Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => Brines, Marinades & Injections => Topic started by: LongBall on February 21, 2015, 11:45:59 AM
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6 quarts tap water
1 pound kosher salt
1 cup molasses
2 cups honey
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried sage
Large bunch fresh thyme
2 heads garlic broken into individual cloves, unpeeled
5 pounds ice cubes
14 to 18-pound turkey, cleaned, innards removed
Directions
In a medium pot, bring 3 quarts of the tap water to a boil over medium heat. Put the kosher salt in a large bowl and slowly (and carefully!) pour the boiling water over the salt. Stir to blend.
Add the molasses, honey, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sage, thyme and garlic to the salt and water mixture. Stir to blend. Add the remaining 3 quarts of cool water. Add the ice to a cooler or bucket large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Pour the brine over the ice and use a large whisk to blend all of the ingredients.
Submerge the turkey, breast side down, in the brine. Make sure the cavity of the bird fills with the liquid as you are submerging it. Cover the cooler and allow the bird to sit in the brine overnight or for about 12 hou
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LongBall,
Did you try this yet? I like the list of ingredients but winced at the amount of salt to water. I'm curious to find out if it resulted in a salty tasting product.
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That looks like a good recipe, but 1lb salt?
Unless 1 cup of salt is only 1lb.
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Seems like a lot of salt, but then I thought about it, and 1 lb of kosher salt is about 1/3 of a box of Morton Kosher Salt. Then I read on...and 6 quarts (1-1/2 gallons) of water, plus 5 POUNDS of ice cubes...man, that equates to a LOT of water. So I think the proportions probably come out fine for a 14-18 lb turkey for 12 hours. I would think you could easily make a 1/2 batch of this brine recipe and it would be plenty to submerge one 14-18 lb turkey depending on your brining vessel.
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I think it is fine 6 quarts plus 5 pounds of ice is 7.25 quarts of water. The pork brine I did from the show Good Eats was 3 quarts water, 12 oz Kosher Salt plus 10 oz molasses.
While the brine listed is likely fine as is, I would taste it at 10 oz salt and add more if it seemed weak. Some soy sauce is salter than others.
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It looked like the recipe was trying to factor in the melted ice but my experience is not much of my ice melts in an overnight brine and it certainly wouldn't be mixed in a way to dilute. But it would still be nice to hear the results from the OP.
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When I add ice to a brine I stir it in a warm brine to cool it. The brine becomes cooled and diluted prior to adding any meat.
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I think the ingredient list looks tasty, Bart, but initially was surprised at the amount of salt. But, I would use 2 cups for 2 gallons of brine, and since Morton's kosher salt weighs 8 oz. per cup, it would take 16 oz. - or "1 pound!" Just not used to seeing salt by weight, unless I'm making an equilibrium brine. Gradient brines (like this) just get straight measuring cups and spoons, for me. Also, adding the ice to a warm brine (what I do) will melt it as it cools the brine, thus dissolving it.
I'd say give it a shot and let us know how it is! One piece of advice about the size of the turkey: Stick to 14 lbs or less in the smoker. Much bigger takes too long to get the meat temp out of the "danger zone" of 40-140° where the bad stuff grows.
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I brined my turkey in this recipe last night and wonder is it too much to dry rub for another day before smoking? Because my rub won't have any salt in it do any of you pro's (i'm still a beginner) see any issues with that plan?
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If it is a low or no salt rub you should be fine. I would pull the skin back and get the rub onto the meat as much as possible.