Whole Foods fresh brined turkey for Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of getting a fresh brined turkey from Whole Foods for Thanksgiving this year, but was wondering if anyone has tried it before?

[Anonymous]

I have not, but am a little skeptical of having a supermarket brine my turkey for me. It is literally as simple as tossing the turkey in salt water on Thanksgiving eve.

[Anonymous]

Newbie to Thanksgiving prep here:

Why do this?

If it's beneficial, how much salt?

Do you leave it out all night?

I'm very curious about this!

[Anonymous]

Brining turkey (and most any meat) makes it moister, much harder to dry out in the oven, and also a bit better seasoned. It is a very nice technique.

The downside is that some meat takes on a bit of a pickled/deli meat taste if you brine it for too long. For example, I wouldn't brine pork chops or chicken breast for more than a day. But that's not really an issue for a turkey since its such a huge cut of meat.

There's no exact answer to "how much salt" but most chefs say "until the brine tastes like the ocean."

The way I do my turkey is I fill a cooler 1/3rd of the way with water, add a healthy dose of kosher salt and some sugar, whisk to incorporate, and taste. I make it a little saltier than the ocean, put the turkey in the cooler, and then add additional water to cover.

Then I leave the turkey out on the deck the night before. (Between the fact that its in a cooler, its cold outside, and that the turkey is partially frozen when it goes in, I'm not particularly worried from a food santiation perspective).

A lot of people add seasonings in addition to salt/sugar. I don't do this, because most of the literature suggests that the vast majority of seasonings don't actually penetrate into the meat.

[Anonymous]

Here's Alton Brown's recipe for brined turkey

[Anonymous]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

oops

[Anonymous]

P.S. The reason to use kosher salt or sea salt is because they dissolve in cold water. You can use table salt, but you'll have to mix it into boiling eater to dissolve it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Skeptical in what way, PP? The brining is not something I want to attempt myself and it's only an extra 50 cents per pound to have Whole Foods do it. I am trying to get a moist bird this year as in the past they always seem to come out dry for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:P.S. The reason to use kosher salt or sea salt is because they dissolve in cold water. You can use table salt, but you'll have to mix it into boiling eater to dissolve it.

I don't think this is true-- if anything table salt probably dissolves more easily.


http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/ask-the-food-lab-do-i-need-to-use-kosher-salt.html

[Anonymous]

I'm skeptical because:
- They might brine it for too long;
- It is more expensive per pound; and
- It is actually more than an extra 50 cents per pound because the turkey weighs more because of the water that goes into it during the brining (or do you purchase the pre-brined bird and then they brine it for you? That is, a 12 lb turkey you buy and then brine has more meat on it than a 12 lb pre-brined turkey.

Obviously if you don't want to brine it yourself and don't particularly care about the extra cost, disregard my advice. I just wouldn't avoid brining yourself for fear that its a complicated task; it takes me literally about two minutes (unless I misplace the cooler in the garage).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. The reason to use kosher salt or sea salt is because they dissolve in cold water. You can use table salt, but you'll have to mix it into boiling eater to dissolve it.

I don't think this is true-- if anything table salt probably dissolves more easily.


http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/ask-the-food-lab-do-i-need-to-use-kosher-salt.html

Yeah, I've read that before as well. All I can say is I've literally tried whisking table salt and kosher salt in bowls next to each other on the counter and the kosher salt dissolves much more efficiently. I think Kenji's mistake is that he is not factoring in that table salt and kosher salt are different shapes, and that the shape difference is more important than the size difference because it changes the surface-to-volume ratio. Flakes have much more exposed surface area than cubes.

(I am also a little confused about the premise that table salt is a significantly cheaper option. It is much cheaper than sea salt; it is not much cheaper than Kosher salt.)

[Anonymous]

I have had the brined turkey at Whole foods. It is delicious but pricey. You can easily brine a turkey, but I bought it from WF because brining a turkey requires a huge tub/bag to hold the turkey and the large amount of bringing fluid. Also, the whole thing takes a lot of space in the fridge. In addition, you cannot brine a "pre-basted" turkey (like a butterball) that is covered in shortening, so you may end up paying more already for a kosher/natural bird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had the brined turkey at Whole foods. It is delicious but pricey. You can easily brine a turkey, but I bought it from WF because brining a turkey requires a huge tub/bag to hold the turkey and the large amount of bringing fluid. Also, the whole thing takes a lot of space in the fridge. In addition, you cannot brine a "pre-basted" turkey (like a butterball) that is covered in shortening, so you may end up paying more already for a kosher/natural bird.

Thank you for this! Exactly why I was hoping to get one pre brined. Going to order it soon before they sell out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:P.S. The reason to use kosher salt or sea salt is because they dissolve in cold water. You can use table salt, but you'll have to mix it into boiling eater to dissolve it.

I don't think this is true-- if anything table salt probably dissolves more easily.


http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/ask-the-food-lab-do-i-need-to-use-kosher-salt.html

Yeah, I've read that before as well. All I can say is I've literally tried whisking table salt and kosher salt in bowls next to each other on the counter and the kosher salt dissolves much more efficiently. I think Kenji's mistake is that he is not factoring in that table salt and kosher salt are different shapes, and that the shape difference is more important than the size difference because it changes the surface-to-volume ratio. Flakes have much more exposed surface area than cubes.

(I am also a little confused about the premise that table salt is a significantly cheaper option. It is much cheaper than sea salt; it is not much cheaper than Kosher salt.)

Were you whisking the same amount by weight? You might need less table salt by volume since it's more compact.

[Anonymous]

No, I was whisking what I estimated to be the same amount by saltiness. (I am not trying to oversell the scientific rigor of this impromptu "experiment.")

Table salt is definitely "saltier" than kosher salt (that's actually the main reason I prefer kosher salt; easier to control the seasoning level), so I agree you would need less of it to make a brine. Maybe it all evens out.