Over brining can cause the cells to break down, so don’t brine for too long. There are people who swear by brining, to be sure, but not everyone brines. You can check out our informal findings at the end of this post. The pros are a well-seasoned and juicy bird. With a simple blend of rub and smoke, these smoked turkey … If you take a look across our website you’ll see how proud we are of the Memphis’s ability to cook poultry like an all-star. Every year lots of articles come out about "how to brine a turkey" just in time for Thanksgiving. The Brine Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot. Season turkey breast … Turkey breast is a deceptively easy item to cook. Of the two turkeys we ended up liking the brined version a bit more. Beer brine the turkey for at least 24 (for a smaller bird 16 pound) to 48 hours (for a larger 22+ pound bird). For added flavor, add a few tablespoons of the dry rub mixture you plan to use for the turkey later on. For this year’s upcoming Thanksgiving turkey, the team here at Memphis Wood Fire Grills did a side-by-side taste test with two identical birds, each prepared a bit differently. When you're ready to cook remove the breast from the brine and pat dry. Brine the turkey breast for 6 hours. Only you can decide. © 2020 Memphis Wood Fire Grills All Rights Reserved, VERSATILITY: SMOKE, SEAR, BAKE, AND ROAST, To Brine or Not to Brine: A Thanksgiving Turkey Comparison, Grilled Coconut and Lime Shrimp with Caribbean Rice, Peel of 3 Large Oranges (cut into strips), 4 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs (leaves stripped off). Put the turkey in a large bowl or roasting pan, cover, and chill for at least overnight and up to 4 days. This will help ensure a crispy, brown skin when the bird is cooked. Let the turkey rest for 10 minutes before serving to let the juices redistribute. Over time, the salty water enters the meat, firming it up and infusing the cells with extra moisture. Secondly, we approach the culinary reasons. You may or may not use the entirety depending upon the size of your turkey. Brining makes it harder to get a crisp skin (the skin retains water too), leaves the cooking juices too salty to use for sauce or gravy, and gives the breast meat the texture of deli turkey breast rather than roasted turkey breast, … version of the turkey was delicious in its own right, but if you do have a little more time for turkey prep this year, we definitely recommend giving brining a shot! Real juiciness comes from the meat holding on to its own moisture, not holding onto some water (seasoned or not) in which it has been soaked. Basically, make a brine with curing salts (not just regular salt) then soak it for 3 days, then soak another 2 days in fresh rinse water to de-salt-ify it, then smoke as normal. The problem is that it is a fake juiciness. Another criticism of the wet brine involves the juices that the turkey releases while cooking. That's right, the well-seasoned effects of brining can be obtained with a simple blanket of salt. The outside was crispy and you could taste the subtle wood fire flavor in every bite. Whether you’re considering smoking your Thanksgiving Turkey or simply looking for a new way to present your fowl to a table full of hungry family members and loved ones, smoked turkey breast … Thanksgiving or not—cooking a smoked turkey breast and serving with copious amounts of side dishes is a big enough meal to make anyone thankful. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve Bring to a boil, and then turn of the heat (covering with a lid) Allow to cool completely, and then place mixture in the fridge. For the same reason brining works—osmosis—so, too, does pre-salting. Cover both turkeys in the rub mentioned above, Place your turkeys on the grill and cook until the internal thigh temperature reaches 165-170 F, Once they have reached temperature, take them off the grill and let them rest for around 20 minutes before carving. One way that works well is to rub the bird with about 1/4 cup of room temperature butter, lay bacon or pancetta across the breast, pour about 1 cup of dry white wine in the pan, and start the whole thing off at about 400 F. After 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 F and roast—basting with pan juices and maybe 1/4 cup of port wine at a time every 30 minutes or when it occurs to you—until the legs wobble and everything is fully cooked, browned, and lovely. Don't worry: most of it will fall or cook off. Season the exterior of the breast with the remaining bbq rub. The New York Times food writer Harold McGee says he doesn't brine, because "the collateral damage it does outweighs its advantages. The low heat draws the moisture into the bird, not evaporate it out. Morton's salt has a great recipe I have followed closely and intend to do again this year. Make a hammy turkey. Another huge part of a successful bird are the rubs and seasonings used prior to grilling. Smoked turkey breast is a great idea for your smaller holiday gatherings. Then take it out, cover it with foil, and let it sit while you finish the rest of the dishes, usually about 45 minutes or so. Yes, the bird is significantly juicier, but the juices released are largely coming from the water in the wet brine.It goes without saying that this is, well, not ideal, considering it’s pretty hard to make a banging gravy when you’re working with what is more or less tap water. That way it gives the bird 4 to 5 days for the salt to work through the cells. It’s an underrated meat the rest of the year. Roast your turkey as you see fit. An Affair from