G
Guest
Guest
Looks like it might have to be increased to accomodate a 12-14 lb whole Turkey. I noticed a lot of you used the recipe and wondered if you had to double it?
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It depends on the size of your container. If you've got a container that is just large enough for a 12-14 pound turkey, you should be fine.
I did this brine for Thanksgiving in a 4 gallon bucket. I knew from experience that this bucket requires 2 gallons of brine to cover a 12-14 pound turkey, so I cheated. I put the turkey inside a Reynolds turkey oven roasting bag inside the bucket. I filled some of the area outside the bag with tap water to fill up some of the space around the turkey, then I poured the brine inside the bag with the turkey. I tied the bag shut with the enclosed tie and put a heavy bowl on top to keep the turkey submerged in the bag. The bag did not leak, so there was no co-mingling of the tap water with the brine solution. Problem solved.
Having said all that, though, it might be easier to just mix up a little more brine. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Regards,
Chris
I did this brine for Thanksgiving in a 4 gallon bucket. I knew from experience that this bucket requires 2 gallons of brine to cover a 12-14 pound turkey, so I cheated. I put the turkey inside a Reynolds turkey oven roasting bag inside the bucket. I filled some of the area outside the bag with tap water to fill up some of the space around the turkey, then I poured the brine inside the bag with the turkey. I tied the bag shut with the enclosed tie and put a heavy bowl on top to keep the turkey submerged in the bag. The bag did not leak, so there was no co-mingling of the tap water with the brine solution. Problem solved.
Having said all that, though, it might be easier to just mix up a little more brine. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Regards,
Chris
Michael Vrobel
TVWBB Member
I had the same question while I was making the brine. I was brining in my big stockpot, which I'd guess holds 20 quarts. To save on cleaning, I was doing the first part of the recipe in this stock pot - the part where you bring the apple juice, sugar and salt to a boil. When I was doing this, It didn't look like the 'normal' recipe amount would have been enough for the turkey, so I doubled the apple juice/salt/sugar part of the recipe on the spot.
I let the brine cool, then put in 3 qts of ice water (half the amount I should have added, since I was doubling the recipe.) Then I added the turkey, with the intent of adding however much water I needed to cover it. The turkey was a tighter fit in my stock pot than I thought it would be. I wound up only adding one more quart of water, rather than the 3 quarts I should have added.
I brined for 24 hours, then took the turkey out. It tasted great once it was cooked; it was not overly salty. I don't think I overdid the brine, even though it was a bit stronger than it should have been.
That being said, I would rather not use the extra ingredients if I don't need to. Next time I'm going to make a 1.5x version of the brine instead of 2x.
What I should have done is figure out exactly how much brine I would need, which is something I found out how to do from Good Eats on FoodTV. Alton Brown fills his brining container with water, then submerges his frozen turkey in the water long enough to push the excess water out of the container. The turkey comes out, and goes in the refrigerator to thaw. He then measures the amount of water left in the container to find out how much brine he should make for that container. Unfortunately, I didn't see this until after I had started thawing my turkey...well, that and I was lazy, so I figured I'd just wing it.
/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
I let the brine cool, then put in 3 qts of ice water (half the amount I should have added, since I was doubling the recipe.) Then I added the turkey, with the intent of adding however much water I needed to cover it. The turkey was a tighter fit in my stock pot than I thought it would be. I wound up only adding one more quart of water, rather than the 3 quarts I should have added.
I brined for 24 hours, then took the turkey out. It tasted great once it was cooked; it was not overly salty. I don't think I overdid the brine, even though it was a bit stronger than it should have been.
That being said, I would rather not use the extra ingredients if I don't need to. Next time I'm going to make a 1.5x version of the brine instead of 2x.
What I should have done is figure out exactly how much brine I would need, which is something I found out how to do from Good Eats on FoodTV. Alton Brown fills his brining container with water, then submerges his frozen turkey in the water long enough to push the excess water out of the container. The turkey comes out, and goes in the refrigerator to thaw. He then measures the amount of water left in the container to find out how much brine he should make for that container. Unfortunately, I didn't see this until after I had started thawing my turkey...well, that and I was lazy, so I figured I'd just wing it.
/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Walt Travers
TVWBB Fan
Mike --
As I read your last paragraph, I understand you to say that he starts with a FULL container of water and then presses the frozen bird into the water, spilling that
excess water out.
Now, that seems to me to leave you with an amount of water in the container which will again fill it to the brim, once replaced with
the brine and the bird.
1. Doesn't this mean a lot more brine than would be necessary to cover the bird? I mean, a one gallon bird in a five gallon container requires four gallons of brine to refill to the brim. Do I read this correctly?
