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I am scared for our turkey
My husband is driving me crazy.
Last year, we had dinner at a friends' place, and they brined a turkey breast. It was delicious. So, my husband has decided that we should brine a turkey this year.
Now, there are only 4 of us, but since he loves turkey and all things Thanksgiving, and because MIL will be in town for a few days and we'll have someone to help us eat the leftovers, he bought a 12 pound turkey.
I have tried discussing with him how exactly he is planning on brining this thing. His plan is to put the turkey in our cooler, cover it with brining liquid, and let it sit outside overnight.
Is this normal? I don't think it is.
First, our cooler is huge. When I pointed out that we'd need about 8 gallons of brining liquid, he said that you don't have to cover the whole turkey, but just put some in and rotate the turkey every hour or so. I pointed out that this will be overnight and we will be sleeping. He has yet to come up with a good solution to this dilemma, so I think we will end up having to make 8 gallons of brining liquid.
Second, HELLO?!?! Food poisoning?! It's supposed to be high 50s during the day here on Wednesday and low 50s/high 40s at night. Thursday will be back in the high 50s. I don't want our bird sitting out like that. But my husband claims that since it is a cooler, things will be kept colder than how it is outside.
Finally, this all just seems like an insane amout of work and trouble, and where on earth do we dump 8 gallons of salmonella juice after the brining is done?
We seriously argued about this for a half hour last night. He is dead set on doing it and was really annoyed that I doubted his ability to pull it off.
Am I being unreasonable here? I really just don't see how this isn't a food safey nightmare in the works.
Has anyone brined a turkey before? Any advice?
Re: I am scared for our turkey
Can't you just get a brining bag?
Funny side - my ILs last year got a 34 lb turkey. For four people.
LOL! We did this last year and encountered all of your issues! We used a cooler and kept it out overnight. We put ice packs in the brining liquid (all 8 gallons of it) and then dumped it down the drain when we were done, I think.
Epicurious has a recipe to salt a turkey overnight, which supposedly has the same effect as brining, but is much easier. That's what I will be doing next year (buying a pre cooked turkey this year.
Lots of good suggestions, thanks!
I'll check out brining bags when I go to the store later. But I like the ice pack idea in the brining liquid. And Alton seems to have a good method.
I'm still not convinced, but this helps me negotiate a bit.
It occured to me that my MIL will probably flip out when she sees my husband trying to pull this off, so I may have back up.
Do you live in a sitcom? Your post just totally cracked me up.
I was really excited last year because I was making my first turkey. I got a little carried away and made a 20 lb turkey. For three people. I am still being made fun of because of that.
Deductive reasoning isn't a conservative or liberal attribute. ~epphd
LMAO!
Thanks for all the advice. I'll be sure to report back on what happens. If I don't come back to the Nest, assume a salmonella outbreak chez Fluffy.
You MUST document this whole thing with photographs.
So will this thing not fit in your refrigerator, is that the issue? Because that's what I did - put it in a brining bag in the frig.