Almost all the turkeys I see are already "injected" with a saline solution. The one I have states "no more than 8% added solution". Is there any point in dry brining one of these? I do plan on "butterballing" the breasts, as have done that in the past and it comes out great. Will also be cooking it on my Weber rotisserie. Thanks for any input.
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Do not dry brine an injected turkey. This advice comes from Meathead himself.
Our grilled and smoked turkey recipe and tutorial make your ordinary holiday meal extraordinary! Here's everything you need to know about making the ultimate holiday bird. We also bust some myths, discuss side dishes, and so much more!
Our grilled and smoked turkey recipe and tutorial make your ordinary holiday meal extraordinary! Here's everything you need to know about making the ultimate holiday bird. We also bust some myths, discuss side dishes, and so much more!
There's a lot of reading to do in those links, but it's worth it.
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As Willy mentions, give Meathead's article on Cooking the Ultimate Thanksgiving Turkey, a good read. There is a ton of information on all things turkey. It is one of the largest articles on the site, but very informative.
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I logged in tonight to ask a similar question. I have Meatheads book, read the gospel 3x. The birds at Publix do not say enhanced, they say, "up to 8% water retained through chilling." ... is that a salted bird or not? Where do the experienced turkey smokers get their birds? As always thank you to all for sharing the knowledge.
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If you really want to know what went in your bird, raise your own. Not everyone has the ability to do that. Next would be to get one directly from a farmer. A good place to start that would be here. They also have a 'store' where you can order one and have it shipped. However there is no better way to get your food, other than growing it yourself, then from the farm where you know how it was raised and can see it for yourself.
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I just went thru the search for an unbrinred bird. Got one each a Kroger and Costco. Cooking the Ultimate Turkey by Meathead sums up a lot of what I learned on the net.
There is a great article from Americas Test Kitchen I read about brining. (can't find the link) I will say that whatever anyone does relative to brining that pleases all who eat the cook-stick with what works for you despite words being contrary to your cook technique.
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I know Meathead doesn't recommend dry brining anything that has been enhanced, but I have always dry brined my enhanced pork butts and have never had one turn out too salty. I am planning on dry brining my T-Day turkeys to help with crisping the skin this year.
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If the label says up to 10% the industry would really like to be right up at that 10%. But I can assure you that some workers in the industry don't really care either way, and if it's doing 2-3% they don't care because they still get their paycheck.
​​​​​​If the calculation comes up over 10% then I'll make sure that somebody starts caring whether they want to or not.
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Thanks for all the responses. I've done Meathead's Turkey recipes more than once. My wife doesn't really like "smoked" turkey or dark meat, so in years past I've done a whole bird on my kettle and a breast in the oven. This year a little different since Thanksgiving falls on her birthday. She's doing only what she likes for the main meal, but I'm still going to do a whole bird. The best one I've done was butterballing and following Meathead's recipe almost to the letter. But I'm an improvisor and don't like to do things the same twice (could never compete, it would actually bore me cooking the same way over and over and not to what I like). So I'm going to butterball the breast again, but this time I'm going to try Milk Street Magazines Tea Rubbed Maple Turkey. It's a take off on Tea Rubbed duck and sounds utterly wonderful. Of course, I'm going to do modify the recipe just a bit (not only by butterballing) and also do it on my rotisserie. Will probably stick with peach or apple for the wood smoke. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
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Melt some butter and inject it into the breasts. Meathead recommends a 50/50 mix with warm (hot?) vegetable oil, or even 100% oil to inject, especially since it won't clog up injecting into a cold turkey breast. I'm going to make some clarified butter and go 100% with that, though. A butterballed turkey breast is wonderful.
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That's exactly what I was thinking of doing, clarified butter - wasn't really sure if that would make much of a difference in the longrun, ya know?
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Turkey turned out great, though skin wound up darker than anticipated. The tea is really "black", it is Lapsang Souchang, which is "smoked tea" and has an interesting aroma. Made a cup of it as well and confess I would not drink it it regularly, am more an English Breakfast Tea kind of guy. Still, the meat was wonderful. Actually wound up injecting 50/50 mix of clarified butter and chicken stock. The glaze I had to had a little bit of ground Carolina Reaper pepper to. Has a great flavor and did not come out too hot, but you can tell it's there.
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