2. Did he leave the frozen bird in the sealed plastic wrapper when doing the submerging? This, to me, would not take into account the dead air space in the cavity of the bird. I say this because it has happened to me where I used this method to measure the amount of oil needed for frying,
neglecting to figure for the amount eventually going into the cavity, I came up very close to too little oil.
/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif
As I read your last paragraph, I understand you to say that he starts with a FULL container of water and then presses the frozen bird into the water, spilling that
excess water out.
Now, that seems to me to leave you with an amount of water in the container which will again fill it to the brim, once replaced with
the brine and the bird.
1. Doesn't this mean a lot more brine than would be necessary to cover the bird? I mean, a one gallon bird in a five gallon container requires four gallons of brine to refill to the brim. Do I read this correctly?
2. Did he leave the frozen bird in the sealed plastic wrapper when doing the submerging? This, to me, would not take into account the dead air space in the cavity of the bird. I say this because it has happened to me where I used this method to measure the amount of oil needed for frying,
neglecting to figure for the amount eventually going into the cavity, I came up very close to too little oil.
/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael Vrobel:
[qb]Unfortunately, I didn't see this until after I had started thawing my turkey...[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The technique about how to determine the amount of brine needed is included in the All About Brining page here on the Web site.
Regards,
Chris
[qb]Unfortunately, I didn't see this until after I had started thawing my turkey...[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The technique about how to determine the amount of brine needed is included in the All About Brining page here on the Web site.
Regards,
Chris
Michael Vrobel
TVWBB Member
I think I overstated the "exactly" part a bit. Sorry about that.
Chris is correct in his All About Brining section when he says this an estimate; it's not exact. (Chris, you've got everything on this site, don't you!)
That being said, to answer your questions:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 1. Doesn't this mean a lot more brine than would be necessary to cover the bird? I mean, a one gallon bird in a five gallon container requires four gallons of brine to refill to the brim. Do I read this correctly?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This technique assumes that the container is not significantly taller than the bird. If it is, it's not going to work real well.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 2. Did he leave the frozen bird in the sealed plastic wrapper when doing the submerging? This, to me, would not take into account the dead air space in the cavity of the bird. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, he does leave it in the plastic wrap, and you're right, it will leave you a little short. As I said above, I overstated the "exactly" part. Again, my apologies.
Chris is correct in his All About Brining section when he says this an estimate; it's not exact. (Chris, you've got everything on this site, don't you!)
That being said, to answer your questions:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 1. Doesn't this mean a lot more brine than would be necessary to cover the bird? I mean, a one gallon bird in a five gallon container requires four gallons of brine to refill to the brim. Do I read this correctly?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This technique assumes that the container is not significantly taller than the bird. If it is, it's not going to work real well.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 2. Did he leave the frozen bird in the sealed plastic wrapper when doing the submerging? This, to me, would not take into account the dead air space in the cavity of the bird. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, he does leave it in the plastic wrap, and you're right, it will leave you a little short. As I said above, I overstated the "exactly" part. Again, my apologies.
Walt Travers
TVWBB Fan
Mike --
No offense meant in my questioning of the technique presented by Alton Brown. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
What I have come to do is: Take frozen bird out of plastic sealed wrap. Since it is still frozen, you will be unable to remove neck and/or giblets. Place in Brining Bucket. Add water to ABOVE top of bird by some inch or two (to account for volume of parts you will remove, once thawed), allowing water to flood cavity of bird. Remove bird and mark water level. Bird in reefer, water measured, if desired and then down drain.
Now you know how much brine solution you will need to adequately cover bird, once thawed, without making up a lot of wasted brine. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
No offense meant in my questioning of the technique presented by Alton Brown. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
What I have come to do is: Take frozen bird out of plastic sealed wrap. Since it is still frozen, you will be unable to remove neck and/or giblets. Place in Brining Bucket. Add water to ABOVE top of bird by some inch or two (to account for volume of parts you will remove, once thawed), allowing water to flood cavity of bird. Remove bird and mark water level. Bird in reefer, water measured, if desired and then down drain.
Now you know how much brine solution you will need to adequately cover bird, once thawed, without making up a lot of wasted brine. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael Vrobel:
[qb](Chris, you've got everything on this site, don't you!)[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah, I like to think I give Alton Brown a run for his money! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif I guess it's just a matter of whether you can find it here on the Web site when you need it.
Regards,
Chris
[qb](Chris, you've got everything on this site, don't you!)[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah, I like to think I give Alton Brown a run for his money! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif I guess it's just a matter of whether you can find it here on the Web site when you need it.
Regards,
Chris
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