New Orleans Food Questions And Comments

Brining A Turkey

Here's a question I hear all year long on the radio show, but hourly around Thanksgiving:

I've heard you talk about it a million times, but I didn't catch the details. How do you brine a turkey, and why should I bother?

Tom sez:

Brining is a technique that's been around a long time. I first encountered it when I was a teenager working at the Time Saver, where we fried chicken. The supplier of the equipment gave us a big bucket in which we made a solution of salt. We'd put the chicken in there and the whole bucket into the walk-in cooler, and the next day we'd rinse the chicken, coat it, and fry it.

I started doing that with turkeys about fifteen years ago, after I was reminded of the technique by an article in Cook's Illustrated magazine, a major proponent of brining. Since then, articles have appeared by scientists who explain what happens. Apparently the salt water causes a coiled protein in the meat to uncurl a bit, thereby releasing more natural moisture. This moves from inside the turkey to the outside--the exact oppisite of what you'd think happens.

The main result is that the turkey--especially its white meat--comes out far moister than if you hadn't brined it. It does not come out salty. At least not if you follow the instructions.

Here they are:

1. The ratio is one cup of salt per gallon of water.

2. Completely cover the turkey with the brine and let it marinate in it overnight.

3. This can be done in a big bowl, bucket, or in an ice chest, but the bird must be refrigerated while it is brining. However, the most convenient method is to buy a box of those plastic turkey-baking bags, which in my experience are watertight. Put the turkey in, fill it with all the brine it can hold, tie it off, and put it in the refrigerator (inside a bowl in case it leaks).

4. MOST IMPORTANT! After you remove the turkey from the brine, it's essential that you rinse the turkey inside and out in cold running water for about two minutes. Make sure any pockets of brine are flushed out. The brining is not for seasoning purposes, but to get the moistness unlocked.

5. After that, season the turkey (light on the salt, the usual amounts of pepper and other seasonings. Stuff the cavity with onions and rosemary or whatever. Then bake or smoke or even fry it (not recommended) as you ordinarily would.

Don't worry about the salt. The only part of the procedure that shows saltiness is that the drippings, for some reason, are often salty. Make a stock from the wing tips and neck, and dilute the drippings with that when making your gravy.

Revised 3/10/08


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