Brining a frozen butterball


 
D

DavidPerts

New member
Please help !!

The wife bought a frozen butterball for turkey day and to my dismay it has already been brined :( In the past I have done an apple brine with a butter/apple juice injection. Can I brine this turkey the same way except maybe cut down on the salt? Also, I plan to brine for 48 hours and then let air dry for 8 before the 22 WSM takes over. Will this negate the factory brine that was used. I hope someone can help as I cant take the turkey back or get another.

Thanks for the time!
 
I just did one of these (well not butterball specifically, but an injected with up to X% salt solution) the other weekend as a turkey day trial. It turned out great! I followed the apple brine recipe for the most part, just cut back on the salt in the brine a little bit. Otherwise came out tasting great and really juicy!

Daum
 
David,

I'm in the same boat as you. I will still brine it but I'll only brine it for a short time
 
Hi David,

I called Butterball last year about this since it was hard to find a natural bird. They told me to just cut the salt of the brine in half. I did, came out great.

Good luck!

Brian
 
I've read that the brine it the turkey will equalize with the brine in the bucket. The story goes that if you're looking for a 6% solution and the bird is "enhanced" with an 8% solution you'd make your brine with a 4% solution.

But I'd go with Butterball's recommendation as a trusted source.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
I've read that the brine it the turkey will equalize with the brine in the bucket. The story goes that if you're looking for a 6% solution and the bird is "enhanced" with an 8% solution you'd make your brine with a 4% solution.

But I'd go with Butterball's recommendation as a trusted source.
Click to expand...

The math isn't that simple, but you're basically right. You can soak the turkey in clear water (keep changing it every few hours) to remove the salt from the previous brine if you wanted. But yeah, I'd go with Butterball's suggestion and just do a half-salt brine, if you want to get the other flavors into the bird.
 
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