This was the show that introduced me to Alton Brown and by extension ignited my passion for cooking. If you’ve never brined a turkey do so this year. Seriously. If you don’t believe me start a poll and ask but I can already tell you you’ll have more than 90% saying to brine!
My only real question about the brine is the chicken stock - since this is a brine could I substitute a low sodium chicken broth instead? I’ve always followed the recipe exactly on this and it turns out great, but I’ve always wondered why he uses stock.
You’re right! I swear the one I have at the house printed out from years ago said Chicken or Vegetable stock. Even so this is even more puzzling - Vegetable Stock makes no sense since stock is made with bones - what’s the difference between vegetable stock and broth?
I tried it one year, against the wishes of everyone involved and it took FOREVER to cook for some reason and I’ve never been allowed to try again I don’t know what I did wrong.
Alton Brown loves salt and uses far too much of it. But that’s fairly typical of all Americans. People love the taste of salt and, for some reason, think it doesn’t change the flavor of food. Absolute nonsense.
I dunno what I did to be honest. We had the oven at the proper temperature as far as I remember but…oh well :\ We usually have like a 20lb+ turkey so it makes it a bit difficult to brine.
You really should be forbidden from commenting on salt. Despite posting nonsense about its characteristics over and over again, you come in like low-sodium guru. We get it…Clothahump doesn’t like tattoos and you don’t like salt. So stop the “fairly typical of Americans” and yes, we know it changes the flavor of food. It’s why chefs use salt. :smack:
The salt from the brine draws moisture into the bird. I don’t understand why RealityChuck needs to come into every thread about salt complaining about its overuse, but, in this particular case, salt has an important purpose other than a flavor enhancer. It makes the bird retain moisture.
Now, whether you like the texture of a brined bird vs. a normal one is a debatable point. Brining does change the texture of meat, and I don’t always like the effect that it has. But, as far as turkey breast meat is concerned, I’m a fan. And it’s good insurance for other low-fat meats like chicken breast and pork loin. Truth be told, I prefer the texture of these items cooked without a brine, if they’re cooked exactly right, but sometimes you need the peace of mind a brine affords you.
I like that a brine can be a conduit to bring other flavors to the party. Some people like their turkey unaltered, and that’s fine. I like bolder flavors. Seasoning the outside of a bird does nothing for the meat. But add some citric notes, some sugar (I prefer molasses for the smokiness), some just-cracked peppercorns, some just-cracked allspice, some bruised sage, and every bite of meat has flavor. The extra moisture is protection mostly for the breast meat, which can dry out before the thigh meat is finished. I like to brine, but I also will cool the breast meat relative to the rest of the turkey and start the turkey upside down to ensure that breast and thighs finish close to the same time.
ETA: Very true, devilsknew, but brining will also add season the meat. Not that it is a bad thing, as the skin prevents the meat from being seasoned.
It was A-Frame’s cracklin’ beer can chicken brine. A Peruvian brine with some special accents, like the beer, then they slow rotisserie them for something like 4-6 hours and deepfry till crispy to order.
I don’t mind the way a brined turkey tastes, and it does make for moister breast meat. But my joy comes from the soup made from the bones and bits and then thickened down until it’s starting to get a bit sticky. A brined bird leaves the soup tasting like Lot’s wife fell in.
So my kids get to brine any turkeys they cook and I’ll cook mine with soup and gravy in mind. Every few years I’ll do mine the day before they do theirs and we get the best of both worlds.
I don’t know what I did wrong.