Turkey Brining FAIL

[jbwhip]

Here's a funny story from Thanksgiving Day.

Every year we fry our bird. Have for about 3 years now. Comes out perfect every time. This year, the wife saw Alton Brown say "if you don't brine your bird, you're not doing it justice." So, she wants to brine. Okay, whatever.

We followed Alton's recipe for brining. Did it overnight. Then the next day, I drop the bird in the fryer. It usually takes about an hour to fry a bird. About 30 minutes into the cooking the wife comes outside and says "let me see how it's looking."

"oh sure" I say, "but it still has about 30 minutes to go."

I pull the bird up and it is BLACK. and no meat on it. Charred, black, BONES.

"what the hell!" I say, with the wife already crying and screaming that I've ruined Thanksgiving.

Come to find out that night, brining is ONLY for oven cooking, not deep frying. A chemical reaction between the oil and brine FLASH FRIES the bird.

We fried another bird the next day, sans brine, and it came out BEAUTIFUL.

[sunsetpizza]

[QUOTE=jbwhip;62738]

I pull the bird up and it is BLACK. and no meat on it. Charred, black, BONES.

"what the hell!" I say, with the wife already crying and screaming that I've ruined Thanksgiving.

QUOTE]

OOPS - you're right.....................................that is a funny story. :)

[Blake]

Did you brine it with the oven roast brine or the fried turkey brine? He did a fried turkey episode too and brined that bird as well

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/deep-fried-turkey-recipe/index.html

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.

Place the oil into a 28 to 30-quart pot and set over high heat on an outside propane burner with a sturdy structure. Bring the temperature of the oil to 250 degrees F. Once the temperature has reached 250, slowly lower the bird into the oil and bring the temperature to 350 degrees F. Once it has reached 350, lower the heat in order to maintain 350 degrees F. After 35 minutes, check the temperature of the turkey using a probe thermometer. Once the breast reaches 151 degrees F, gently remove from the oil and allow to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to carving. The bird will reach an internal temperature of 161 degrees F due to carry over cooking. Carve as desired.

[Quads]

Whoopsie!

[aceinthehole4212]

That sucks...
So your bird didnt look like this when you pulled it out of the fryer??
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/jgrime4212/DSC02865.jpg

[jbwhip]

lol. yeah we brined with an apple cider vinegar base. Thanks for the fry brine. We'll try that for Christmas.

[Zemo]

lol. yeah we brined with an apple cider vinegar base. Thanks for the fry brine. We'll try that for Christmas.

Uhh, you may want to give that a try at least once prior to Christmas dinner.;)

[Haps]

I love alton brown but I respectfully disagree about brining a fried bird.

I use a marinade injection that's 1/2 can of beer 1/2lb butter 3tbs worchestire sauce and a bunch of cajun seasoning.

The best par tis you can only inject half of the turkey to leave some meat unflavoured for people that prefer it that way. Although in my experience I've yet to run into someone who prefers it uninjected.

Although it's still a good idea to inject the unflavoured side with some melted butter.

[VvvJRvvV]

I brined and fried my bird. I did not have any problems. The recipe I concocted is in the other thread.

http://perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8466

Turned out great. I think the vinegar is what did you in.

JR

[j p frog]

I would have loved to be there to see the look on your faces when you pulled out the blacked bones...it must have been priceless! sorry for you problems...but it made me laugh!