Brining a turkey
 

OK, a little preface to this post.

For ten years I *WAS* a vegetarian. I have never cooked a turkey. Last year me and my husband went to a meatless buffet for thanksgiving and it was the worst food we have ever had. We actually walked out without eating it was SO BAD. Worst thanksgiving ever! Actually, it was the last straw as I had been contemplating adding meat to my diet to make LC easier, and after that aweful food I swore to hubby we would have a delightful, traditional T-day at home next year (which is comeing up :eek: !)

I want to make a GOOD turkey. I have high standards because as a child my father grilled the bird and it was the best anyone ever made! I can't grill mine because I don't have the facilities.

So I went to see what Alton Brown, of "Good Eats" had to say, as his recipies have not disapointed me yet.

He recommend brineing the turkey in a seasoned sugar/ salt broth.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/rec...36_8389,00.html

I was wondering, do you think I could use Splenda for the sugar? Or is this one of those instanced that the sugar does something specific and you can't subsitute.

Or, do you think that the brineing is even neccessary?


Advice?

Laura

I don't think that there would be an issue...I am going to do it. There is a brine recipe on Atkins that uses Splenda.

I think brining makes a big difference, and you can sub Splenda for the sugar.

Here's a link to my favourite brined turkey recipe:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...4985#post584985

and here's an explanation on how brining works.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...ghlight=brining

Karen

Thanks for this thread. I read about brining recently, I believe it was in KAREN'S NEW COOKBOOK, and thought I'd give it a try this Christmas.
BTW, KAREN'S NEW COOKBOOK is great!

Another Idea if you want to avoid the sugar.
When I brine poultry I only use Water and Kosher Salt. I use 2 cups Kosher Salt to a large pail of water. Enought to cover the bird. Keep poultry in a cold spot overnight. Remove from brine and rinse under cool water. Pat dry and season as you would normally do. Cook.
I have used this method for years and I always get a very moist, tender meat weather I Roast or BBQ it.
I noticed this is the way they also do it on America's Test Kitchen too.

In the recipe in Karen's journal it calls for splitting the Turkey down the middle.


Mumof4 says to just get a big enough tub to brine the whole turkey.

How long do I soak for and afterwards how long do I roast it and what temp?

I'm not much of a cook.

Oh and can I use those oven bags when roasting?

If you aren't inclined to use a brine, cooking bags are wonderful. Extremely moist and juicy turkey (or anything else you may cook in them). Just be careful about the bag touching any part of the oven while baking. I have to take out my upper rack so that it will sit low enough in the oven. There are recipes and times for all types of meats, including turkey in the Reynolds cooking bag box.
http://www.dinnerunplugged.com/reyn..._bags/index.asp

Thanks Grandpa!

I was talking about using in oven bag AFTER brining or is it not needed to use one if I do the other?

Any brine recipe, without the sugar, should work just fine. It's the salt in the broth that penetrates the meat; the sugar is for flavor. I've used Alton Brown's brine recipe, as well as others, and just subtracted the sweetener.

ObHonesty: I asked Karen this very same question last year, and the above is largely the content of her reply to me then... :D

When I do a brine soak I ice it down and let it steep overnight. I have a stock pot big enough to bob for apples in, and a powered cooler big enough for the stock pot, so I can keep the bird safely cooled while it soaks up the flavors.

Time and temperature are often contentious subjects. :) I like to do a slow roast, under a foil tent (except for the last half hour or so) at around 350F, until an instant read thermometer shows 170. (If you have one of those probe thermometers it's an absolute joy. No constant opening up the oven and reestablishing your heat every time you check the temp.)

I usually brine it at least for 12 hours. My DH makes wine so we always have large buckets that the juice comes in, so I use one of these for my Turkeys which are usually no more than 14 pounds.
We also have an extra fridge so I use that to keep it cool and at Christmas it's usually cold enought to put it in the garage. Make sure you have a tight lid on it though. I guess that doesn't help if you live in LA though.
When I roast it in the oven I use the same method as Hysmith.
For Thanksgiving this year (Canada is in October) I did my Turkey on the BBQ after brining. I did try somehing different this time though. In the summer we always BBQ whole chickens sitting on 1/2 full beer cans. I decided to try it with the turkey. I got a 1 lb coffee can, filled it up half way with beer, then sat the turkey over it. UMMMMMMM it was soooo good. Very juicy and tender.

So if I brine the Turkey is there no need to use an oven bag? Or can I still do that and have it come out really tender?

Does brining give the meat more flavor?

No need to bag it. :)

Brining adds flavor and moisture to the meat. I find that I don't have to do the constant baste on a brined turkey; it comes out moist and juicy all on its own.