Brined turkey breast combined with a sweet and savory sweet rub make for a turkey breast that is just as … To get that perfect seasoning, you have to let the turkey thaw for at least 24 hours. Dry brine is just that, salt and other spices on the turkey for up to 24 hours. A 15 pound turkey would brine for 15 hours. Thanksgiving or not—cooking a smoked turkey breast and serving with copious amounts of side dishes is a big enough meal to make anyone thankful. Smoke the turkey, breast side up, at 250 until the internal temperature reads 165 in the breast. First, on the practical side, it can be tricky to brine a giant Thanksgiving turkey since it needs to be submerged in the liquid, so you need a food-grade container significantly larger than the turkey. The bird was juicier and the citrus flavors added a fun flavor profile. Place your uncooked , fresh turkey in the chilled brine solution, and then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. A large cooler works, but a trash bag doesn't. Brining, or soaking meat in a salt-water solution, uses the power of osmosis to force the turkey or other meat to draw up water into itself. Let the turkey rest for 10 minutes before serving to let the juices redistribute. This will take about 2 hours per 1lb, or 6 hours for a 12 pound turkey. Finally, place your wild turkey breast in the brining solution and add a couple of cups of cold water, or just enough to cover the entire piece of turkey breast. For the same reason brining works—osmosis—so, too, does pre-salting. Cover the turkey—over and under the skin as much as possible—with about 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt per pound of meat. Yes, the bird is significantly juicier, but the juices released are largely coming from the water in the wet brine.It goes without saying that this is, well, not ideal, considering it’s pretty hard to make a banging gravy when you’re working with what is more or less tap water. Not sure why because it tastes so dang good! To cook an amazing smoked turkey, you want to start the day before by brining the turkey overnight in a brine made of water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice, fresh herbs, and orange peel. It’s an underrated meat the rest of the year. This will help ensure a crispy, brown skin when the bird is cooked. Fill the container with the brine and refrigerate for 6 hours or so. No matter what kind of bird, the mixture of convection roasting and wood fire flavor always seems to yield delicious, mouth watering dishes (crispy skin + moist, tender meat = whoa!). The theory is that the meat ends up juicier and moister that way. To wet brine turkey, combine salt and water (and other optional flavoring ingredients, like honey or molasses, soy sauce, herbs, apple cider and more) and submerge your turkey in the solution. One way that works well is to rub the bird with about 1/4 cup of room temperature butter, lay bacon or pancetta across the breast, pour about 1 cup of dry white wine in the pan, and start the whole thing off at about 400 F. After 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 F and roast—basting with pan juices and maybe 1/4 cup of port wine at a time every 30 minutes or when it occurs to you—until the legs wobble and everything is fully cooked, browned, and lovely. You may or may not use the entirety depending upon the size of your turkey. Smoked turkey breast is a great idea for your smaller holiday gatherings. Place some of the dry brine mix just under the skin where possible, and rub the rest of the dry brine mix around the turkey and … Place turkey breast in the brine and weigh down with a couple of plates to ensure it is fully submerged. How To Make Smoked Turkey Breast. … © 2020 Memphis Wood Fire Grills All Rights Reserved, VERSATILITY: SMOKE, SEAR, BAKE, AND ROAST, To Brine or Not to Brine: A Thanksgiving Turkey Comparison, Grilled Coconut and Lime Shrimp with Caribbean Rice, Peel of 3 Large Oranges (cut into strips), 4 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs (leaves stripped off). You can check out our informal findings at the end of this post. Morton's salt has a great recipe I have followed closely and intend to do again this year. The outside was crispy and you could taste the subtle wood fire flavor in every bite. Real juiciness comes from the meat holding on to its own moisture, not holding onto some water (seasoned or not) in which it has been soaked. That is because, with a smoked turkey, the long slow and low heat actually doesn’t dry the bird out too quickly. Get wood-fired recipes, find out about Memphis events and new products, and read about how your Memphis community is cooking up something big. But not all foodies are brine believers. Over time, the salty water enters the meat, firming it up and infusing the cells with extra moisture. Keep the turkey and brine cold during this marinating process. