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Monday, November 21, 2011

Brining Your Thanksgiving Turkey

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Do any of you out there brine your turkeys?  Brining is supposed to improve flavor, and make a more juicy and tender bird.  Most store bought turkeys are "flavor injected" so brining them may become too salty.  I honestly never considered brining before we started growing our own turkeys, which we've done for two years now.  

It is a really simple process that basically involves a turkey, salty water, added flavorings and a large pot or bucket to soak the turkey in.  The past two years I used a recipe that brined in spices and apple cider, but was underwhelmed with the results and really couldn't tell the difference. 

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After searching the web, and finding several positive references to Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey (Click on the link to get the recipe)  I've decided I'm going to give this one a try and I'll keep you posted with the results.  It loooove stuffing cooked in the bird, so I'll have to change the roasting directions because of this.   

Anyone out there have a tried and true brining recipe?

5 comments:

  1. I haven't brined a turkey, but have taken to brining our free-range chickens (which I probably let get to big before butchering) They were tasty enough but rather tough, I thought, so my brother suggested brining. I think it did the trick! So far I have only used salt and sugar in the brine, no other flavors. I always roast chickens and turkey with a peeled orange tucked inside (my mothers trick) Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. Wow, I've never heard of this, each year I don't buy the whole bird, we just buy a few Turkey Hindquarters which gives us loads of meat. It works if you don't miss the breast meat.
    I think I will give this a try though, maybe even with a chicken or two.

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  3. Cary never thought of brining my chickens for some reason! Great Idea.

    Nellymary I think it would be great to cook brined and not brined at the same time to compare the flavor.

    I'll keep you posted on how this brine turns out.

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  4. I have that brine. I didn't use it this year because we ate at a friend house. Yes! no clean up. But in a way, I still miss cooking this year.

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  5. Wow. This is cool. Thanks for the info.

    Sheds

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