I don't have issues with my turkey being dry.
With this in mind is there a reason to brine?
This weekend I did a breast that had been coated with
a mixture of spices, onion and a half squeezed orange.
Turkey came out moist and tastey. I don't think half an
orange would equate to brining. But what are the thoughts?
I'm looking to do a wonderfull 15-17# bird this year.

If you're going to smoke at a low temp., in the 125-150F range, brining
will keep the bird from getting a pernicious organism that might infect
you and family. When I do the above I always brine, especially with a
large turkey. If you're going to smoke cook a small bird[12-14lb] at
200-225F, you could probably do it without brining, though even that
would make me nervous.
Happy Holidaze,
Kent

Barry wrote:
>
> I don't have issues with my turkey being dry.
> With this in mind is there a reason to brine?
> This weekend I did a breast that had been coated with
> a mixture of spices, onion and a half squeezed orange.
> Turkey came out moist and tastey. I don't think half an
> orange would equate to brining. But what are the thoughts?
> I'm looking to do a wonderfull 15-17# bird this year.

"Barry" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> I don't have issues with my turkey being dry.
> With this in mind is there a reason to brine?
> This weekend I did a breast that had been coated with
> a mixture of spices, onion and a half squeezed orange.
> Turkey came out moist and tastey. I don't think half an
> orange would equate to brining. But what are the thoughts?
> I'm looking to do a wonderfull 15-17# bird this year.
>
>

If you like your turkey the way it is, then I'd say don't brine.

Jack

Barry wrote:
> I don't have issues with my turkey being dry.
> With this in mind is there a reason to brine?


Flavor, flavor, flavor!

Breast meat tastes like nothing unless brined.

TFM®

"The Fat Man®" > wrote in message m>...
> Barry wrote:
> > I don't have issues with my turkey being dry.
> > With this in mind is there a reason to brine?
>
>
> Flavor, flavor, flavor!
>
> Breast meat tastes like nothing unless brined.
>
> TFM®

I need to add one thing to this...And please, by all means, If by
virtue of the recipe, I've brined the bird, let me know.

The one thing I really don't like at all is white meat. I hate the
stuff. Too dry, no flavor. Give me dark meat and I'll eat until I
bust however, I've tried this recipe and the end result is to die for.

It's a recipe for "Brandy-Smoked Turkey Breast", from the cookbook
"Sublime Smoke" by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.

Not sure, if legal like, I can just 'pitch' the recipe in a NG, but
basically it calls for injecting the breast with a 1/4C each of both
brandy and orange juice mixed with some oil, then rubbing it with a
paste of some onion, orange juice, brandy, bacon drippings, salt,
brown sugar, black pepper and cloves, then overnight in a plastic bag
in the fridge.

Next day, covering the breast with dampened cheese cloth and smoking
it at 225-250F. until 180 internal. Spraying cheese cloth every hour
for the first 3 hours, then remove cloth and continue smoking until
done.

Best damn stuff for something I don't like in a long time.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention it, cause it sure is some tasty bird.

Hey just noticed I have some 'rub' on both the recipe page and book
cover ;-)
Hey can I smoke??? NO ! It's too dark out, too freakin' cold, 30's,
and you'll really feel like a horse's ass when at 3a.m. you're still
smokin'...Yea but still got one done in the freezer for when it's
really shit outside.

Cheers
Stan

> . Whole turkeys that weigh 12 pounds or less are the recommended size
> for safe smoking. A larger turkey remains in the "Danger Zone" -
> between 40° F and 140° F - too long. If a larger turkey has been
> mistakenly purchased, detach the dark meat sections (leg and thigh
> portions) from the breast and smoke the turkey parts separately. This
> procedure should result in the best possible results.

I split a 17-pounder by cutting out the backbone, and it cooked in four
hours or so at ~250. To me, that's a far better solution than removing the
dark meat, and it achieves the same thing IMO.

John O

"Kent H." > wrote in message >...
> If you're going to smoke at a low temp., in the 125-150F range, brining
> will keep the bird from getting a pernicious organism that might infect
> you and family. When I do the above I always brine, especially with a
> large turkey. If you're going to smoke cook a small bird[12-14lb] at
> 200-225F, you could probably do it without brining, though even that
> would make me nervous.
> Happy Holidaze,
> Kent

Which organism are you talking about, Kent?

You seem to be saying that brining stops
worries about the USDA safety zone. That is
pure crap.

-- Yip

On 11 Nov 2003 20:30:09 -0800, (Yip Yap) wrote:

> "Kent H." > wrote in message >...
> > If you're going to smoke at a low temp., in the 125-150F range, brining
> > will keep the bird from getting a pernicious organism that might infect
> > you and family. When I do the above I always brine, especially with a
> > large turkey. If you're going to smoke cook a small bird[12-14lb] at
> > 200-225F, you could probably do it without brining, though even that
> > would make me nervous.
> > Happy Holidaze,
> > Kent
>
> Which organism are you talking about, Kent?
>
> You seem to be saying that brining stops
> worries about the USDA safety zone. That is
> pure crap.

However, brining will destroy bacteria, including salmonella,
particularly on the surface. Osmotic pressure and all that. This is
a well-established way to preserve food and it's not a bad way to deal
with surface contamination.

I think the sugar and salt have to be at a fairly good concentration
for preservation, but it didn't work, jerky and jelly wouldn't be safe
either. Do you keep your jerky below 40 degF or above 140 degF?
Ditto catsup and jelly and maple syrup and crystallized ginger?

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer

>Nonsense. You just need a cooker with high thermal mass and good draft
>control to keep the moisture from the meat from escaping. Kamados and Big
>Green Eggs are the best examples of these.

Boy, is that ever true. A few months ago I finally got the Kamado #7 I'd been
dreaming of for years to replace my well-used Brinkman gas fired water smoker.
(ECB configuration, just with a low BTU burner at the bottom for stable heat
over a long period. Chips or chunks added to supply flavor ... actually worked
pretty damn well. Ordered from Cabella's several years ago... I think it's
still in their catalog.) Gave the ECB to a friend who has a mild interest in
learning to Q.

In my first experiments with my new K, I thought that without the water pan my
BBQ might end up less moist and juicy, but the opposite is indeed true. Is it
just ceramic magic, or simply due to the very airtight nature of the Kamado/BGE
design? Less air movement around the meat over long cooking times reduces
evaporation from the meat?

Whatever the reason... It's true! It's true!
¥¥¥ fʧ±ËrØ ®
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