apple juice turkey brine recipe for smoking

APPLE JUICE TURKEY BRINE RECIPE FOR SMOKING HOW TO
APPLE JUICE TURKEY BRINE RECIPE FOR SMOKING PLUS

You might consider salt the active ingredient in our brine as it does the hard work of breaking down the protein structures to allow the meat to hold more moisture.

Kosher Salt: You want to use kosher salt over table salt because it’s made up of larger crystals, making it less salty tasting.

Water is the obvious choice, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try some interesting alternatives.

Water: We need a liquid medium in which to dissolve our salt for our brine solution.

We’re big fans of smoking our meat here at TheOnlineGrill, so we’ve come up with the perfect brine for smoked turkey.

What you add usually depends on what you’re serving the turkey with or how it’s being cooked. This can sometimes cause issues for people trying to reduce their salt intake or create nutritionally balanced meals.Ī wet brine can have all sorts of extra ingredients added to the basic salt and water mix. Added salt: Brining any meat will raise its overall salt content.

APPLE JUICE TURKEY BRINE RECIPE FOR SMOKING PLUS

You need to have a container that is big enough to hold the bird and the brine, plus space in a refrigerator to let it sit. Space: Brining a full-sized turkey requires a bit of space.Brining also lets other flavors infuse more easily into the meat. Adds flavor: As the salt in the brine breaks down the muscle proteins, it helps to enhance the meat’s natural flavor.Keeps it moist: Brining your turkey before cooking or smoking adds more moisture to the meat and helps it retain moisture when cooking.It is also a great way to infuse different flavors into your turkey. Turkey is made up of dark meat (the leg) and light meat (the breast), and often people find that by the time the leg meat is cooked through, the light meat has completely dried out.īrining your turkey before cooking is a way to counteract the lighter meat drying out. What Does Brining Do to Turkey?īrining a turkey helps introduce more moisture into the meat so you get a nice, even cook. It also helps to enhance the meat’s natural flavors rather than diluting it with added water. The salt draws moisture from inside the meat to the surface, and this moisture then mixes with the salt to make its own concentrated liquid brine solution, which then reabsorbs into the meat.ĭry brining is best used on tougher meats as it helps them to retain the moisture they already have. The meat is sprinkled with a generous amount of salt and left to sit in the fridge for anywhere from four hours to three days. Dry BriningĪ good dry brine is done by just using salt on your chosen meat. It’s also a good way to infuse stronger or additional flavors into lean meats. Wet brining is best used on lean meats as it helps them retain more moisture when cooked so they don’t dry out. The salt in the solution helps to break down the protein structures in the meat so that it can absorb and retain more water. Dry Brining Wet BriningĪ wet brine is a liquid-based solution made from water and salt. In turn, this helps keep the meat moist as it cooks while also presenting an opportunity to infuse the meat with added flavor. Using a simple solution made of salt and water, it simply involves immersing the meat in the solution prior to cooking, giving it enough time to allow the salt to draw the meat’s moisture closer to the surface. What is Brining?īrining is a meat preparation method used to help enhance the flavor, tenderness, and juiciness of lean meats like turkey and chicken.

APPLE JUICE TURKEY BRINE RECIPE FOR SMOKING HOW TO

Its saltwater solution serves as the basic brine, while we use brown sugar to add a touch of caramelization, and fresh herbs to elevate the turkey’s flavor.įrom seasoning ingredient ideas to equipment advice, discover how to make the best brine for your smoked turkey today. This simple smoked turkey brine recipe is here to save the day. This is especially true with barbecue smoking, where a decent-sized bird might need at least six or seven hours on the smoker. Since turkey has such little fat, its meat is particularly prone to drying out over the course of long cook times. If you’ve ever had dry turkey, you’ll know the pain. Making a brine solution for your barbecue smoked turkey is the best way to enhance its flavors while keeping it deliciously tender and juicy during long cooks.

Apple juice turkey brine recipe for smoking