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours. What Turkey Should You Buy for Your Feast? Over brining can cause the cells to break down, so don’t brine for too long. With a smoked turkey, you don’t have to brine the turkey first, which is awesome. The morning of, remove the turkey from the brine (over the sink to minimize any mess) and rinse it off completely, including inside the cavity. Place the turkey in a brine bag or food safe bucket. By soaking a turkey in a salt solution (yes, many brines also have sugar and spices, but without the salt you get nothing), the power of osmosis—where cells like to have similar water-salt balances—makes sure that the sodium in the brine gets infused throughout the turkey along with extra water. Brine your turkey in a wet brine for 1 hour per pound of turkey. Using your hands, … Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve Bring to a boil, and then turn of the heat (covering with a lid) Allow to cool completely, and then place mixture in the fridge. The pros are a well-seasoned and juicy bird. Beer brine the turkey for at least 24 (for a smaller bird 16 pound) to 48 hours (for a larger 22+ pound bird). Every 12 hours, rotate/flip the turkey in the brine to evenly marinate it. The turkey absorbs some of the water while soaking in your brining liquid, and … For the most flavorful turkey, consider salting the bird on Sunday for your Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. Brining makes it harder to get a crisp skin (the skin retains water too), leaves the cooking juices too salty to use for sauce or gravy, and gives the breast meat the texture of deli turkey breast rather than roasted turkey breast, … Put the turkey breast in a small, disposable aluminum roasting pan. Pat it dry (a wet turkey is a soggy cooked turkey). An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients. Whether you’re considering smoking your Thanksgiving Turkey or simply looking for a new way to present your fowl to a table full of hungry family members and loved ones, smoked turkey breast … A wet brine … For smoking a turkey, we recommend buying a smaller bird (15 lbs or less). Ingredients 1 whole turkey breast, bone in 4 cups water ½ onion chopped 2 stalks celery chopped 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 Tablespoons salt 4 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons of poultry spice Get our free cookbook when you sign up for our newsletter. Use about 1/4 of the salt inside the cavities of the bird, and the rest over the entire turkey, working salt under the skin on the breast and thighs as much as possible. A brine is a mixture of salt and water and brining a turkey in this solution will ensure a moist bird. Bring to a boil, and then turn of the heat (covering with a lid). The Brine Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot. With a simple blend of rub and smoke, these smoked turkey … The bird is big and needs to move the salt from the outside all the way through all of the cells. Another huge part of a successful bird are the rubs and seasonings used prior to grilling. Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil and add the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sage, rosemary … The low heat draws the moisture into the bird, not evaporate it out. Make a hammy turkey. Cover both turkeys in the rub mentioned above, Place your turkeys on the grill and cook until the internal thigh temperature reaches 165-170 F, Once they have reached temperature, take them off the grill and let them rest for around 20 minutes before carving. Brining is soaking your turkey in salted water for many hours or overnight. Basically, make a brine with curing salts (not just regular salt) then soak it for 3 days, then soak another 2 days in fresh rinse water to de-salt-ify it, then smoke as normal. Roast your turkey as you see fit. That's right, the well-seasoned effects of brining can be obtained with a simple blanket of salt. Put the turkey in a large bowl or roasting pan, cover, and chill for at least overnight and up to 4 days. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/85839/out-of-this-world-turkey-brine This step is probably one of the most important ones to maintain a juicy turkey breast recipe. The New York Times food writer Harold McGee says he doesn't brine, because "the collateral damage it does outweighs its advantages. Every year lots of articles come out about "how to brine a turkey" just in time for Thanksgiving. version of the turkey was delicious in its own right, but if you do have a little more time for turkey prep this year, we definitely recommend giving brining a shot! Very gently separate the breast skin from the meat, being careful not … With our wood pellet grill, cooking the turkey is definitely the easiest part of this whole process. There are people who swear by brining, to be sure, but not everyone brines. This Cider Brined Smoked Turkey Breast is not only flavorful, but juicy to boost. For easier mixing, boil the liquids ahead of time and dissolve in the salt and sugar while still hot with … Cover it and allow it to brine for at