turkey thawing

[scottsins]

my bird is 12.5 lbs.

it was placed in the fridge on saturday, around 1:00 pm.

it should actually be thawed now. my next stage is to brine for a while (12 hours?) up until time to fry. Dinner served at 4:00 on thursday, approx.

Can I brine longer, i.e. from 10:00 pm wed., until 2 or 3 on thursday?

Will I be O.K., bacteria-wise, with this thawed bird being in the fridge for the next 28 hours, and then in the brine for another 16 hours?

I'll hang up and listen?

 

[DallasCowpoke]

it's not the time in the brine vs bacteria you need to be aware of. It's the time in the brine vs what it does to the meat.

ANY brine, no mater what, over 10-14 hours on a piece of ANY cut of turkey, will start cooking it. Use your best judgment.

As long as you keep the thawed bird cold and in your fridge, brining tomorrow, then cooking Thurs should be fine.

FWIW, My turkey's were done today on the grill. Boned, bagged, and ready to reheat Thurs.

 

[Ankf00]

we're having a turkey fry party tomorrow, but housemate only brought the birds from the store just now, any chance I'll have time to let them thaw and brine them beforehand? and the high tomorrow is supposed to be 28 so i suppose putting it outside in the cold would be a bit much.

 

[scottsins]

you can thaw using the cold water method. it only takes about 30 minutes per pound.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

Scott, after the brining you want to let it sit in the fridge for awhile & dry out prior to putting in the oven (if you're going oven, that is).

If you're frying (as you say in your 1st post) then I have no idea as to whether or not you need to let it sit out for x amount of yours or not.

 

[96 Buff]

I'm pretty certain you want as dry a bird as possible before tossing it in very hot oil.

As for the brining, I usually do 2 birds @ 12-13 lbs each and brine them for about 12 hours, since I don't want to get up at 4am to brine. So far, I've not had any bad results with it. Be sure to keep the bird as close to refrigerator temp as possible during the brining process as the brine works its magic best at those temps.

 

[Smurfette]

Put my 20 lb-er in to brine last night. Figure I'll take it out tomorrow morning.

Experienced briners: Should I take it out of the brine tonight and let it dry in the fridge over night, or will giving it an hour tomorrow morning be enough to dry it out?

 

[shorty]

Not to be contrary but they recommend you brine a turkey for 2-3 days depending on the size of the bird. They also recommend it be placed uncovered for 24 hours prior to cooking, regardless of cooking method, to dry the skin of the turkey. This step will help you to get a nice, crisp turkey skin.

I brined a large turkey breast Sunday and Monday. Let it dry in the fridge on Tuesday and smoked it Wednesday, let it cool, and refrigerated it. We went to our son's house for dinner but I have to have another meal ready at our house for others who drop by on Thursday. I heat it at 450-475 on Thurdays afternoon. brush the skin with olive oil to make it crispy, and it take about 45 mnutes to an hour to heat and the skin to crisp.

The brining process causes a chemical reaction that seals moistue in each cell of the meat. The seasonings you add to the brine water also get into every bite of the meat. I brine all meats in the fridge to insure it is kept cold enough to help prevent the growth of bacteria.