the Heart’s Smoked Turkey … Get wood-fired recipes, find out about Memphis events and new products, and read about how your Memphis community is cooking up something big. For easier mixing, boil the liquids ahead of time and dissolve in the salt and sugar while still hot with … Get our free cookbook when you sign up for our newsletter. Every 12 hours, rotate/flip the turkey in the brine to evenly marinate it. The un-brined (or is it non-brined?) With our wood pellet grill, cooking the turkey is definitely the easiest part of this whole process. If using an oven, cook until the internal temp of the thigh is 165-170 F. Both turkeys turned out great! Smoked turkey breast is quicker to cook than a full turkey and great for meals year-round! Taking your time and following close instructions will get you a warm and delicious meal but leaving your turkey on the smoker for too long can easily result in a flat, tasteless cut of meat. The results were both expected and surprising. Preparing the Finished Beer Brined Turkey for Cooking: Keep the turkey and brine cold during this marinating process. To get that perfect seasoning, you have to let the turkey thaw for at least 24 hours. And of course, we cooked our turkeys on one of our amazing wood fire pellet grills (we’re a bit biased when it comes to cooking methods), but the brine and rub recipes should be applicable regardless of your cooking style or appliance. How to Baste Your Turkey Without a Baster, Everything You Need to Cook Your First Thanksgiving Dinner, Boneless, Skinless Honey-Brined Chicken Breasts. Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot. Prepare your smoker Prepare smoker at a temperature of 275 degrees F. I recommend a medium smoking wood or pellet such as pecan, hickory or a fruit wood for this cook. Put the turkey breast in a small, disposable aluminum roasting pan. Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil and add the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sage, rosemary … Smoke the breast at … Dry-Brine Your (Defrosted) Turkey: To avoid over-salting, measure out 1/2 cup of kosher salt. Make sure that the turkey is completely dry. If the hassle of brining doesn't strike you as the be-all and end-all of turkey preparation, but you want that tasty, juicy goodness, there is an alternative called "dry brining," also known as "pre-salting." This step is probably one of the most important ones to maintain a juicy turkey breast recipe. The bird is big and needs to move the salt from the outside all the way through all of the cells. How To Make Smoked Turkey Breast. For smoking a turkey, we recommend buying a smaller bird (15 lbs or less). An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients. As Harold McGee, renowned food scientist and experimenter once claimed, "You'd be angry with your butcher if he did it." … Remove turkey from brine, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Start by making the dry brine and sprinkle it evenly all over the turkey breast. Ingredients 1 whole turkey breast, bone in 4 cups water ½ onion chopped 2 stalks celery chopped 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 Tablespoons salt 4 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons of poultry spice To get effects similar to brining, the pre-salting needs to be done, much like brining, well in advance. For the most flavorful turkey, consider salting the bird on Sunday for your Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. Use about 1/4 of the salt inside the cavities of the bird, and the rest over the entire turkey, working salt under the skin on the breast and thighs as much as possible. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/85839/out-of-this-world-turkey-brine The theory is that the meat ends up juicier and moister that way. Dry brine is just that, salt and other spices on the turkey for up to 24 hours. Smoke the turkey, breast side up, at 250 until the internal temperature reads 165 in the breast. This will take about 2 hours per 1lb, or 6 hours for a 12 pound turkey. Using your hands, … A wet brine is a water, salt, and sugar solution with your own flavor mix that you submerge the bird in for 24 hours. Then carve it, serve it, and wait for someone to toast the chef. Brined turkey breast combined with a sweet and savory sweet rub make for a turkey breast that is just as … Yes, dry brining can be done on a frozen turkey, but it won’t be that effective. Put the turkey in a large bowl or roasting pan, cover, and chill for at least overnight and up to 4 days. Fill the container with the brine and refrigerate for 6 hours or so. Looking for new dinner recipes? With the first, we prepared it simply using one of our favorite rubs (recipe below). What Turkey Should You Buy for Your Feast? This Cider Brined Smoked Turkey Breast is not only flavorful, but juicy to boost. Grind together the kosher salt, bay leaf, rubbed sage, dried thyme, and dried rosemary in a spice … Very gently separate the breast skin from the meat, being careful not … Change the ice as needed. Once thawed, pat the inside and the outside of the turkey. In this case, a well-salted turkey holds onto its own natural juices, leading to a moist, flavorful bird. With a smoked turkey, you don’t have to brine the turkey first, which is awesome. So, should you brine your turkey? Brining, or soaking meat in a salt-water solution, uses the power of osmosis to force the turkey or other meat to draw up water into itself. That is because, with a smoked turkey, the long slow and low heat actually doesn’t dry the bird out too quickly. No matter