least … Looking for new dinner recipes? A wet brine is a water, salt, and sugar solution with your own flavor mix that you submerge the bird in for 24 hours. It will seem like a lot. Secondly, we approach the culinary reasons. Grind together the kosher salt, bay leaf, rubbed sage, dried thyme, and dried rosemary in a spice … Preparing the Finished Beer Brined Turkey for Cooking: So, should you brine your turkey? Should You Brine or Pre-Salt Your Turkey? Remove turkey from brine, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot. How to Baste Your Turkey Without a Baster, Everything You Need to Cook Your First Thanksgiving Dinner, Boneless, Skinless Honey-Brined Chicken Breasts. Then take it out, cover it with foil, and let it sit while you finish the rest of the dishes, usually about 45 minutes or so. For added flavor, add a few tablespoons of the dry rub mixture you plan to use for the turkey later on. Of the two turkeys we ended up liking the brined version a bit more. Allow to cool completely, and then place mixture in the fridge. Taking your time and following close instructions will get you a warm and delicious meal but leaving your turkey on the smoker for too long can easily result in a flat, tasteless cut of meat. When you're ready to cook remove the breast from the brine and pat dry. A butcher would do it to add weight to the bird. Yes, dry brining can be done on a frozen turkey, but it won’t be that effective. Only you can decide. If using an oven, cook until the internal temp of the thigh is 165-170 F. Both turkeys turned out great! The cons are practical and, to some minds, culinary. • A significant amount of refrigerator space, always at a premium around Thanksgiving, must be reserved for the turkey and its brine. Then carve it, serve it, and wait for someone to toast the chef. Smoked turkey breast is quicker to cook than a full turkey and great for meals year-round! Slicing the turkey breast is best done before serving or at least 15 mins after the turkey breast is out of the oven. Another criticism of the wet brine involves the juices that the turkey releases while cooking. Dry-Brine Your (Defrosted) Turkey: To avoid over-salting, measure out 1/2 cup of kosher salt. Smoke the breast at … Don't worry: most of it will fall or cook off. And what about the juiciness? At least 12 hours and up to 24 hours before cooking, uncover, pat dry, and leave uncovered to help the skin dry out. Use about 1/4 of the salt inside the cavities of the bird, and the rest over the entire turkey, working salt under the skin on the breast and thighs as much as possible. Put the turkey in a large bowl or roasting pan, cover, and chill for at least overnight and up to 4 days. If the hassle of brining doesn't strike you as the be-all and end-all of turkey preparation, but you want that tasty, juicy goodness, there is an alternative called "dry brining," also known as "pre-salting." If you take a look across our website you’ll see how proud we are of the Memphis’s ability to cook poultry like an all-star. Why would you not want your butcher to brine your turkey? The un-brined (or is it non-brined?) With the second, we took a popular turkey brine recipe from the Food Network and brined it overnight and then added the identical rub prior to cooking. And of course, we cooked our turkeys on one of our amazing wood fire pellet grills (we’re a bit biased when it comes to cooking methods), but the brine and rub recipes should be applicable regardless of your cooking style or appliance. With the first, we prepared it simply using one of our favorite rubs (recipe below). The problem is that it is a fake juiciness. • Brining takes time—up to 24 hours for a whole turkey. That way it gives the bird 4 to 5 days for the salt to work through the cells. Season the exterior of the breast with the remaining bbq rub. For this year’s upcoming Thanksgiving turkey, the team here at Memphis Wood Fire Grills did a side-by-side taste test with two identical birds, each prepared a bit differently. The results were both expected and surprising. As Harold McGee, renowned food scientist and experimenter once claimed, "You'd be angry with your butcher if he did it." Make sure that the turkey is completely dry. Once thawed, pat the inside and the outside of the turkey. Prepare your smoker Prepare smoker at a temperature of 275 degrees F. I recommend a medium smoking wood or pellet such as pecan, hickory or a fruit wood for this cook. To help, we've provided some pros and cons to this popular turkey preparation. Turkey breast is a deceptively easy item to cook. Season turkey breast … Brine the turkey breast for 6 hours. Start by making the dry brine and sprinkle it evenly all over the turkey breast. You can also add herbs and spices to the brine, resulting in a subtle flavor once it is roasted. 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Brining works—osmosis—so, too, does pre-salting fine sea salt per pound of meat may use...
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