# Turkey brined and fried?



## marajo (Nov 9, 2006)

We brined our turkey last Thanksgiving and are believers! This year we want to try a fried turkey. Do we simply dry the brined bird before frying?


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## cjs (Nov 9, 2006)

Yes, rinse and dry really well -and you're good to go!


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## Loprraine (Nov 9, 2006)

I did it for our Thanksgiving.  As Jean said, just make sure you rinse it really well, and dry it really really well!


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## Barb L. (Nov 9, 2006)

Never brined anything let alone a turkey- what do you brine it in and for how long?  Thanks, still learnin' Grandma !


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## marajo (Nov 9, 2006)

Brine:
2 gal. cold water
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar or 1-1/2 cup granulated [white] sugar
1 head garlic, cut horizonally across middle
1 [1 oz.] packet Pickling Spice [available in the Latino herb section in all grocery stores.]

I used  a properly cleaned white 5 gal. bucket for brining. (Home Depot bucket)
place water inside the bucket or stock pot.
add the sugar and salt. With  a wooden spoon stir vigorously to blend both salt and sugar into the water.
add the pickling spices.
place the frozen turkey into the bucket.
brining depends on your personal preferences.
THIS IS  the recipe I used and copied to here.  We let it sit outside (very cold last year)for 24 hrs.in brine.  The woman who wrote this let her frozen turkey thaw / sit in brine 2-3 days.


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## aeyla (Nov 20, 2006)

I have never brined a turkey either, does it really make a dif? I did the half cooked on the breast and half cooked reg last yr and it turned out so juciy and tender. Would brining make it even better??????


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## GB (Nov 20, 2006)

I am a firm believer in brining aeyla. I think brining makes chicken, turkey, and pork that much better and is always worth doing if possible.


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## ronjohn55 (Nov 20, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> I am a firm believer in brining aeyla. I think brining makes chicken, turkey, and pork that much better and is always worth doing if possible.


 
Couldn't agree more! Although with some birds that have already had "juice" added (It says on the label), brining isn't as necesarry. 

(We'll still do it to add a bit of flavor and misture, but I back off the salt, since there's already extra salt in the bird)

BTW - Did anyone see Good Eats last night? Alton Brown did a brined and fried bird. 

The best part though, was when they were demonstrating what "could" go wrong. They put a wet, still frozen bird into 400+ degree oil. They basically combined everything you shouldn't do into one example. The resulting boil-over and fire was extremely impressive (And really underscored the safety issue). This was all done in a safe/secured setting with the local fire department on hand. Still nothing like a grease powered fireball shooting 10 feet in the air! 

John


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## Andy M. (Nov 20, 2006)

ronjohn55 said:
			
		

> ...BTW - Did anyone see Good Eats last night? Alton Brown did a brined and fried bird...


 

I thought the step ladder rig and lowering the turkey into the oil from 10 feet away was a little over the top.  But he does like to have his fun, doesn't he?


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## GB (Nov 20, 2006)

Yes he does like to take things to the extreme. The ladder rig was a bit much and I doubt anyone other then AB will ever go through the effort of doing that. His points are valid though.

John that was quite an impressive fire!!!


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## ronjohn55 (Nov 20, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> I thought the step ladder rig and lowering the turkey into the oil from 10 feet away was a little over the top. But he does like to have his fun, doesn't he?


 
LOL! Yes, Sheila and I both got quite a kick out of his whole "Turkey Derrick" routine!

(For the record, I have helped cook a bunch of these, and we have never employed a ladder in the process...)

John


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## aeyla (Nov 20, 2006)

I saw that episode also, I love him even though he goes over board. I can just see people frying a turkey and starting the fire and suing him if he did not use those precautions.... It is all to appease the sue happy public.


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## JohnL (Nov 20, 2006)

Yup, I always brine our turkeys whether I bake, BBQ or fry. I only brine ours for 24hrs or so and they turn out fine. Injecting them with a flavored solution either commercial or homemade also works well when deep frying.


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