Brining and Cooking Time

Brining does not speed the cooking times. A basic brine of water, salt, & sugar adds moisture to the meat. Adding herbs, juices, wine, etc. to the brine will also add subtle flavors. 48 hours is too long. My brine recipe calls for 6 qts. of water to 2 cups of salt (plus other good stuff). I only brine for 12 - 16 hours max. I have never had a salty bird or a dry bird. What was your water to salt ratio?

I brine for 12-24 hours max depending on the size of the bird and whether it's cut up or whole.
I like to error on the less salty side, I can always season the bird more after brining, the water absorbtion is the main goal for me when brining... I use equal parts sugar & salt to balance the flavors

I haven't tried it before, but could you loosely lay foil under the leg section to block heat from over cooking it? When doing a turkey in the oven they recommend using foil to tent the areas that are cooking faster to help even out the cooking times... seems like it might help.

Not sure why it cooked faster than the other one either. You used less salt to water than I use. Definitely cut down on your brine time.

Pork Smoker said:

Well then I have no explanation on how this bird cooked so fast. :-? The Brine was about a cup of Kosher salt to 1 1/2 gallon water. Had many other seasonings in it as well.

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I don't have an egg, but did you cut it up so it would fit in your egg, or just to cut down on the cook time? BTW here is a shot of my '09 Thanksgiving cook. All were brined and turned out excellent.


Some are lighter and darker than others because they went in at different times.

Pork Smoker said:

Thanks, I will try it again sometime and cut down the brine time. BTW I brined it whole then cut it up.

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Based upon the feedback I get for Brining 101, most people respond that it does speed up cooking times.

How much? Really varies.

You putting more moisture into the bird and water conducts heat better, so the theory is that it cooks faster.

If it did for you, maybe it was the brining.

Oh, and for me, I do Turkeys a minimum of 36 hours, usually 48 and NEVER had a salty bird.