Cooks, come in please...

miguelhilary2010

Have you ever brined a chicken/turkey?  I made a honey brine last night, and put a turkey breast (w/bone, not just meat) in the brine this morning.  It will be sitting for almost 12 hours before it will go in the oven.

I'm terrified that the turkey will be too salty and ruined.  I just need reassurance that brining isn't a bad idea.

Your experiences?

LaRositaMonita

I havent done this before, but Alton Brown says it should be find if I remember correctly.

miguelhilary2010

Thanks LRM and Alton 

RecoveringActor

MH, meet my bff Alton Brown:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiSfKDiUavo

Cackle6

It will be fine, don't worry! As long as you used a correct ratio of salt to water (about 1/4 of a cup of table salt per quart of water), it won't be too salty. The main purposes of brining a turkey is to season the turkey all the way through, and also to get a moister turkey. The salt reacts with protien molecules which creates a sort of sheild against moisture loss, so you'll get a moister turkey.

I've brined a whole turkey for 18 hours and it came out wonderful. The only thing that is saltier is the drippings, so if you are going to make gravy, taste it before adding any salt, as you may not need any.

Good luck!

LaRositaMonita

RA - I'm sorry, have we met?  Alton is MY BFF. 

rachelk456

Never done this, but my mom does, and it is so, so delicious!!

miguelhilary2010

Thanks RA and Cackle.  I won't be making a gravy, so that's not a problem.  Thanks for making me less anxious!

RecoveringActor

LRM--My 4 favorite people in the whole world are as follows (in no particular order)

Jillian Michaels
Alton Brown
Chris Kimball
Paula Deen

I'm aware that one of those things is not like the other.  And if you don't know who Chris Kimball is... you should.  America's Test Kitchen: the world's greatest cooking show.

LaRositaMonita

RA - if it's on PBS or NPR, trust me, I know about it  

Dd you know Alton is a born-again?  No offense to actual religious people, but it kind of stung a little when I found that out. 

Madam A

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_cooks-come-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:105Discussion:5a685495-4001-4b24-86ae-e1ebea72f0afPost:225d6b4e-69aa-4d85-aa27-21b2d5e975c2">Re: Cooks, come in please...</a>:
[QUOTE]LRM--My 4 favorite people in the whole world are as follows (in no particular order) Jillian Michaels Alton Brown Chris Kimball Paula Deen<strong> I'm aware that one of those things is not like the other.</strong>  And if you don't know who Chris Kimball is... you should.  America's Test Kitchen: the world's greatest cooking show.
Posted by RecoveringActor[/QUOTE]

As a matter of fact I think Jillian and Paula are arch-enemies! ;)

But I also love them both!

amy727

I've done it with a turkey a few times and it never turns out too salty.  It does make it very moist though. 

miguelhilary2010

Thanks Amy.

MIL brined the turkey for Thanksgiving and although it didn't taste salty, DH was amazed at how thirsty it made him LOL.  I don't use a lot of salt cooking at home, so I think it shocked his system.

Cackle6

I was just flipping through my FB pics and realized I have a pic of one of my turkeys from our dinner party this past December (on of SO's friend's takes pics of EVERYTHING). So here it is, in all it's glory:

Yeah, my Lean Cuisine is so not cutting it now, heh.

Cackle6

How'd the turkey turn out?

miguelhilary2010

It turned out good!  DH hacked it apart with a steak knife, so at first I wasn't sure about it.  But, he only did one side (enough for us to eat dinner), so I used a carving knife on the other side and realized it was better than I thought.  LOL  Men...

Cackle6

Yay! Glad it turned out well! And I thought all men knew how to cut meat (I blame this on my dad because he's awesome at it), but my SO hacked up our first turkey so bad on his first attempt - it was a good thing it was super juicy and didn't matter that it looked like the turkey blew up, heh. He's getting better now, but yeah, men is right, heh.