Fresh vs frozen turkey

[Al S.]

I’m going to do my first fresh (never frozen) turkey this year in my WSM. Any difference in prep, brining or cooking times between fresh and frozen turkey? I have read a fresh turkey cooks faster for some reason. I could also use some tips on whether wet or dry brine would be best with a fresh bird.
Thanks for any help you folks can provide.
Al S.

[jfmorris]

I've done both, and really only did fresh the past 2 years, versus frozen most years before that. The main difference is not having to wait for an extended thaw. Cooking time would only be faster if the fresh turkey was not as cold in the center as the same sized previously frozen turkey.

A wet brine is in my personal opinion a big wet mess, and I usually don't have room for 5 gallon buckets of turkey+brine in my fridge near thanksgiving. Dry brining certainly takes up less refrigerator space, and in my opinion, is similar in effect. It seems I recall reading somewhere on AR that science has shown that the salt penetrates through the skin and into the meat over time, or maybe I dreamed that. Regardless, last years two 18 to 20 pound fresh turkeys from Costco were dry brined for a day, and generously rubbed inside and out with Lawry's poultry rub before going on the offset at 350F on Thanksgiving morning. The results were great!

The other thing is that the fresh turkeys probably need to be picked up within 1 week of Thanksgiving, but you could be buying the frozen ones now.

Here are last year's birds in progress. I spatchcocked them, which made them much easier to dry brine, rub, and fit in the fridge before cooking. I highly recommend spatchcocking if you can, as it shaves an hour or two off the cooking time. The foil off to the side in the picture on the smoker was foil I think I had brought out to wrap the tips of the legs in or something like that, to keep them from getting overdone.

[Michal234]

They are a big company of Fresh Frozen chicken supplier from Victoria Seara Frozen Chicken to all over the World & It's halal chicken meat.

https://victoriasearafrozenchicken.com/

[Dan Deter]

We've been using fresh turkeys the last 6-7 years, and always dry brine them. We've consistently gotten a good bird with that combination.

[Skip]

I've never done a fresh turkey so no opinion on that but I will vote for a wet brine and spatchcocking . Be sure to let us know how it turns out!

[ofelles]

I wet brine mine in a 5 gal bucket and throw some ice cubes into the brine and leave in the garage overnight. Fresh 16# bird spotchcocked and Sweetwater Spice Classic Holiday Turkey Bath with salt and water for the brine. Then rub with Cattleman's Grill Ranchero Seasoning rub. On the Yoder at 275F with smoke tube for about 1 1/2 hours until breast hits 140F then rise temp to 375F. Until breast hits 160F and thighs 175F (about 3 hrs) and let rest.

[Troutman]

Turkey is turkey. Despite anything to the contrary, I have wet brined for decades, just a force of habit. I tried dry brining one time and didn't see how there was any skin penetration. I did like the way it changed the skin itself (to a dry translucent state) but with the wet brine I can also introduce some aromatics. Good luck and have a great turkey day, I'm doin' prime rib

[texastweeter]

prime rib is for Christmas....or Thursday...or any day!

[mountainsmoker]

Frozen turkeys are almost already wet brined at 10-15%, so you have the advantage to wet brine or dry brine your turkey as you want. Go to the recipe section and there are a good couple of recipes in it. They will cook the same time cook breast to 155 and thighs to 165 and hold for 30 minutes to an hour to let them increase in heat.

[Troutman]

If you look around there are fresh frozen turkeys that don't have the massive brine injection. But you're right, most of the commercial ones are which is why I avoid those as well.

[smokin fool]

Put me in the wet brine column.
Luckily my garage is cool enough I can store it outside over night if need be. Never had to add ice but thats a good idea for safety.
Usually end up buying a commercial turkey, and the points made above about already being wet brined are spot on.
So my brine contains less than a quarter of the salt required in the brine recipe I have.
I cook em whole, have never tried the spotchcocking a buzzard.
Good luck.

[fzxdoc]

Dry brine all the way. I sprinkle salt on skin AND under the skin. Lots of salt penetration that way.

There's nothing like accidentally tipping over a few gallons of salmonella-laden brining water onto the counter, cabinets, gel floor mats and floor to make one a believer in dry brining. You can probably figure out how I came to that conclusion.

Kathryn

[mountainsmoker]

I feel your pain. my wife didn't wait for me to lift the pail it was brining in. 20lb bird +30 lbs water went every where. That is 3 gallons of water.

[smokin fool]

I do the transfer in the garage or the driveway cause knocking the pail over is right up my alley.
If I drop the buzzard on the ground....that's added dry rub....

[Al S.]

Thanks, everyone, Happy Thanksgiving to you and those dear to you!

Al

[Al S.]

What is the longest time the bird should be dry-brined? I’ll be picking up my bird from the butcher on Tuesday evening and want to have it prepped to go in the smoker early on Thursday morning.

Al

[Red Man]

The Tuesday before thanksgiving? The longest any meat can be dry brined is equal to how long it can be refrigerated without spoiling, maybe a little longer due to the salt. The Tuesday before thanksgiving is an excellent time to start dry brining.