TheDentDad
58632
516
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If you got a big turkey, and you plan on a 24hr brine, you should put it in the fridge to thaw now.
Nov 17, 2023 8:27 PM
TheDentDad
58632
516
22
If you got a big turkey, and you plan on a 24hr brine, you should put it in the fridge to thaw now.
goflyblind
Theslipofashipcansinkalip
To the store tomorrow I guess.
3Davideo
No thanksgiving turkey for me. I have to be prepared to vacate the house as soon as possible after my mom dies, which could be any week now.
Kbantar
We weren't going to get one this year. Except my GF's work gave out employee coupons for a free turkey. So holiday miracle. lol
Ste505
I'm in the UK, it's 4 weeks too early to get the turkey out.
Smartinique
As a Canadian this was mildly confusing. 'Why would we start thawing an xmas turkey now'. Oh right, US Thanksgiving. Happy turkey day
AlwaysInTheshadows
Most, if not all of store bought turkeys are already brined.
PballQhead
Not brined, there's no added salt. They're injected with a "solution" that contains sodium tripolyphosphate, it's a moisture retention agent. It's actually not inherently bad – they do it for a higher sale weight, uncool; but if you make a really tasty herbed brine and add TPP so the meat picks up more of that flavorful, salty goodness, well, that's pretty bodacious. I add 0.15% to my brines, more than that the meat gets rubbery.
soupbrothel
Me,an intellect,who cant afford holidays this year:my bread shall be toasted w room temp water OS,ready in 2mins.Follow me for more recipes!
Frederf
My turkey was $0.37 a pound x like 14 pounds. $5 something. I had to also be buying $25 of other stuff in the same trip. Wheee.
ps238principal
I want to know where you got that two-dimensional turkey in the picture, there.
ruint
a print farm
StillNotYouTube
My grandma just left it in the sink over night. Somehow I’m still alive.
Omni21
We are doing thanksgiving tomorrow since my husband has to be at work 4am on black Friday. Ours is in the brine now😁 can't wait!
Yellowchopsticks
I plan to keep the turkey completely frozen, and use a pot barely wide enough, filled to the brim with hot oil. The setup will be in the living room, on carpet, and the turkey will be lowered with a hastily duct taped pyramid of plastic folding lawn chairs and some questionable twine I found in the corner of the garage. I am unsure where the fire extinguisher is but that's okay, what could go wrong?
ZorroMcChuckNorris
Make sure you have your garden hose ready in case there’s a fire
ruint
you could forget to record it
whatbuttondoipush
Mine's a 13 pounder. Thanks for the reminder, though!
ruint
If the UK celebrated every time we steamrolled a native population, the party would never stop. No turkey for us 'till christmas.
plinkey
I'm all set.
mrpink83
Invite a bunch of people over for Thanksgiving dinner and just serve them each one of those.
plinkey
It's just Tanks giving, what did tanks ever give to us, we took them over when we showed up here in 1624.
plinkey
Same, my man
BurlRavenscroft
Chocolatecoveredmoose
Me, a European, being super confused why the hell you’d defrost your Turkey in November and not December until I release I forgot about your thanksgiving thing.
mesogiria
I recommend you speak with your representative, see if your government can arrange for a November holiday you can all have turkey for.
Raeilgunne
there should be at least 4 holidays a year that call for a turkey feast.
tinybartender
If that's what you're in to, make up your own. Have you heard of Wolffnoot?
GratuaCuun
SwedishChef350
You can also brine a frozen bird. Once its unthawed brine is done.
NaughtyNinja74
Pfff I did it three days ago for a 12 lb bird.
Robtri
As a non American, what you mean by brining the turkey?? We have turkey here for Xmas day, but generally shove an onion up its ass and rub some butter o def the skin and roast
ph1shstyx
You put the turkey in a salt brine, either wet or dry, 24 hours before you plan to cook it. The salt will penetrate deeper into the meat, and it prevents as much moisture loss when cooking
ph1shstyx
https://www.seriouseats.com/quick-and-dirty-guide-to-brining-turkey-chicken-thanksgiving
justGeorge
Thanks for the PSA.
TheMeatballCosplayer
I'm Australian so I don't celebrate thanksgiving, but I would love to hear your mac n cheese recipes!
EroticZombiePants
If you have small family, you can now get something like a 2 lb breast instead of trying to find the smallest whole turkey possible. Since it's just me and my parents for Thanksgiving, it's what my mom does now.
rebalicious
Damn I appreciate you!
METROlD
Oh shit. Youre right.
METROlD
While were on the topic. Is it just me or are all the turkeys 80$ this year? What happened to turkeys. Youre supposed to pay 20-25$ for a turkey. I live in Seattle, I cook one every year, and for some reason they suddenly want an entire Starbucks employees 2 week paycheck for a fucking turkey. It used to be budget food to feed a small army on the cheap.
hiyesthisissatan
I got mine free at Winco with my groceries. I wasn't even going to get a turkey this year.
ImBored19
....I got a turkey for $7.07
METROlD
OK So maybe the universe just hates Seattle.
ServerMonkeyKing
I bought my turkey (22 lbs) quite a while ago for $14. Having a deep freezer has reduced food costs since you can wait for the deals rather than buy at the marked up prices before the major holidays.
ImBored19
Hannaford had a sale- 0.49/ pound. Got a medium turkey cause there's only 2 of us.
invaderjak
I've been getting mine fresh from a local turkey farm
BobbyVegana
we only have a bull
nomunnywunnytilugetthebunnyhunny
cbruza
interesting that you didn't say you BUY them from the farm. just how many turkeys have you abducted?
