A few weeks back a buddy of mine did a brined turkey, needless to say I missed it. I hear it is good and I might not go back to fried turkey (the only way I do it now). I am looking to give it a shot, starting with a chicken (not a big fan of chicken, but everyone else is). Anyone have any experiences with with brined birds, whats you recipe? Should it be oven roasted or smoked?
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my brother and I did an Iron Chef turkey challenge last Thanksgiving. We actually BOTH brined our birds. First time brining for me and first time frying for him.

They were both delicious... but for saftey sake, i would say that brining and roasting is your best bet.

if youre interested in a brine pm me and ill forward you the one I used
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I always brine turkeys before I cook them and frequently brine chicken as well. The meat is much moister IMO.

My standard brine is 3/4 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon of water. Heat the water, mix in the solids, stir until they dissolve. I put the bird in a doubled heavy plastic garbage bag and pour the liquid over it. I usually put some cut up oranges in as well. You want the liquid to completely cover the bird. Brine for 12-24 hours for a chicken or 24-36 hours for a turkey.

After you brine rinse the bird well and pat dry. You can then smoke or roast the bird but be aware that brined birds cook faster.
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I like the deep fried turkey as well and more often that is what i go with. However, a couple of years ago after watching Alton Brown on food network do it, I did a brined turkey. It was delicious and super moist, I'd definitely recommend it as a great change of pace. He has a couple different recipes, but I used this onehttp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html
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Did not know this, figured with more moisture it would take longer to heat.
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I'm not a huge turkey fan, but my wife has been brining for the past two years at Thanksgiving, and it is absolutely fantastic! I could never go back to plain old turkey.
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I have been frying turkeys for around 10 years now, I am pretty confident in my abilities :-)
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I dang sure aint no chemist...but it is something about the osmosis breaking down the cell walls enabling the bird to cook faster.
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I have a Jim Beam sometimes Jack Daniels Brine that is FANTASTIC pre-treat to deep frying a bird.

Pretty simple.
5 Gallons of water
A couple cups of salt (use as much as you think necessary really)
1 Bottle of Beam or Jack

Mix it all together in a cooler that is big enough to hold all of the liquid and the bird (keep 1/4 of the bottle of whisky for yourself if ya want). Keep it at a refrigerated/cool temperature. Soak over night. I usually do 24 hours.


Deep fry as you normally would. It will cook a bit faster.
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Brother... that does sound good... but there ain't no way I am pouring a bottle of Jack or Beam on that bird. Now drinking it while I cook it is a whole nuther story!!
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We cook a lot of turkey and chicken. On Thanksgiving day we have a big cookout early in the morning with as many as 16 birds cooking in about as many different ways. We've been doing this for the past 10-12 years so I think we're getting pretty good at it.

So far the Brined birds that are smoked seem to be the best followed by deep fried. Roasted birds still seem a little dry for me even after using a Brine for 24 hours.

The brine I use is pretty much the same as Smokin Gators except I add more sugar and some other spices. I've got a 10 gal bucket with a lid that works great for keeping the bird in during the brine process.
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The last chicken I didn't brine and man what a difference , my wife thought I bought a cheaper chicken , was dried out a little and not as flavorful . I'm gonna have to get me a vessel to hold a turkey for brining .
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I first got serious about brining when I did my first beer can chicken, and I've tried it in a number of different ways since and agree that it is a real friend to the meat; moist and tender like few other treatments. I don't get too fancy with my brining solution since I generally follow up with a rub, but I do use brown or unrefined sugar to get a little richer sweetness.
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I have brined several turkeys for both oven roasting and smoking and highly recommend it.
I use the brine recipe from Emeril (scroll down for the brine)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...ipe/index.html
The orange and lemon helps with skin browning, especially in the oven.
I make the brine in a large turkey fryer, boil it to dissolve and blend everything, then add a 20 lb bag of ice to cool it immediately (allow for the extra 3+ gallons of ice in your container).
I have brined 4 turkeys at once for smoking using a large cooler.
My one caveat is I always brine for no more than one hour per pound of turkey, otherwise I find the meat is too salty.
Overnight is usually just about right.
This especially helps keep the white meat from drying out.
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I think I will have to do a test run on a chicken this weekend! Now weather to smoke, grill or put on the rotisserie. I may go even smaller and try some cornish game hens. Thanks for the info. all!
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I brine my birds two different ways.
If I'm gonna smoke it I brine it in equal parts of apple cider and water with a handful of salt and some black pepper.

A Portuguese grandmother taught me this one for roasting. Equal parts of water and dry white wine with a handful of salt and two or three onions sliced with a couple of bay leaves and crushed garlic gloves.
I let both soak overnight or for 24 hours if I have the time. It's really yummy.
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