Mesquite smoked turkey w/spicy cranberry chutney

Comment by Debbie on December 17, 2007 at 4:19pm

Hi John, what is the difference between dry brined and wet brined? I would think that the wet brined would produce a moister turkey. I did a little bit of research in putting the turkey in a liquid brine, which made sense to me as I thought about doing this , but opted out as I didn't know enough to go about it. And then again, you know Patrick, he would not even consider this. Even though we have had great Thanksgiving meals, bird and all, I thought we might do something a tad different.................perhaps next year.........

Comment by John Barrows on December 17, 2007 at 5:08pm

I had a discussion with Patrick about this a few days ago. I believe that dry brining and wet brining (essentially the same thing as say dry-rubbing a brisket before you smoke or barbecue vs. marinating it) accomplish the same thing. The salt basically alters the actual chemistry or structure of the meat fibers, so that it is first a tenderizing process, and second creates a more moist end product after it's roasted. It works just about on any meat, though say a chicken might require less brining (say a day) vs.say a 3" thick porterhouse (a couple of days or more). Wet brining a turkey typically immersing the whole turkey for a few days in a heavily salted brine with some sugar. I dry brine by just heavily salting the meat with coarse kosher salt. Put it on a rack on a baking sheet, uncovered in the refrigerator (or say in the cold - not freezing - garage). When the dry brining is finished , you don't see hardly any salt, but brush off what you do see. The meat will look very dried out and almost leathery. Fear not - the roasted meat will be nicely browned on the outside and nice and juicy inside. You'd think that salting would draw moisture out of the meat, but that's for a watery vegetable like eggplant or zucchini. Meat reacts differently. It makes all meat better.

Comment by Debbie on December 17, 2007 at 5:34pm

We will have to try this technique. Perhaps when down at Judy's we can do something to this effect. On another note, what do you think about deep frying a turkey (last several years' craze). Takes a lot of oil, and messy I would presume.

Comment by John Barrows on December 17, 2007 at 5:57pm

It's messy, dangerous, expensive, and just adds more fat to the final dish. So what's the point?

Comment by Patrick on December 20, 2007 at 6:41am

If you want to brine something, Debbie, we can do it but I ain't going to mess with the traditional meal. You want to mess with tradition then you'll have to deal with Jeanette and me. BTW folks, Jeanette is our 23 yr old daughter and she is a strict believer in tradition and always has been. I am glad she recognizes the value of things and persons past.

Comment by Patrick on December 20, 2007 at 6:45am

On another note.......good video but the lighting, as usual, needs improvement. When you smoke turkey do you use rolling paper or use a pipe?

Comment by Patrick on December 20, 2007 at 6:49am

I don't recall Uncle Claude or Aunt Rose ever making Indian chutney on the farm. Seems like John, the great nephew, may be a bit too avant garde for the old ways.

Comment by John Barrows on December 20, 2007 at 8:28am

Brining is not a "new age" phenomenon. In fact it may well have been something done out of necessity for eons as a way to preserve meat. Not sure, but that kinda makes sense to me. So, when did brining cease to be "tradition" and non-brining start to be??

Comment by Patrick on December 20, 2007 at 8:51am

Nobody said it was a new age phenomenon. Pa used to say, "you listen with your mouth open", but in this case you are reading with your mouth open. I am referring to # 1: the tradition in our house and, # 2: the Indian themed chutney in relation to Uncle Claude & Aunt Rose. Only bustin' your chops, boy............it all looks good and you've done well.

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