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 Posted By: gardener6797 
Nov 7  # 1 of 40
Hello all. In years past I have had good luck using the brining method for the Thanksgiving bird but I have read that salting is even better yet. Any input?:confused:
-Gardener
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 Posted By: jglass 
Nov 7  # 2 of 40
Jafo posted a recipe for herb salt that sounds good. He said he had good results with it.

Bon Appetit Herbed salt:

1/3 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
3 small bay leaves, coarsely torn
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel.

Mix all ingredients together. If you make ahead of time, then put lemon in only before using.
Rinse the turkey inside and out but DO NOT pat dry. Put Turkey into a roasting bag or pan that you can cover. Rub all over, inside and out with the salt mixture. Refrigerate for about 18 - 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 and put the rack in your oven to the lowest position.
Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Continue the way you would normally make your turkey.
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 Posted By: jglass 
Nov 7  # 3 of 40
I think I am going to stick with brining. I plan to use this recipe.

Apple and Spice Brine

This is a good flavored sweet brine that imparts the flavors of apple, spice and citrus to the turkey. Simmer pices in the orange and apple juices for 15 minutes. Boil the sugar and salt in the water until dissolved. Cool both, combine, and refrigerate overnight before adding turkey.

1 gallon ---water
3 quarts --- apple juice
3 quarts --- orange juice
1 1/2 cups ---salt
1 1/2 cups ----brown sugar
10 whole ----cloves
1 tsp ----nutmeg
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 Posted By: Chef_Jacob 
Nov 8  # 4 of 40
JGlass,

You're right to stay with your brine. There is a big difference between just salting your meat, which will draw moisture to the surface of the protein through osmosis, dehydrating your turkey.

Classic brines, which originated in Scandinavia, usually contain 3%-6% salt by weight. At three percent salinity, the salt will start to dissolve some of the protein structure that supports the muscles filaments, and at about 5.5% it will start to dissolve some of the muscle filaments themselves. This is what allows the brining process to tenderize your meat.

Plus, the interaction of salt with protein allows the meat itself to hold more moisture, which the meat absorbs from the brine. Even though it will still loose about 20% moisture during the cooking process, the moisture loss of a brined meat is essentially cut in half. This is what allows the brining process to keep you meat moist.

And finally, the inward movement of salt into protein and the disruption of some of the protein structure, allows the meat to more easily absorb aromatic molecules found in herbs and spices. So if you add herbs and spices to your brine, it will have a much more flavorful effect on your protein then if you were to marinade it with the same herbs and spices but forgo the addition of salt.

So in short, you should stick with your brine, and not just simply salt your turkey. Hope this helped.
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 Posted By: jglass 
Nov 8  # 5 of 40
That helped me alot Chef. Thank you.