Have any of you dry brined a turkey, and if so just mainly salt, pepper and misc. seasonings? The night before?
Dry brined turkey?
- Thread starter Kelsers
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hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
I am changing it up this year and using J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s dry brine recipe. It is just salt, pepper and baking powder (crisps the skin more). He is the GOAT of YouTube food videos and he has never steered me wrong. It is dry brining as we speak.
I also spatchcocked the bird this year (greatest word in English language by the way). Prior few years I sous vide followed by a deep fry. So new territory/technique to try.
Always. I stopped wet brining years ago. My turkey will be happily dry brining in the fridge for 48 hours before I introduce her to the Pit Barrel Cooker tomorrow.
Yes, you simply apply kosher salt fairly liberally to the entire bird. If you spatchcock it, you can get the cavity brined, too. It also helps to add a tiny bit of baking powder (not baking soda) to the salt that you use to dust the skin (helps with crispy skin formation - omit the baking powder if applying directly to meat). You can also apply any other seasonings you like at this point (or do that after the brining process and before cooking - doesn't really matter). Just be careful with anything that contains salt because you already salted your bird.
Put it up on a rack over a pan and let her sit in the fridge uncovered. This will dry out the skin so it has a fighting chance to get crispy. It'll look like it's gone bad after a day or two, but trust me... that's what you want.
The result if you cook it right? Crispy skin and juicy meat that doesn't taste like it sat in a bucket of salt water. Dry brining "brines" the meat in it's own juices. The salt draws the water out, and then it sucks it back in. You're not introducing any new water.
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Yes, I've done for the past three years and it's the only way I go. Very juicy and crispy skin. Spatchcock and dry brine. You must use Kosher Salt. This guy is super helpful, I follow this almost exactly.
That dude's hat is stupid. It looks like he has an oven mitt on his head.
I got my turkey seasoned this morning and it'll be chillin in the fridge until I throw it on the smoker tomorrow morning. I'm basic and used this because it's one of my faves.
Yep. Kosher salt dry brine on tonight (under and over the skin), seasoning over the same areas when I wake up, then onto the Acron smoker (over maple chips) for 3 1/2 hours or so.
I got my turkey seasoned this morning and it'll be chillin in the fridge until I throw it on the smoker tomorrow morning. I'm basic and used this because it's one of my faves.
You gotta love the Meat Church product labels....
Only way to do it imo. Just use some Kosher salt, Garlic powder and Pepper to dry brine. Wash off then pat dry and inject with more flavor of butter and thanksgiving seasoning. Butter the heck out of the outside and throw more of the thanksgiving seasonings on the outside then smoke until your desired temp
Please post the results! I've done that with dino turkey legs (makes it taste like turkey ham), but never a whole turkey!
DO NOT WASH OFF!
You're destroying all the work you put in to get the crispy skin!!!!
I used the wrong words there but I just wipe off the salt and pat the bird dry on the skin. I get crispy skin all the time
My plan is always the same and renders a delicious bird. Straight from the freezer to the fryer, right there in the kitchen. Fantastic stuff.
New house every year?
Nanny state wants you to properly thaw the bird. I like the expression of freedom you demonstrate with this technique.
That like a combo frying/smoking. Must be delicious
Yeah I really wish I could put it on my Pit Boss, but it’s supposed to be around 5 above here tomorrow and don’t have a blanket for it. I figure if it sucks I’m out like $10.
Good on chicken too…then add Alabama White Sauce.I got my turkey seasoned this morning and it'll be chillin in the fridge until I throw it on the smoker tomorrow morning. I'm basic and used this because it's one of my faves.
Dumb question of the day/asking for a friend, what happens if I use a salt other than kosher salt?
Sea salt would be fine, Himalayan pink salt might be awesome, but table salt is too small and too salty. You're likely to overdo it with table salt. You want big grains, not salt dust.
I'm going in dry this year for the first time. Also ditching the old bag method and trying the Cheese Cloth method. I may have F'ed up and didn't use a coarse salt. It's not table salt but is pretty close...
The Cheese Cloth method looks amazing if it works. I've got 16 people coming so if I screw up the 24lb bird I still have a breast I'm cooking as well so hopefully it goes ok and not too salty...
The Cheese Cloth method looks amazing if it works. I've got 16 people coming so if I screw up the 24lb bird I still have a breast I'm cooking as well so hopefully it goes ok and not too salty...
I'm going in dry this year for the first time. Also ditching the old bag method and trying the Cheese Cloth method. I may have F'ed up and didn't use a coarse salt. It's not table salt but is pretty close...
The Cheese Cloth method looks amazing if it works. I've got 16 people coming so if I screw up the 24lb bird I still have a breast I'm cooking as well so hopefully it goes ok and not too salty...
You will be hard pressed to oversalt a 24 pound bird.
Just stuff it and make it traditionally, ya jagons.
Kenji is now divorced, has alcohol issues and lives on a boat.
Make it Murican. 😉
Kenji is now divorced, has alcohol issues and lives on a boat.
Make it Murican. 😉
This year will be my fourth straight year adding curing salt to brine. My results have been from decent to phenomenal.
Phenomenal came from an old recipe using a small amount of Morton tender quick in the brine. The secret sauce is the ratio of tender quick to NaCl and brown sugar. Then you add whatever else you want to the brine. Unfortunately I lost the ratio and going off memory the following year I’m certain that I was close and while the bird was good, it wasn’t anywhere close to the one with the correct ratio.
Last year I tried a new brine recipe. This one is somewhat of a legend and if you search the internet for curing brines you’ll find it. It’s called “Pop’s Brine” and can be used to make a number of cured meats. It’s simple: .33-1 (depending on personal preference) cup canning salt, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 heaping tbsp of Prague powder, 1 gallon of water. This bird turned out somewhere between the first two. I’m using it again this year.
The curing salt will make the bird have more of a hammy texture and taste. It will also absorb smoke better than a traditionally brined bird. Depending how long you brine it, most likely the outer part of the bird will undergo the most change due to the cure while the inner part will remain more close to a traditionally brined bird.
I’m using a wet brine equilibrium curing method. Everything’s measured by weight; 0.25% Prague Powder #1, and I went with 1.5% NaCl. If I was doing a ham or bacon I’d bump the table salt up to 2.25% by weight, but I didn’t want to over salt the turkey. I’ll let you and Trad know how it is in a few hours.
Turkey just got put on the PBC. Dry brined 24 hours. Alder and cherry wood and some herb butter under the skin. Sprinkled baking powder on the skin because of this thread. Simple and good
hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
hawkeyetraveler
HB Heisman
Definitely not gay (or at least not exclusively gay), not sure on the other stuff gohox posted…prolly just trolling us foodies.
Are you aiming for a full or partial cure? How big is the bird and how long have you brined?
This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing!
My company always gives is a choice of a turkey or ham in December. I took a turkey several years ago and it was good but a HUGE mess. I always have taken the ham ever since but I wanted to try the turkey again. These videos seal the deal. Definitely going to try this.
Partial cure. Shooting for a nitrite concentration of about 150 ppm. I somewhat followed the amazingribs.com site. Bird’s about 14# and I needed 3 gallons of water to submerse it.
Mine got done a lot earlier than expected so just holding it in a roaster until it's time to eat. May have snuck a few bites. It's not Norman Rockwell picturesque but it'll taste better
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