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Brine?

4K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Sniper 
#1 ·
For those about to brine, we,, ah what do you use as a brine besides salt? Any brown sugar, rosemary, thyme? What?
 
#5 ·
There’s tons of brine recipes online. Alton Brown, Ree Drummond, Dinner at the Zoo...

I think it helps to get the salt to water ratio right.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/salt-to-brine-ratio-336235

The next link has some things to avoid like leaving the meat in the brine too long or putting in too much sugar

https://cookshack.com/blogs/recipes/brining-101

I like allspice berries and fresh squeezed orange in turkey brine. Orange tree wood is a good wood to smoke a turkey. Produces a golden brown color on the skin. Cherry wood smoke makes for a darker colored skin. Cherry wood smoke produces a bolder flavor than orange tree wood.
 
#10 ·
I think this is the best option for you. The brine recipe BigFish posted above is a standard brine. One thing to keep in mind not all salt is the same. Kosher salt has larger granules that iodized (or table) salt therefore a cup of Kosher won't be as salty as a cup of Iodized. I recommend using 1 cup Kosher salt to 1 gallon of water. I've used 1 cup iodized salt before and it was more salty for sure. Poultry can take a lot of salt but either go with Kosher or scale back to 3/4 cup if you use Iodized salt.

1 cup of sugar is a lot. It will make your turkey sweet. If that's what you like go with a full cup. I don't use sugar at all in my turkey brine. I do for chicken but not for turkey.

Also acidic or citric based liquids can make your meat firm up. Be careful how much of this you use.
 
#11 ·
Thanks Jerry. I knew about the Kosher salt,, use in everything from pickles to jerky. What I did not know is that the citrus firms the meat. On the sugar, I was planning on less than a half cup or dark brown sugar. I will know more when I make the brine, can always adjust
 
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