Hmm, I may give that a go this time. 12 hours huh? How big is your turkey? I have a small 12-pounder this year.
I've actually developed a technique where I lightly stuff the turkey with citrus peels, carrots, onion, parsley, celery, and some other stuff, then I wrap the top of the turkey with thick bacon, cook it at 450 for 30 minutes or so, then turn it down to 275 and cook for 12-14 hours (I do 2 turkeys at a time, 1 can probably go for 10-12 hours).
It's the same technique I use for barbecuing, and the result is a a super juicy, rotisserie style turkey that is self basting from the bacon. No need to brine at all.
Poultry's already a tender meat. There's very little connective tissue inside.Well, REAL brine is just water and salt, but food brine needs an acid for tenderizing and a starch to cut the acid taste, hence the sugar/citrus/vinegar combinations out there.
Made my brine last night for a 7.5 lb bone-in turkey breast. I keep it simple:
1 gallon water
3/4 c kosher
3/4 c sugar
1 tbsp rubbed sage
1 tbsp thyme
2 tsp black peppercorns
I made a mini-wsm smoker this year and will using lump and apple wood.
Poultry's already a tender meat. There's very little connective tissue inside.
How does a starch cut the acid taste?
Hmm, I may give that a go this time. 12 hours huh? How big is your turkey? I have a small 12-pounder this year.
Poultry's already a tender meat. There's very little connective tissue inside.
How does a starch cut the acid taste?
Poultry's already a tender meat. There's very little connective tissue inside.
How does a starch cut the acid taste?
According to Wikipedia, starch is hydrolyzed by amylase enzymes. Not to say that acid couldn't do it either, but in any case I don't see the relevance here.Not to go all high school chemistry on you, but IIRC acid hydrolyzes starch.
Especially if you do not have a good means of controlling the temperature of the meat. Once you brine, though, you have to take steps to dry out the skin otherwise it can become rubbery after cooking.Brining doesn't add much flavor necessarily, but it does make it much more juicy.
Turkey's been in since 2am. Looks awesome. Smells great. Can't wait to eat.
Don't care about skin, because I don't eat it.
What's the internal temp of the bird? I put mine in the smoker at ~8am this morning and pulled it out at ~11am. Took about 3 hours for 18 lb bird smoked at ~340 degrees. Thermapen read 172 degrees in the thigh when I pulled it.
According to Wikipedia, starch is hydrolyzed by amylase enzymes. Not to say that acid couldn't do it either, but in any case I don't see the relevance here.
Turkey's been in since 2am. Looks awesome. Smells great. Can't wait to eat.
Don't care about skin, because I don't eat it.
Now that I read further up into the thread, I don't see that anyone has mentioned an actual starch, but instead misidentified sugar\citrus\vinegar as starches.
I'll probably never cook a turkey whole again. Way easier to break it down into dark and white and cook it separately. For presentation it can be reassembled, but taste-wise it's so much more difficult to do it properly when cooking it whole.Sugar makes more sense than starch. Howard is right in that a brine requires just salt and water. One can add flavors to it, as with sugars or vinegar but they are not in the definition. When I brine ribs I use vinegar, salt and water and sometimes other things, however "balancing"? Not at that stage. Now a marinade would be entirely different.
I've never smoked a turkey but I wouldn't want such a low temp. I'd spatchcock the critter if I were concerned about maximal smoke exposure.
how big of a bird?
i assume you are smoking it if its taking that long
mine will go in btween 230-3 and be done ~6
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/03/d...es-just-for-flavor.html?pagewanted=all&src=pmWell, REAL brine is just water and salt, but food brine needs an acid for tenderizing and a starch to cut the acid taste, hence the sugar/citrus/vinegar combinations out there.