Brining & The Fresh Turkey
I tried to Google this but everything just made me more miserable.
I bought a fresh, un-brined turkey today from Trader Joe's. (They were next to the brined turkeys, so it's safe to assume it's NOT brined, right?) It says kosher but everything I read online says kosher turkeys are ALREADY BRINED.
In addition to that, did I buy my turkey too early? I don't have time to buy one closer to the day and I don't want a frozen one (and don't have room to freeze the turkey I just bought). It says "SELL BY NOV 30" on it so popping it in my fridge should be ok- RIGHT???
Also, how early is too early to start brining? I was going to brine it Weds-night-ish but now people are telling me bc I bought my bird so early, I should brine it earlier to "preserve" it...
HELP!!!
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
12 Comments:
Fresh turkey is good in your fridge and should be cooked by the Sell by daye.Keep it in the lowest part of your fridge where it is coldest.
I brine the night before. I use a brining bag. If you open the turkey from its packaging it should go right into brine. I have ehard of people brining for 3 days I have not done this. One night works for me. Leave the bird alone till Wed. That is my advise.
JerzeeTomato at 3:36PM on 11/21/08
the brine we use is for 36 hours, the longer you brine, you must decrease the amount of salt... the recipe I have calls for 1/4 cup of salt and brine for 36 hours.
Southern_bella at 3:48PM on 11/21/08
Now I'm confused. I thought a kosher turkey was already brined - why would you brine it again?
PerkyMac at 3:55PM on 11/21/08
A Kosher bird has been salted and it might not be such a good idea to brine it. It may well end up being excessively salty.
ccbweb at 5:17PM on 11/21/08
I agree with ccbweb. I think of a Kosher bird almost as a "dry" brine. It may not be soaking in a salt water solution, but it has been heavily salted. Also, you can check out the nutritional information to give you an idea. I checked the sodium content on a fresh Empire Kosher turkey and for a 4 oz. serving it had 210 mg of sodium. A Wegmans fresh unbrined, unsalted Turkey 3 oz. serving had 55 mg of sodium. So even though it was a slightly smaller serving the amount of sodium was signifigantly lower. So I would say don't brine if the sodium content is high. Also, check the label for their roasting instructions. That may also give you some insite. Happy Turkey Day!
dhorst at 8:12PM on 11/21/08
Thanks everyone. I'm kind of upset now - I only bought this bird because Trader Joe's only had two birds (and I was at Trader Joe's, trying to save myself extra hassle and another grocery store trip, though I do usually wind up buying stuff from multiple stores), and the other one was labeled brined. ARGH. But I checked the label - @dhorst - thank you VERY MUCH for hard & fast numbers, that helps a lot - and it's got 210 mg of salt per serving. This is the first year I'm making turkey for my family (I made a turkey once before, for friends, and it was a hit, but my family is an incredibly harsh critic of anything I cook), and I don't want to f* it up. My mother already thinks everything I cook is too salty. =( But I want to brine for flavor and to make sure it stays juicy... sigh.
After a brief bit of Googling, though, what do you guys think of this: I'm going to drastically lower the salt in the brine solution I was going to use (Alton Brown's brine from his smoked turkey recipe, though I am not smoking my turkey), and just use aromatics and seasonings the way I was planning on doing anyway?
Do you think that will be ok?
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP. I am clearly really nervous about this!
(Alternatively, do you think I should just buy a new turkey and reserve this one for, um, a later date?)
feistyfoodie at 9:22PM on 11/21/08
I think reudcing the salt in the brine will be ok. And you can add whatever you want to the brine to add subtle flavor. A good general rule for brining is 1 cup of salt per gallon of liquid and brine for 1 hour per pound. I would go about 1/3 to 1/2 salt content for your brine.
