Brining Turkey

I have a question about brining. I just read that most turkeys are already brined and if the label says that it contains salt, if you brine it the turkey will be too salty to eat. Is this true? Should I consider brining but with less salt or not brining at all?

I have never seen a turkey that has already been brined unless it is a "turkey in a bag" type that is already prepared. Any fresh or frozen turkey will need brined.

I'm hoping that I saw this recipe here for buttermilk brine for turkey...I do believe it was a video...if anyone has this recipe or know of it I would really appreciate it.....I used it last year and I thought I had a hard copy but...Anyway...this made the turkey so moist..and left only bones...Thanks in advance!!!

Can someone give me a formula for the amount of time to roast a brined turkey? I recall that last year I brined the turkey for Thanksgiving and it turned out great, but took a lot longer than I expected and we ate hours after we expected. On the other hand, I hear others' feedback that it takes less time to roast brined turkey than non-brined. I will be roasting a 22-pound turkey. Also wondering about the temperature. All the recipes I've seen are for smaller turkeys. Please help - thanks!

What I have found a brined turkey cooks about 25 to 40 minutes quicker. I cover my bird with foil and once it comes up to temperature (180 degrees) I take the foil off and cook for another 30 minutes. As far as cooking temperature and time. I would suggest 350 degrees and you are right on the border for the weight of yur turkey but you should be looking at 4 hours - 4 hours and 45 minutes. Keep an eye on your temp, that is what will guide you for your bird being ready, basting during the cooking process will help even the browning of the turkey, but if you do not do it you will still have a great bird. Also keep in mind if you put stuffing in your turkey cavity it will take up to an additional hour to cook. Hope this helps!!

I'm making my first turkey this year and was planning on bining. The problem is that I have several family members that cannot have large amounts of salt. Should I forgo brining or just not include salt when I season the bird?

I use a tall kitchen size heavy duty bag to put my turkey in, place it in my picnic ice chest and pour on the cooled brine. It takes two of us to steady it and tie with twist ties, making sure the turkey is immersed. Then surround with ice and you have extra refrigerator space!

I was wondering how to brine with no extra space available. Thank you KHENLEY for the greatest help so far.

Alton Brown showed how to brine a turkey in one of those big orange drink coolers like football teams use on the sidelines. Probably 3-5 gallons. You can put ice in the brine and that way you don't have to take up room in the fridge. I brined last year for the first time and will never do it any other way. Juicy and delicious.

Does anyone know if you brine a turkey b/4 deep frying? Or do U just season it?

I brined my turkey last year following Alton Brown's brining recipe. I used a large blue water cooler (the kind football players use, and dump on the coach!!) that I purchased from Lowe's and brined the turkey overnight with ice in the water. NO FRIDGE NEEDED! I baked it UNstuffed Breast side down (so the juices stay in the breast meat) and let it rest for 20 minutes before carving. Sure, cooking it breast side down isnt the most attractive result, but who cares, it gets carved anyhow, and I would rather have a moist yummy ugly turkey than a pretty but dry turkey! It was the best turkey I have ever made and I will use this recipe EVERY time now! I believe you can find the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html There are even two videos to watch, very helpful! GOOD LUCK and HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

I am having a turkey breast and 6 turkey thighs for my meal. Should I brine the pieces as long as a whole bird?

Very helpful im making turkey for the first time this year. Thank You

We always brine our turkeys and they are never salty. It is well worth the time and effort you will get raves about your bird. KK...we did two turkey breasts a couple of week ago and did them over night.

We brine our turkey in a cooler... the kind you take camping. Add ice daily and it stays plenty cold. We once soaked it in brine for two weeks and it was delicious!

If I brine a turkey, can I still cook it in a oven bag?

has anyone ever stuffed a brined turey? can it be stuffed?

I learned this trick will living in England from my local butcher shop one Christmas when I decided to make a Prime Rib roast instead of ham. It applies to any kind of meat you want to roast and works perfectly for brined turkey as well. Preheat oven to 450 degrees for 20-30 min prior to putting the meat in the oven. You want to make sure the oven is really hot and heat is distributed throughout. Roast for 30 -45 min depending on how big the meat is. Turn the oven down to 350 and let the meat cook. The last hour or so, turn the oven down again to 325. This method allows the skin to crisp and the meat to gradually roast. Keep in mind that a brined turkey will cook faster than a non brined turkey. An instant read thermometer is essential.

I too cook my turkey breast side down however to avoid an ugly bird I turn it back over during the last 20-30 mins of cooking and rub it down with paprika or smoked paprika. Then i let it brown. This will give you a picture perfect bird every time.

I always brine my 12-14 lb turkey with 1 lb brown sugar and 1 lb salt for 24-48 hours and then smoke (pecan)at 225 deg for about 10 hours uncovered. The juices squirt out when it is carved and the flavor is unbeleivable. This never fails but it makes for a long night before Thanksgiving!!