MisterLemons
Badprenup
It's not an abduction if you kill it on site
DanielAsparagus
Thanks for the reminder. Anyone else just leave the bird in the garage sink till it’s thawed?
GanjaPlanet
I put mine in the chicken coop because those fuckers haven’t been laying eggs and I think it’s fair to remind them of possible consequences.
DanielAsparagus
Bwah ha ha ha ha awesome.
PballQhead
If your garage is below 40˚ all the time, cool. If not, enjoy the horrific blood-shit cocktail spewing from your ass on Saturday.
DanielAsparagus
Ehhh closer to 50. I mean it gets cooked to 155.
billstranger
Just be aware, maybe not for poultry/salmonella, but cooking/high heat will get rid of most bacteria, BUT some foodborne illnesses are from bacteria that create toxins at dangerzone temps, and those toxins are NOT cooked at 155 and suchlike. Botulinum, for example, requires minimum 240f to kill.
PballQhead
I…uhh…hmm…so you thaw it in the danger zone (admittedly low-end) and then cook it to a temperature that needs a time factor (again admittedly only like 5 minutes)? I guess it's not as risky as a lot of what I've seen but you've still gotten lucky so far.
DanielAsparagus
Hey that’s fair. I’m asking because I’m a high functioning kitchen idiot. I mean I think I’m probably making it sound worse than I act in practice. It gets a sink thaw for a day and will probably end up in a fridge. I guess I don’t see a reason to freak out when it’s 48 hours in the sink and still 22 lbs of ice.
PballQhead
Oh, no insult meant or I'd have been a lot snippier XD There can be pockets that are warmer, possibly even in the optimal growth zone, and American poultry is essentially biohazardous waste. Push it to 165 and you'll (probably) be OK, or follow the time-temp charts and leave the bird in the oven for the needed time after it hits target temp (155 is 47.7 seconds so like, dance for a minute?): https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast
RunawaySpoons
This one says pre-brined? (Also a lot of blurb that makes me wonder what on earth goes into the rest of your meat over there O.o )
Twrecks123
Wait until you find out that the giblets in there may not come from the bird you have.
RunawaySpoons
Y'know, that's not actually much of a surprise. My family used to keep chickens for food (although I never took part in the 'processing', I couldn't stand the smell) and I don't know whether they would realistically have been able to keep the giblets with each bird. Pretty much each stage was done to all the birds at once - plucking, emptying insides, cutting off head/neck/feet, weighing, bagging up with or without giblets as the recipient preferred. Maybe they did keep giblets with each →
RunawaySpoons
bird but I wouldn't be horrified if they didn't.
Twrecks123
I’ve known a few people who freaked out about it. One who now raises a Turkey every year in the backyard to make sure they got the matching giblets to their bird.
RunawaySpoons
I can certainly understand that with a commercial bird. With our chickens I didn't really think about it because we knew they were all healthy and every one of them - and every part of the giblets - had passed the quality control of human eyes. That's really cool one of them is able to home rear their turkey.
ProphetofEntropy
those arent brined like you would at home, the 'brine' is injected before the bird is frozen and brines as it thaws in the bag.
plainoldfool
I follow a number of smoking subreddits and facebook pages and they all say you should still brine a pre-brined turkey, but a less salty solution. I'm going to give that a try this year.
RunawaySpoons
Injected … into the bird? Oh do you mean the cavity, rather than the muscles?
STAR266
Nope, done i many countries for at least a decade. It's just to increase the wait and therefor the price. Don't buy this shit.
downsouthfarm
Bacon is also made by injecting brine into the meat. Because its quicker and cheaper, and shittier.
BaconAlmighty
6 days before thanksgibbin?
olivertheoctopus
Yup! They take several days to thaw
TheDentDad
Yes. For a large bird (20+ lbs) you need 4-5 days in the fridge for thaw then 24hr brine.
FishieStardust
Straight from the from the freezer to the deep fryer, got it!
flacoloco
oh yes, the Turkey ala Claymore.....
GCRust
People like that are the reason why those who work in Emergency Services don't get a holiday.
LookNoHands119
Don't tease me with a good time if you aren't going to follow through!
DanielAsparagus
3 days in a cooler to thaw and 3 day dry brine.
PballQhead
Massive pet peeve – there is no such thing as a "dry brine" (yes I know the term is 100 years old). It's called curing and it's an age-old way to make country ham/prosciutto; they're cured with straight salt, no nitrates or bacterial cultures or anything. Just a "dry brine" for two or three years.
Frederf
When you have Thanksgiving in Phoenix but it's a dry brine.
DanielAsparagus
That’s fair. I’m still learning the art. I guess we’re currently crediting a SF Chef for “bringing it back” to the spotlight for poultry. I love food science and I’m learning so much.
PballQhead
It's definitely an accepted term, in America at least, but it's wildly incorrect. A brine adds moisture, but a cure/"dry brine" usually takes moisture out – all that juice in the bottom of your brining bucket is from the meat. It does cause changes to the proteins that don't make it eat dry, and it's a totally legitimate process, it's just that the nomenclature irritates the fuck out of me. Blame my fancy formal scientific education lol
SploogeMcDuck316
Why would one simply not thaw it at room temperature? (Legit question)
JackieTreehornProductions
Bacteria is why
doctorhat
Not a food scientist, but as I understand it thawing is a fight between getting meat unfrozen so that it cooks evenly/tenderly/right and allowing bacteria to grow in it. Thawing the bird at room temperature allows for more bacterial growth. Same reason why you should use the water bath method instead of just setting meat on the counter to thaw.
astrangehop
The water bath is a far better conductor of heat. It doesn't keep the food cool.
jejorda2
Exactly. So the water bath gives less time for bacteria to multiply.