Brine?

disykat

This person totally gets me
Joined
Jun 5, 2000
I got the salt a while back and have been too chicken to try it. Has anyone used the brine method on turkey? I'm considering using it on our Thanksgiving turkey this year, but I'm afraid it will be too salty. If anyone has soaked any kind of meat in brine, I'm interested to hear how salty it tasted after rinsing and grilling or roasting. Thanks!
 
Definetly go to food network and read up!! (www.foodtv.com) they have scads of information on that. In fact, on the cover page a turkey and all you have to do is click the Thanksgiving picture.

I'm thinking seriously of doing it too...let me know what you think...and by the way, I think if you go Alton Browns "Good Eats" area, or there may be an area in the Thanksgiving part (I'll check when I 'm done here) that has all the things you might want to put in Brine...like herbs etc.

I'll see what I can find...


:):)

Postnote...I was wrong...here is a copy and paste, it was Emeril...The brine is at the bottom...
:D (this has been my favorite site for the last couple of days...trying to get ready...)

Brined and Roasted Turkey

> See this recipe on-air on 11/21/2001 at 8:00 PM ET.




Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
Brine, recipe follows
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting

Turkey Broth:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Reserved turkey neck and giblets
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 small bay leaf
3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth
3 cups water

Gravy:
4 cups turkey broth
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.

Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.

Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.

Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.

Brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.

Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.


Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: Medium


For more of Emeril's recipes, go to Emerils.com.
 
Thanks Robin! That recipe looks even better than the one I had! Maybe I'll combine the two. Someone posted a link to the article I read in USA today that got me started on this idea on the community board. (I don't know how to link or I'd do that for you!) I think the topic was "great turkey idea" or something like that. Basically they brined and then cooked the turkey on a v-rack, rotating it four ways during cooking so the breast meat wouldn't get dry.
 
Thanks for posting that website and recipe. Lots of good info on it.
 


the other night, but I didn't understand the purpose of the brine. The turkey didn't look any different when he got done with it. Does anyone know what brining is supposed to accomplish?
 
My MIL did the turkey this way (or something similar) last year. It soaked in a bucket of salt water for a while. It really was a moist, juicy turkey when it came out of the oven. This way must really seal in the juices or something. I am usually not a turkey fan, b/c it is usually a little dry and I don't like cranberry sauce. But this way, it is juicy and flavorful. We have also deep fried our turkey which was wonderful. I think that is what we will do this year. It comes out with a crispy skin, but very juicy on the inside.

HTH!
 
We have done the Alton Brown brine the last 2 years. It just adds a touch of flavor, but oooh does that bird stay moist. If you go to www.foodtv.com and search for Alton Brown, "Romancing the Bird" you should find it.

Good Luck
 


Deb, I thought Alton had one, I just assumed I was wrong. Thank you for the update!! :)
 

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