouldn't have been happier with a plain old Butterball, too.

offputtingly rich ultra dark dark meat

I once had a freshly killed duck that I found inedible for that reason.

Robin,
Man, you've been using the wrong salts.
BP

LOL

But I also want to address Carrie's comment about the Butterball effect: I laid in bed last night thinking about my $60 "heritage" turkey with it's offputtingly rich ultra dark dark meat and wondered if I wouldn't have been happier with a plain old Butterball, too.

Thank you for your honesty, Jenise. I am all for using the finest (read: most expensive) ingredients and cuts of meat when it makes a significant difference, but as you know it's not necessarily for the better. We went to a friend's house for Thanksgiving one year and she had been raving about her fresh Deistel turkey that she had called weeks in advance to reserve, and then waited forever in line when she went to pick it up at the only store in the desert that carries them. Not to mention, she paid a small fortune for it. My husband and I were on the edges of our seats waiting to try this delicious bird. Well, to us, it was dry and a bit gamey. Certainly not worth the time, expense and aggravation, and not nearly as delicious as our bourgeoise Butterball.

I did brine mine, but I just used a breast, not a whole bird, as nobody involved wanted to deal with the carcass afterwards!

Interesting range of opinions in this thread. A few times folks have mentioned brining for up to 24 hours while others mention the bird getting salty and a lunch meat character. This got me to wondering about brine times. I usually brine a 12 to 15 lb. turkey for about 8 hours. The few times I've extended to brining significantly longer the bird felt (not tasted) mushy as if the proteins had perhaps broken down a bit more than I like.
Thoughts?

Interesting range of opinions in this thread. A few times folks have mentioned brining for up to 24 hours while others mention the bird getting salty and a lunch meat character. This got me to wondering about brine times. I usually brine a 12 to 15 lb. turkey for about 8 hours. The few times I've extended to brining significantly longer the bird felt (not tasted) mushy as if the proteins had perhaps broken down a bit more than I like.
Thoughts?

HI, Red
I usually have a 22-24lb bird. My brine calls for 2 C kosher salt. I use about 1-3/4 C of salt instead. I brine exactly 36 hrs, no longer. My meat is never mushy, nor does it taste like any lunch meat I've ever eaten. Perhaps its the combination of cooking methods and the extra layer of flavor added by the cherry, apple or peach woods used. I cook the bird until I can shake the leg. The renderings in the pan are tasty enough (not salty) that I use about half of it to put into the stock I use for making the gravy. By using the pan drippings the gravy makes a perect companion flavor for the bird and the taste is not briney nor smokey, but distinct. I've never had either turkey or gravey left for years. But, it is not a flavor that everyone expects from their bird -- so, every year I also bake a couple hindquarters (herb and butter rubbed liberally diring cooking). What little of that is left goes into the pot pies I make within the next couple days. Boy, I love Thanksgiving dinner!