TheMoth
Knows what a fatty is.
My original plan for this year was to smoke 2 turkeys using Patio Daddio and Smokin Okie brines to compare the two. After reading about dry brining on a few threads (and Serious Eats and Meathead) I decided to do the Serious Eats dry brine and Patio Daddio.
So let me introduce you to Tater (13.7lbs, wet brined) and Tot (12.3lbs, dry brined). Both were in the brine/rub at 10:30 am on Tuesday. I pulled Tater out of his bath at 9:30pm on Wednesday and left him to air out in the fridge. Here they are, out of the fridge with the PBC turkey hangers installed. Tater is on the left with a temp probe, Tot is on the right.
Hung them on the PBC with apple and pecan chunks. Total cook time was 3.5 hours running about 300F. No picks of the cook, was too busy helping with the rest of the cooking.
Here they are out of the smoker - smelled delicious! Again, Tater on the left and Tot on the right.
And carved and ready to serve, Tater to the left, Tot to the right.
So the big question - wet or dry brine?
Bottom line, I will probably do more tests with chickens but I am leaning towards dry brining. Those two birds were also over the limit for what I wanted in the PBC (they were crowded). If I do two birds again they will be 10-12 pounders. I will likely just do 1 bird and try butterflying it, just to add another variable :grin: Oh, and I gotta try injecting as well :wacko:
Overall it was a great cook. My family has insisted that all future Thanksgivings include at least 1 smoked turkey. Hope you farkers had a great Thanksgiving with good food and good people to share it with!
So let me introduce you to Tater (13.7lbs, wet brined) and Tot (12.3lbs, dry brined). Both were in the brine/rub at 10:30 am on Tuesday. I pulled Tater out of his bath at 9:30pm on Wednesday and left him to air out in the fridge. Here they are, out of the fridge with the PBC turkey hangers installed. Tater is on the left with a temp probe, Tot is on the right.
Hung them on the PBC with apple and pecan chunks. Total cook time was 3.5 hours running about 300F. No picks of the cook, was too busy helping with the rest of the cooking.
Here they are out of the smoker - smelled delicious! Again, Tater on the left and Tot on the right.
And carved and ready to serve, Tater to the left, Tot to the right.
So the big question - wet or dry brine?
Skin - wet brine had rubbery skin. I dried it in the fridge for 11 hours, rubbed it with oil, paprika (for color) and baking powder but skin was still rubbery. The dry brined skin was perfect.
Dark meat - both tasted great, meat was moist and had a good flavor
White meat - dry brine was not as flavorful deep into the breast. The wet brine tasted good throughout the white meat but it sas the salt, not the citrus or other flavors added to the brine. As I understand brining, this is not a surprise as it is the salt that gets into the meat, the other flavors are more like a marinade. I definitely think I should have started the dry brine on Monday as the wing meat and outer breast meat was fantastic.
Bottom line, I will probably do more tests with chickens but I am leaning towards dry brining. Those two birds were also over the limit for what I wanted in the PBC (they were crowded). If I do two birds again they will be 10-12 pounders. I will likely just do 1 bird and try butterflying it, just to add another variable :grin: Oh, and I gotta try injecting as well :wacko:
Overall it was a great cook. My family has insisted that all future Thanksgivings include at least 1 smoked turkey. Hope you farkers had a great Thanksgiving with good food and good people to share it with!
