Turkey Brining

[VvvJRvvV]

Has anyone ever brined and then deep fried? I was wondering if there was any reason not to do this.

Thanks,
JR

[bigslickwood]

The only concern with brining and frying would be the extra moisture in the turkey causing an even bigger eruption when you put the turkey in the oil. Probably not much different than injecting though... Brining might be a more subtle flavor that won't be as detectable in the final fried bird as a stronger flavored injectable would be.

Big reason for brining is to keep it moist over a long roasting time. Not as much of an issue for a fried bird.

[syklopz]

Alton has a different Brine for frying turkeys.
From the Episode; 'Fry turkey Fry:
Ingredients

* 6 quarts hot water
* 1 pound kosher salt
* 1 pound dark brown sugar
* 5 pounds ice
* 1 (13 to 14-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
* Approximately 4 to 4 1/2 gallons peanut oil*
* *Cook's Note: In order to determine the correct amount of oil, place the turkey into the pot that you will be frying it in, add water just until it barely covers the top of the turkey and is at least 4 to 5 inches below the top of the pot. This will be the amount of oil you use for frying the turkey.

Directions

Place the hot water, kosher salt and brown sugar into a 5-gallon upright drink cooler and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve completely. Add the ice and stir until the mixture is cool. Gently lower the turkey into the container. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure that it is fully immersed in the brine. Cover and set in a cool dry place for 8 to 16 hours.

Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.

[VvvJRvvV]

Here is what I went with, it is Alton's recipe with a few changes to it. This was to do a 15 lb turkey and a 7 lb turkey breast. I will be injecting and putting a rub on both tomorrow before cooking. It should be pretty good, the brine seemed to have a good flavor to it (as good as flavored salt water can). I took the breast and half ass stuffed it into the turkey to make sure I had enough room.

All ingredients except ice go into the cooler and mixed well. Allowed liquid to come back down to room temp. Once at room temp, put in 5 lbs of ice and put the turkey and breast in. Topped off with one more pound of ice and the cooler was full. Below is the full list of what I used...

* 8 quarts hot water
* 1 1/4 pound kosher salt
* 1 pound dark brown sugar
* 6 pounds ice (used 1 lb on top after turkey and breast were put in)
* 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
* 2 Tbsp garlic powder
* 1 Tbsp ground thyme
* 1 Tbsp black peppercorn
* 2 Tbsp ground ginger
* 6 bay leaves

Let me know what you think...
JR