by Ben Miller
Turkey a-brining
I have a turkey dilemma. Our feast is going to be so big this year that rather than purchase one enormous turkey I got one 13 pounder and one 15.5 pounder (the smaller from Whole Foods the bigger from Eastern Market). Now here is where I could use some advice. As you can see from the picture to the left, I put the smaller turkey into a 12-hour brine mixture at about 8:45 this morning. This is going off this recipe here ($), in which you let the turkey dry out a bit overnight in the fridge so that the skin crisps.
Now, the question is what to do with the second turkey. Those of you brining experts–should I do the same thing with the second turkey (a long brine and then let it dry out to crisp the skin). Or should I just brine overnight and then rinse, pat dry and put it right into the oven?
11 responses so far ↓
eli // November 21, 2008 at 12:32 pm
try dry: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-turkey19-2008nov19,0,4842837.story
Beth // November 21, 2008 at 12:42 pm
This recipe from Cooking Light is the most delicious turkey recipe I’ve ever experienced. It calls for a 12 lb turkey, but I’m sure you could compensate for your larger one by increasing the liquid a bit.
Rob // November 21, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Brine it, pat it dry and then rub oil on it
JimPanzee // November 21, 2008 at 1:00 pm
yep. brine it, dry it, oil it. i’ve never done the overnight in the fridge business so I can’t tell you if that makes a crispier skin, but Rob’s method above makes for skin crispy enough to satisfy. I didn’t read the recipes but hopefully the call for using 500 degrees for (about) 30 minutes before pulling down to normal cooking temp which essentially fries the skin from underneath.
belmontmedina // November 21, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Last year, I tweaked Alton Brown’s brine recipe, and just brined the turkey for a few hours in the morning while I did everything else, then dried it off, stuffed an apple in it and stuck it in the oven. Came out beautifully- crispy skin, juicy meat, and I even had drippings for gravy.
JDS // November 21, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’ve had really good luck with a method where you brine it, pat it dry and then cover the breast with a cheesecloth covered with melted butter and wine wine for the first couple hours of cooking. Helps keep the breast moist.
Goldberg // November 21, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I brined a turkey last year (basically just water and a couple of cups–yeah, a lot–of salt). Put it in the fridge overnight. Ended up being the best turkey I’ve ever had. A note of warning: when opening the brining bag, be careful–there is nothing more disgusting than having two gallons of briney turkey water spill all over you and your kitchen.
Rex // November 21, 2008 at 1:13 pm
You might also read the article in the NY Times from Harold McGee about why he doesn’t brine his turkey:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/dining/12curi.html?_r=2&ref=dining&oref=slogin
North // November 21, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Apple cider brine forever! Bon Appetit had a great brine recipe that made probably the best turkey of my life. Just make a semi-standard brine (salt, sugar, herbs, onion, garlic) and use a quart of apple cider. Then baste the turkey with beer while you roast it.
Makes awesome pan gravy, too.
Mr Furious // November 22, 2008 at 11:15 am
My wife did a YouTube video of brining a turkey for the BBC in September. The logistics were based on Alton Brown’s show from a few years ago, but the rest was all her.
The result? The best turkey I’ve ever had, and we’ve we’ve had some good ones trying different brines, roasting, deep-frying, etc…
Check it out here.
Mr Furious // November 22, 2008 at 11:40 am
In the brine? kosher salt, brown sugar, cinnomon sticks, allspice berries, candied ginger and bayleaves…
In the bird? Not stuffing—aromatics: quartered yellow onion, orange, lemon, rosemary, sage, parsley, celery tops, more ginger…