ChadVKealey
TVWBB Pro
So, I decided this year since I was doing two turkeys that I would do a comparison of wet brining (which has always been my go-to) and dry brining (which many "experts" seem to prefer). This is basically what I did and what my findings were.
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I mixed up a batch of Alton Brown's honey turkey brine and started soaking a 16 pound "fresh, natural" turkey (Nature's Promise brand from Giant). It stayed in the brine until Wednesday evening (~24 hours) and thankfully the whole shebang stayed at 39 degrees (with about 10 pounds of ice in a big drink cooler). Wednesday night, I removed it from the cooler and put it into a big foil roaster pan on a wire rack, all of that going into the fridge. About every 3 hours, I rolled it over to allow every part to air dry. Thursday morning, I got the performer set up with two full charcoal baskets, each with a small chunk of cherry and a few slivers of apple. I topped each basket with 8 lit coals and brought the temp up to 350-400. With the bottom vent about 1/3 open, it stayed around 380 for most of the cook, adding 6 unlit briquettes at the 1 hour and 2 hour marks. At 11:00 AM, I spitted up the turkey and got it cooking, expecting it to take about 3 hours. I also made up some "Simon and Garfunkel Butter" (basically one stick melted butter to two tablespoons of Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub) and brushed that on at 30 minutes, one hour and 1:30 (when I ran out). One hour in, the breast was reading 120-ish and the thighs about 135. Two hours, the breast was at 150 and the thigh at 160, so I knew it was getting close. This surprised me a bit, but the last couple years, I've cooked them on the WSM at around 325 degrees for about 3-3.5 hours, so the timing makes sense given the higher cooker temp. At about 2.5 hours, breasts were both at 165 and the thighs and legs were reading 185-195, so it was clearly done. I removed it from the spit and put into a roasting pan with the veggies that had been roasting below it in the grill, wrapped it up tight for transport to dinner.
When I got to our friend's house, I carved and plattered it up. The white meat was as I expected: moist but bordering on mushy and very flavorful. The legs and wings were a bit tough and stringy, but tasted great, and the skin (while a bit soft from the trip) was edible, if a little bit chewy. The thigh meat was magnificent. I ate way too much of it.
I started with turkey #2 (a frozen, 12 pound, "enhanced" bird) on Friday morning. After ensuring it was completely thawed (it had been in the fridge since the previous Sunday) and patting it dry, I mixed up a batch of Alton Brown's dry turkey brine. I worked this under the skin as much as possible and put a good amount (about 1/3 of it) inside the cavity. As with the air drying process, I rotated this one top to bottom about every 6 hours to ensure proper distribution of the brine and drying of the skin. On Sunday morning, I prepped the grill in exactly the same way I did for turkey #1. It was cooler and windier, so temps stayed below 350 (about 335-345 most of the time), and I again brushed it with the S&G butter at half-hour intervals. Temp readings were about the same at the one and two hour marks. Being 4# lighter, I expected this one to cook quicker, which wasn't happening. I guess the lower cooker temp was to blame. After two hours, the temp started dropping (I had not added coals at two hours, expecting it to be done), so I called it. The breasts were at just under 160 and the thighs about 175. I wrapped it up tightly with foil (but without the vegetables) and figured the carryover cooking with get it the rest of the way on the drive up to my mom's house.
When we arrived, I unwrapped and checked the temps...they were right about where they were when I had left, which (I hoped) meant that it had gone up a bit and started dropping. Carving it up, the white meat was moist and tender, but not quite as flavorful as the wet brined bird. The dark meat was definitely more moist, but it seemed like the thighs could have used a bit more time to firm up a bit (it was too tender and almost seemed underdone). All of it was tasty.
So, in the end, this is how I see it:
Flavor: Wet brining does better with getting the flavors deep into the meat, while dry brining doesn't seem to penetrate as well
Texture: For white meat, dry brining wins, but I liked the wet brined dark meat better
Ease: Dry brining, hands down
I think more testing is needed, but I'm going to use chickens as the medium. I'd also like to experiment with different cooking methods as well to see what combination works best. I would think that a higher temp rotisserie cook of a dry brined bird would be ideal, but there would be a thinner margin between "done" and "overdone".
