Meathead recommends 4 oz butter, unsalted if the bird has been brined either by you or at the packing plant. He also only injects the breast of the whole bird, so it looks as though 4oz is good for a (whole)turkey breast by itself.
HTH,
Kathryn
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Thanks for the input, guys. I ended up wet-brining two five pound breasts for 12 hours, no injection of anything, using a relatively neutral rub, smoked over cherry at ~350F to 155-160F. Turned out magnificently. Moist, super-tender, astounding flavour, and most importantly, the damn bird was *toothsome* from the brine. Smash hit at Canadian thanksgiving dinner. Cut it off the bone from the butcher, which made for excellent turkey stock and then gravy so good, you could drink it straight. Great time of year! Love it!
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Originally posted by Henrik View PostI agree with Pit Boss and others. Dry brine, inject with butter, and run at 325 deg F. The butter is key in my opinion.
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I agree with Pit Boss and others. Dry brine, inject with butter, and run at 325 deg F. The butter is key in my opinion.
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Originally posted by bbantel View PostYeah, if you dry brine the skin and cook at 325, you should have great skin. Either way, for a whole breast, I would stick with dry bringing. Obviously injecting with butter is a must!
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BGM, I have done them both ways. When I do chicken pieces they're always skinless, and whole birds I tend to do skin-on. I wet brine skinless pieces in a solution of 1 gal water, 1C salt, 1C sugar, for 1 Hr <--- I've tried many brines and this is my personal favorite FWIW. I cook skinless usually at 225, it still develops a nice (thin) bark layer, similar to skin anyway. When I do whole birds I dry brine and cook at 325 (because of the skin). I am not knocking dry brining breast pieces, simply sharing what I do. A good dry brine on skinless will result in likely the same outcome but be less hassle and waste less salt for sure. Experiment!
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Originally posted by biggreenmatt View PostThanks for the reply, guys.
I'm not worried about the skin- it's my complete intention to take it off and cook it separately. Frankly, I don't like smoked skin. Rather have it crisp and beautiful straight out of the oven.
My concern is juicy, plump, perfectly done, smoked poultry meat. Is this better accomplished with a brine or salt?
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Thanks for the reply, guys.
I'm not worried about the skin- it's my complete intention to take it off and cook it separately. Frankly, I don't like smoked skin. Rather have it crisp and beautiful straight out of the oven.
My concern is juicy, plump, perfectly done, smoked poultry meat. Is this better accomplished with a brine or salt?
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Yeah, if you dry brine the skin and cook at 325, you should have great skin. Either way, for a whole breast, I would stick with dry bringing. Obviously injecting with butter is a must!
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Originally posted by biggreenmatt View PostWhile on the topic, I'm about to smoke a 12 lb double-breast on the weekend. Typically I brine my birds in a solution, but I'm intrigued if anyone's had more success with a dry-brine instead. I'll be smoking them without the skin (rather remove and roast it to make turkey skin chicharonnes, which I luuuuuuuuurv!).
Dry Brine with salt. Inject with butter. Best turkey ever.
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While on the topic, I'm about to smoke a 12 lb double-breast on the weekend. Typically I brine my birds in a solution, but I'm intrigued if anyone's had more success with a dry-brine instead. I'll be smoking them without the skin (rather remove and roast it to make turkey skin chicharonnes, which I luuuuuuuuurv!).
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Poultry - 325F until it hits 165 (white meat). Instead of a traditional brine, I prefer MH's dry brine method, you get really crispy skin that way. Check out the Ultimate Smoked Turkey, it can easily be adapted to breasts only.
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