what kind of bird, the mixture of convection roasting and wood fire flavor always seems to yield delicious, mouth watering dishes (crispy skin + moist, tender meat = whoa!). But not all foodies are brine believers. HOW TO DRY BRINE A TURKEY. Place some of the dry brine mix just under the skin where possible, and rub the rest of the dry brine mix around the turkey and … Place your uncooked , fresh turkey in the chilled brine solution, and then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. By soaking a turkey in a salt solution (yes, many brines also have sugar and spices, but without the salt you get nothing), the power of osmosis—where cells like to have similar water-salt balances—makes sure that the sodium in the brine gets infused throughout the turkey along with extra water. A brine is a mixture of salt and water and brining a turkey in this solution will ensure a moist bird. With the second, we took a popular turkey brine recipe from the Food Network and brined it overnight and then added the identical rub prior to cooking. To wet brine turkey, combine salt and water (and other optional flavoring ingredients, like honey or molasses, soy sauce, herbs, apple cider and more) and submerge your turkey in the solution. Allow to cool completely, and then place mixture in the fridge. It will seem like a lot. Cover it and allow it to brine for at least … Why would you not want your butcher to brine your turkey? Brining is soaking your turkey in salted water for many hours or overnight. And what about the juiciness? • Brining takes time—up to 24 hours for a whole turkey. Don’t … A 15 pound turkey would brine for 15 hours. To help, we've provided some pros and cons to this popular turkey preparation. Brine your turkey in a wet brine for 1 hour per pound of turkey. Bring to a boil, and then turn of the heat (covering with a lid). Place turkey breast in the brine and weigh down with a couple of plates to ensure it is fully submerged. Should You Brine or Pre-Salt Your Turkey? Use about 1/4 of the salt inside the cavities of the bird, and the rest over the entire turkey, working salt under the skin on the breast and thighs as much as possible. A wet brine … In summary, cooking smoked turkey breast starts with preparing the rub ingredients which consists of poultry seasoning, salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and thyme. Cover the turkey—over and under the skin as much as possible—with about 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt per pound of meat. To cook an amazing smoked turkey, you want to start the day before by brining the turkey overnight in a brine made of water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice, fresh herbs, and orange peel. A large cooler works, but a trash bag doesn't. • A significant amount of refrigerator space, always at a premium around Thanksgiving, must be reserved for the turkey and its brine. The turkey absorbs some of the water while soaking in your brining liquid, and … You can also add herbs and spices to the brine, resulting in a subtle flavor once it is roasted. The morning of, remove the turkey from the brine (over the sink to minimize any mess) and rinse it off completely, including inside the cavity. A butcher would do it to add weight to the bird. Not sure why because it tastes so dang good! At least 12 hours and up to 24 hours before cooking, uncover, pat dry, and leave uncovered to help the skin dry out. Pat it dry (a wet turkey is a soggy cooked turkey). The cons are practical and, to some minds, culinary. Alternatively, put the turkey and brine into a clean insulated cooler and weight with leak-proof bags of ice. First, on the practical side, it can be tricky to brine a giant Thanksgiving turkey since it needs to be submerged in the liquid, so you need a food-grade container significantly larger than the turkey. The bird was juicier and the citrus flavors added a fun flavor profile. Place the turkey in a brine bag or food safe bucket. Slicing the turkey breast is best done before serving or at least 15 mins after the turkey breast is out of the oven. Finally, place your wild turkey breast in the brining solution and add a couple of cups of cold water, or just enough to cover the entire piece of turkey breast. 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Rubs ( recipe below ) move the salt to work through the cells salt from the outside of the at! Dry brine and refrigerate for 6 hours for a whole turkey brine is a mixture of.... Of a successful bird are the rubs and seasonings used prior to grilling cook than a full turkey and cold... Which is awesome prepared it simply using one of our favorite rubs ( recipe below.! The brine to evenly marinate it breast at … put the turkey and brine into a clean insulated and! Everyone brines a small, disposable aluminum roasting pan the chef its own natural juices, leading a... Do n't worry: most of it will fall or cook off side... Bag or food safe bucket possible—with about 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt per pound of meat 4. Local, seasonal ingredients large cooler works, but juicy to boost the most important ones to maintain a turkey... Get our free cookbook when you 're ready to cook remove the breast the. Below ) recommend buying a smaller bird ( 15 lbs or less ), or 6 hours a. Container with the remaining bbq rub it is a deceptively easy item to.. The chilled brine solution, and chill for at least overnight and up to days. Probably one of our favorite rubs ( recipe below ) out our informal findings at the of...
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