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I mixed up a batch of Alton Brown's honey turkey brine and started soaking a 16 pound "fresh, natural" turkey (Nature's Promise brand from Giant). It stayed in the brine until Wednesday evening (~24 hours) and thankfully the whole shebang stayed at 39 degrees (with about 10 pounds of ice in a big drink cooler). Wednesday night, I removed it from the cooler and put it into a big foil roaster pan on a wire rack, all of that going into the fridge. About every 3 hours, I rolled it over to allow every part to air dry. Thursday morning, I got the performer set up with two full charcoal baskets, each with a small chunk of cherry and a few slivers of apple. I topped each basket with 8 lit coals and brought the temp up to 350-400. With the bottom vent about 1/3 open, it stayed around 380 for most of the cook, adding 6 unlit briquettes at the 1 hour and 2 hour marks. At 11:00 AM, I spitted up the turkey and got it cooking, expecting it to take about 3 hours. I also made up some "Simon and Garfunkel Butter" (basically one stick melted butter to two tablespoons of Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub) and brushed that on at 30 minutes, one hour and 1:30 (when I ran out). One hour in, the breast was reading 120-ish and the thighs about 135. Two hours, the breast was at 150 and the thigh at 160, so I knew it was getting close. This surprised me a bit, but the last couple years, I've cooked them on the WSM at around 325 degrees for about 3-3.5 hours, so the timing makes sense given the higher cooker temp. At about 2.5 hours, breasts were both at 165 and the thighs and legs were reading 185-195, so it was clearly done. I removed it from the spit and put into a roasting pan with the veggies that had been roasting below it in the grill, wrapped it up tight for transport to dinner.
When I got to our friend's house, I carved and plattered it up. The white meat was as I expected: moist but bordering on mushy and very flavorful. The legs and wings were a bit tough and stringy, but tasted great, and the skin (while a bit soft from the trip) was edible, if a little bit chewy. The thigh meat was magnificent. I ate way too much of it.
I started with turkey #2 (a frozen, 12 pound, "enhanced" bird) on Friday morning. After ensuring it was completely thawed (it had been in the fridge since the previous Sunday) and patting it dry, I mixed up a batch of Alton Brown's dry turkey brine. I worked this under the skin as much as possible and put a good amount (about 1/3 of it) inside the cavity. As with the air drying process, I rotated this one top to bottom about every 6 hours to ensure proper distribution of the brine and drying of the skin. On Sunday morning, I prepped the grill in exactly the same way I did for turkey #1. It was cooler and windier, so temps stayed below 350 (about 335-345 most of the time), and I again brushed it with the S&G butter at half-hour intervals. Temp readings were about the same at the one and two hour marks. Being 4# lighter, I expected this one to cook quicker, which wasn't happening. I guess the lower cooker temp was to blame. After two hours, the temp started dropping (I had not added coals at two hours, expecting it to be done), so I called it. The breasts were at just under 160 and the thighs about 175. I wrapped it up tightly with foil (but without the vegetables) and figured the carryover cooking with get it the rest of the way on the drive up to my mom's house.
When we arrived, I unwrapped and checked the temps...they were right about where they were when I had left, which (I hoped) meant that it had gone up a bit and started dropping. Carving it up, the white meat was moist and tender, but not quite as flavorful as the wet brined bird. The dark meat was definitely more moist, but it seemed like the thighs could have used a bit more time to firm up a bit (it was too tender and almost seemed underdone). All of it was tasty.
So, in the end, this is how I see it:
Flavor: Wet brining does better with getting the flavors deep into the meat, while dry brining doesn't seem to penetrate as well
Texture: For white meat, dry brining wins, but I liked the wet brined dark meat better
Ease: Dry brining, hands down
I think more testing is needed, but I'm going to use chickens as the medium. I'd also like to experiment with different cooking methods as well to see what combination works best. I would think that a higher temp rotisserie cook of a dry brined bird would be ideal, but there would be a thinner margin between "done" and "overdone".
