# Need Turkey Help Fast! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504 "2018-11-14T14:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/21 "2018-11-15T13:57:15Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I don’t have anything to add around the thawing, but I wanted to mention that the cool kids don’t brine anymore. Funny how food fads come and go; I’ve brined and not brined, and honestly don’t see enough of a difference in brining to make it worth the hassle. Now [multiple](https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/11/the-food-lab-the-truth-about-brining-turkey-thanksgiving.html) [places](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/dining/the-rise-and-fall-of-turkey-brining.html?module=inline) are actually coming out against the practice. The hell you say! When it’s my turn to host Thanksgiving I’ve had great success with my [secret boyfriend’s recipe](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271). My late MIL did arch an eyebrow the first time I did it (You’re soaking it in salt water?? You’re cooking it for half an hour at 500 degrees?) but it was a huge hit. I will never cook a turkey any other way. (Notice this recipe has five stars with more than 5500 reviews.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/22 "2018-11-15T14:18:04Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > Thanks but my turkey doesn’t taste like salt. Probably because you’re so used to the taste of salt that things taste funny without it. I can definitely taste the difference – and the difference is the flavor of salt. [And brining is on the way out](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/dining/the-rise-and-fall-of-turkey-brining.html?fbclid=IwAR3dReduRFlH5-5nXDQm6qj2vwllGCPtPAirCngHbNsG8tvdCzA2edud32U). ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/23 "2018-11-15T14:41:36Z")
My family has been bringing turkeys for 30 years and I vastly prefer the additional moisture. I’ve swapped over to, deep fried turkery for the most part the last decade or so and even at 2-3 pounds per person leftovers rarely make it through Black Friday. I normally use a soy sauce/bourbon/apple marinade and i typically just mix it up in a five gallon igloo cooler and put the frozen turkey i. The whole thing gets put into a bathtub and I drop a thermometer in there. Once the brine temp gets about 35 and pull the bird out and let it dry in the fridge for a day. Its typically a 5 day process so I’d drop a frozen bird saturday to eat thursday. We’re going fresh this year so i need to adjust the recipe so it doesn’t get too much marinade. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/24 "2018-11-15T14:58:43Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > The hell you say! > > When it’s my turn to host Thanksgiving I’ve had great success with my [secret boyfriend’s recipe](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271). My late MIL did arch an eyebrow the first time I did it (You’re soaking it in salt water?? You’re cooking it for half an hour at 500 degrees?) but it was a huge hit. I will never cook a turkey any other way. (Notice this recipe has five stars with more than 5500 reviews.) Blasting the turkey at an initial high temperature is an old trick. I prefer to preheat to 450F, shove the bird in for about ten minutes, and then reduce the temp to 350F. But I’ve never liked brining. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/25 "2018-11-15T17:04:44Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Myself, after years of brining, buying expensive free-range birds and cooking them in a variety of time-consuming ways, am getting a Butterball this year and throwing it in the oven until the breast reaches 145 degrees and the thighs are 165. Easy-peasy and it’ll be just fine. You might consider adding one element of my method, since it’s quite easy and effective: mix salt and seasonings in olive oil to make a kind of slurry. Baste the turkey with that when you put it in the oven, then repeat the basting several times during cooking. I use my seasoned baste and cook the turkey in a smoker, over a mesquite fire, which results in juicy, flavorful turkey and frees up the oven for cooking all manner of other things. As I mentioned in another Thanksgiving thread, I recently did a “test run” for a potluck to break in a new smoker, and two people threatened to kidnap me to cook turkey for them on Thanksgiving. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/26 "2018-11-15T17:08:26Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > In my opinion, brining is generally a crutch for people who learned a bad way to prepare turkey. It doesn’t improve flavor; in fact, it usually makes it blander, in my experience. There are better ways to avoid making turkey-jerky. I’ve lived in the United States for 57 years and have never even _heard_ of “brining” until this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/27 "2018-11-15T17:48:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’ve lived in the United States for 57 years and have never even _heard_ of “brining” until this thread. It’s been a food fad for about 20 years. I blame Alton Brown, who really should have known better. It’s not as bad as the fried-turkey fad (which adds the risk of injury, death, and/or homelessness to the process of producing mediocre meat), but it’s an unnecessary complication. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/28 "2018-11-15T21:28:37Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > You might consider adding one element of my method, since it’s quite easy and effective: mix salt and seasonings in olive oil to make a kind of slurry. Baste the turkey with that when you put it in the oven, then repeat the basting several times during cooking. > > I use my seasoned baste and cook the turkey in a smoker, over a mesquite fire, which results in juicy, flavorful turkey and frees up the oven for cooking all manner of other things. As I mentioned in another Thanksgiving thread, I recently did a “test run” for a potluck to break in a new smoker, and two people threatened to kidnap me to cook turkey for them on Thanksgiving. 😃 Oh yeah, I always add fat & herbs to the bird. Butter is nice too. It’s also good to unwrap the bird and let the skin dry out overnight or for a few hours; it adds a little more crispness to the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/29 "2018-11-15T21:52:10Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > It’s also good to unwrap the bird and let the skin dry out overnight or for a few hours; it adds a little more crispness to the skin. I always skin the bird before smoking it. I find that the skin tends to keep the flavors from the smoke and the baste out of the meat, and no one I know particularly likes the skin itself. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/30 "2018-11-15T22:16:48Z")
I’ve brined, and I’ve not brined; the biggest single change that makes for a good turkey is getting a [leave-in probe thermometer](https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/03/the-best-leave-in-probe-thermometers.html) and [putting it in the right place on the turkey](https://blog.thermoworks.com/turkey/accurate-probe-placement-in-turkeys/), and [setting the temperature to take it out of the oven at the right time correctly.](https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/11/how-to-take-the-temperature-of-your-turkey-video.html) Do these things, and your meat will not be dry, brine or no brine. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/31 "2018-11-16T02:01:30Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Oh yeah, I always add fat & herbs to the bird. Butter is nice too. > > It’s also good to unwrap the bird and let the skin dry out overnight or for a few hours; it adds a little more crispness to the skin. That’s called ‘dry brining’ and it works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/32 "2018-11-16T02:02:25Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > De-thawing? Yeah, you want to thaw that birdie. Not unthaw it. Or dethaw it, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/33 "2018-11-16T02:03:53Z")
Defrost the turkey in the fridge and then let it defrost the rest of the way in the brine. I’ve done that several times and noticed no difference. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/34 "2018-11-16T02:11:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’ve lived in the United States for 57 years and have never even _heard_ of “brining” until this thread. > [@Balance](#): > > It’s been a food fad for about 20 years. I blame Alton Brown, who really should have known better. It’s not as bad as the fried-turkey fad (which adds the risk of injury, death, and/or homelessness to the process of producing mediocre meat), but it’s an unnecessary complication. I’ve known it longer than that. It was always the go to treatment in _Cooks Illustrated_ magazine, although they’ve since turned to dry salting. I’d even read, at that time, in _Gourmet_ magazine, how chefs in restaurants were brining their roasted turkey breasts. In fact, it was here on the SDMB where I learned how to “equilibrium brine.” [Turkey brining: Regular salt OK? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=673036) Though I will admit, I’ve stopped doing that for oven roasting, just for outdoor grilling, and even then I’ve slacked off sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/35 "2018-11-19T04:59:31Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Another option. Keep the turkey in the freezer for another day and buy a fresh/never frozen turkey for the weekend. well, it’s too late, but this is whati would have done. How’d it come out? > [@Athena](#): > > I think there’s something to that, and it’s a something that can generally be fixed with the purchase of a cooking thermometer. If you don’t overcook the damn thing, it’s generally pretty tasty and not at all dry. > > Myself, after years of brining, buying expensive free-range birds and cooking them in a variety of time-consuming ways, am getting a Butterball this year and throwing it in the oven until the breast reaches 145 degrees and the thighs are 165. Easy-peasy and it’ll be just fine. yup. I did buy a heritage turkey this year, but I’m not convinced it’s any better. > [@Balance](#): > > I always skin the bird before smoking it. I find that the skin tends to keep the flavors from the smoke and the baste out of the meat, and no one I know particularly likes the skin itself. Interesting. I’m not actuallya big turkey fan. I eat it on Thanksgiving because _tradition_, but i like most other birds more. The only part i actually like is the skin, and I’m all about making sure the skin is crispy and delicious. But I’m also not a huge fan of ‘smoked’. It’s fine, and i eat it when someone serves it to me, but most meat is better without smoke, imo. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504/36 "2018-11-19T06:07:21Z")
I’ve posted this before but I get raves for my Weber turkeys. Cooked over indirect heat in a Weber kettle, basted with peanut oil & pepper and stuffed with cubes of fresh pineapple. The drippings make for amazing gravy with a touch of sweetness. Cooked pineapple served as a side dish. The oven is free for baking pies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-turkey-help-fast/824504.md?page=1)