It's all about the gravy anyway..
sailordave at 10:29PM on 11/21/08
Kosher birds are known for their juiciness because of being salted. I would be worried that if you do brine it that it may be too salty, so definitely keep the salt low--Butterball turkeys which are injected or brined with a sodium solution have 320 mg. of sodium, so you have some room to play around with your bird that is already at 210 mg. Does Alton use honey in his brine? Honey is known for attracting moisture, so if he does use it, it's going to be good. I would go ahead and use the aromatics the same way or maybe even increase the amount and not soak the bird as long. I know what it's like to have critical family members--my brother in law and his wife are terribly critical of what I have made to eat in the past. I have learned after many years, to cook for myself and those who truly appreciate the effort I have gone to. Sometimes the in-law's snide remarks may sting, but I try to let it roll. After all, they're the ones who are appearing to be ungrateful asses. Don't let them get to you! It's Thanksgiving! They should be thankful to have such a wonderful daughter(or son)-in-law who is taking the time (and money in this economy) to cook a wonderful meal for them.
dhorst at 10:21AM on 11/22/08
I bought the same turkey last year. It was the kosher un-brined bird from Trader Joe's and mine weighed a little over 11 lbs. Although I didn't brine it (I marinated it with a balsamic/honey marinade that I love), and I must say it tasted FABULOUSLY great and everyone thought it was the best in years.
I do have one big warning for you - this was only my 3rd Thanksgiving dinner, and therefore my 3rd attempt at a turkey, and what freaked me out about this bird was the fact that it had feathers ALL over it when I opened the bag the night before Thanksgiving to marinate it. I actually called TJs to tell them that I thought it had been a mistake, but they explained that the kosher turkeys are "minimally processed" and so they aren't fully plucked. It's kind of weird and I thought it was kind of gross, and my mother-in-law and I had to get out the tweezers and start plucking away.
This year, I just went to TJs for my turkey yesterday and noticed that they have a small sign next to the kosher turkeys explaining that there will be feathers on them and they suggested that you cook it first and then the plucking will be easier. That seems strange to me, especially because I like to marinate my turkey, and it would be kind of icky to marinate it with feathers and all. Actually, there were not really so many feathers on it as there were those little stiff, rough receptacles that the feathers are usually in.
Anyway, I just want to give you fair warning so you don't freak out (like I did) when you take the turkey out of the bag. You will need to save a good 45 minutes or so to pluck it and make sure you have a pair of tweezers.
In the years prior to last one, I had spent lots of money buying free-range organic local turkeys but did not like them nearly as much as the Trader Joe's kosher turkey, which turned out really exceptionally well, so don't worry, it will be great regardless of the feather situation !!
This year, I must admit, I decided to go with the non-kosher TJs turkey (brined) just for a change and because I didn't want to deal with the plucking of feathers.
Best of luck and Happy Thanksgiving. It will turn out great for you, I'm sure.
Susan3733 at 11:10AM on 11/22/08
Thank you everyone for your help! And thanks for the warning about feathers -- that would definitely skeeve me if I didn't get fair warning. I didn't see the sign you're talking about - I was standing there for a good 10 minutes trying to find a bird large enough, too - but ah, yeah, thanks for the warning.
I think I'll brine it with minimal salt then, and just use the solution for flavoring. Alton DOES use honey in his brine, so I'll be happy with that solution, I think.
@dhorst - actually, this is my related-to-me family. No in-laws; my boyfriend's family, though, wouldn't say one bad thing about my cooking - they would be grateful I cooked, for one, and most of them can't cook at all, so they'd just be amazed at what I came up with. It's my own family that constantly criticizes... but that's another story I suppose =P
feistyfoodie at 11:24AM on 11/22/08
I've coked many turkeys for many years - organic, kosher, heritage, and just plain standard turkeys. Your kosher turkey will be fine as is, it is already brined, but if you want to offset some of the salt, your instincts are correct. If you can, start Weds. morning, and brine the turkey as Alton's recipe states, but I would omit all the salt. If your relatives are supercritical, smile and say, "I'm so glad you came to my home today!"
Also, you really can't make gravy from a brined turkey - it's too salty. Bruce Aidell suggests making separate stock and using that for gravy. I always buy a turkey leg or turkey wings separately, roast that for an hour or so, then make stock with the turkey neck, an onion, some celery and carrot. Epicurious has a good turkey recipe from Bruce Aidell - molasses brined turkey with gingersnap gravy that I've been using for the past couple of years - people go nuts for it. Very successful and very easy.
Don't worry - you'll be fine!
Melp at 11:26AM on 11/22/08
@ feisty Family wouldn't be family without issues. Things got a lot easier once I moved 3-4 hours away. I always had issues with my sister and mother. The only problem with my dad is that if you're related to him and live within a twenty minute drive he shows up between 6 and 7 in the morning and gives you a hard time if the coffee isn't on. So glad I can finally sleep in on the weekend!
dhorst at 4:18PM on 11/22/08