I also find that my brined Turkeys cook faster. Here are 2 tips from years of brining... Tip #1 When brining, use a large TOUGH bag (like a Ziploc storage bag). After the last of the liquid is in the bag zip/tie it up, then place the bag in a large collendar. Gather the bag's sides up and -- no kidding -- duct tape the neck of the bag up so the turkey is covered in liquid. This way you won't have to rotate it or flip it. Put the collendar in the sink and bird in the fridge overnight. When removing it from the brine, place it in the collender (in the sink) and make a 1" cut in the bottom. The collendar will keep the big stuff from going into the garbage disposal; if your recipe has cloves or whole allspice like mine, add a paper towel under the bag to keep these out of the disposal as well. Just let it empty slowly by itself. Then take the turkey out of the top by removing the duct tape, or cutting the top of the bag off. Tie off the holes and dispose of the wet contents. Tip #2 If you want 24 lbs. of Turkey -- get 2 12-pound birds instead of 1 24-pound bird. It cooks SO MUCH faster (could my memory be right that it was 2.5 hours?) and there's no fighting over turkey legs. Also these little birds will each fit in a vegetable drawer, out of the way in their brining bags -- and potential leaks are contained.

Yes, you can stuff a brined turkey, as long as you rinse it out thoroughly. This might also be why some people's turkeys are too salty. "Rinse thoroughly and pat it dry with paper towels." according to my Emirl recipe. :)

Over the years I have got Thanksgiving down to a fine science. My brined turkey goes in the oven first thing in the morning after rinsing and patting dry. I stuff the turkey with a rough chopped white onion and a cored organic granny smith apple or two. This makes the juices delicious and the veggies break down into mush. I bake a pie or two a few days before as well as make a spicy cranberry chutney, because I think that cranberry sauce tastes better chilled. A few potatoes are roasted in their skins, the only thing I need to cook the day of, is stuffing and gravy and turkey or a veggie roast. Simple is best.

RC I always brine my turkey as well as stuffing it. I then roast it in a Japanese Kamado Pot. I do cut down on the salt in the brining. I rinse the turkey well, the next day before stuffing and roasting. The Kamado Pot has thick ceramic walls and a stuffed 20 lb turkey will take about 4-5 hours.

Anyone ever DEEP FRY a brined Turkey??

I have deep fried a brined turkey. I still inject marinade into the turkey before frying. The brining makes a huge difference in how moist the turkey is.

For thoe of you wondering if you can stuff a brined turkey, is the salt content high enough to put off people on special diets, etc, just remember, a Butterball Turkey is essentially a brined turkey - that's why it tastes soooo good! ("injected" with salt water is what happens). So...NEVER brine a Butterball - it will be WAY too salty! You may stuff a Butterball, so you can stuff a brined turkey. If you can deep fry a Butterball, you can deep fry a brined turkey.(I have never deep fried a Butterball so don't know if they suggest you using one of their turkeys or not for this purpose.) You might want to go to Butterball's web site and check the do's and don'ts for their birds along with the cooking times and temps for ballpark estimates too. As far as what container to use...I found at Williams Sonoma special heavy duty food-safe plastic bags made just for brining!$16 for 4 bags(2 big, 2 smaller) and the large bags will hold up to 23 pound birds!After purchasing these, I found bringin bags at the local kitchen gadget store for $9!! So just look around & don't be afraid to experiment! Look at Waterlily's comment on how to cook everything and have it come out done at the same time. I have refined my cooking schedule and have even written it down so that everything comes out at the same time. Try to do this for your kitchen and recipes because, believe me, you will forget from year to year what order to cook things to make everything a successful meal! Like Waterlily, I do a lot of cooking and baking prior to Thanksgiving Day but for the cooking that needs to be done that day, be sure and prep everything a day before. A HUGE time saver tip is wash and chop the veggies you will be using then bag them in ziplocks the day before (as long as your veggies don't brown - if they do, just wash them). This cuts kitchen time down to a minimum and you can actually get out of the kitchen and enjoy the day with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

I have deep fried Butterball turkeys before and have had no problem. I do not brine before deep frying. Hope this helps.

What is the sodium content of the brined bird? Does anyone have any idea? My husband has high blood pressure and we are very sodium conscious.

can a brined turkey be cooked in a turkey roaster?

I am using a frozen turkey. Do I need to thaw it before brining?

If the turkey is frozen the brine will not work into the meat - so make sure you thaw the bird first.

its my first time this year making the turkey...which is better cooking the bird with the breast up or down...wish me luck!

I brined a turkey last year and kept it simple with no spices.It was the best turkey I ever had!This year I try the spices.I did it with a chicken yesterday to test the spices and it turned out so darn good I cannot wait until Thanksgiving!

The Butterball.com website has a basic recipe that says you can brine a Butterball. It also states that rinsing the turkey after brining is not necessary. That goes against all I've read about brining. Odd.

I called the Butterball hotline a few years back and they told me I could brine a FRESH Butterball but not a frozen one (unthawed, of course.)

And yes-- I have brined a fresh Butterball and it turned out great. I also stuffed this Butterball and added salt to the stuffing. I have low blood pressure, so I salt my salt. So I didn't think it was too salty, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE salt...

Okay, just got done reading all of th