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[GatorDave]

Has anyone brined a butterball turkey?  I've read somewhere that they are brined already and that you should not brine them.  I'm looking for some insights from anyone who might have tried it.

[hughver]

I've been wondering the same thing. I don't think that they are pre-brined but from their site "Whole Young Turkey Contains up to 4% of a solution of Water, Salt, and Spices to enhance tenderness and juiciness.". The site also says that they can be brined. 

[hughver]

Along those lines, I was also wondering if they can be both brined and injected followed by final seasoning (no salt) before the smoker?

[Bentley]

It should say it on the packaging...something like 12% or 14% solution added.  To me it is not the same thing as brining.  I am not against the injection, as it usually has seasonings along with the sodium solution and sodium phosphate, which is good for moisture retention and transmutation of the seasoning through out the meat.  It is a way for the producers to get more weight on their birds fo less price, so I get that too!

I have not cooked a Butterball in about 5 years, but when we did have them, I always brined.

[Bentley]

Whoops, maybe they have drastically reduced the % of solution injected.  It should still say on the plastic wrap!

[Th3Batman86]

I do not believe they are "brined", they are injected with saline to help them look... plumpier and to help them stay juicy as people over cook them to comply with USDA guidelines. I am honestly not sure I have ever seen a turkey is a mass market store that didn't have it. I believe that there is probably a level of salinity that will reach equilibrium in the bird. I have dry brined and wet brined both and never had it too salty. I have seen many a trusted notable chef (Alton Brown, Meathead) recommend both wet and or dry brining. I think you are good. When I did a wet brine I would soak for 24 hours and then still coat with an herb butter. Now I just dry brine. I have done butterball and others. I am usually a "whatever is available" guy when it comes to turkeys since I know a good stint on the smoker will make it tasty. Hope this rambling helps.

[heffneil]

Last year we traveled and dry brined. I think my bucket and garbage bag Alton Brown turkey brine was better.  Kenji Lopez-Alt its a spatchcock fan and dry brine.  I respect what that guy says but I always liked my Alton Brown recipe.

For turkey lately I have been doing the Frozen boneless Turkey roasts from Purdue via GFS.  I smoke them and they are FANTASTIC - no bone and just right.  Not as great of a presentation but better to deal with and serve.  Highly recommend.

[hughver]

Whoops, maybe they have drastically reduced the % of solution injected.  It should still say on the plastic wrap!

I just got back from WinCo and their frozen Butterballs had 8% added solution. The frozen Jennie-O brand had 9% and was priced at .45 per pound. I may go back tomorrow and pick one up for the freezer. 

[Bentley]

So with a 22lb bird they add 28oz of solution, not even a quart, sounds about right!  Would be less then what I inject into a 15lb Brisket!  Curious, do they list ingredients in solution?

[bregent]

Butterball fresh turkeys have up to 4% solution added, frozen are up to 8%.

[spectra]

I brined one years ago when I was practicing as I had never brined a turkey before. Turned out pretty good and used the Alton Brown recipe. Years later I do a Jack and Maple Syrup brine now.

[Th3Batman86]

I brined one years ago when I was practicing as I had never brined a turkey before. Turned out pretty good and used the Alton Brown recipe. Years later I do a Jack and Maple Syrup brine now.

I'm interesting in hearing more about this?!?!?

[SurfAndTurf]

We bought a frozen turkey and brined it when it thawed and it was waaaaayyy to salty for our tastes.

[spectra]

I brined one years ago when I was practicing as I had never brined a turkey before. Turned out pretty good and used the Alton Brown recipe. Years later I do a Jack and Maple Syrup brine now.

I'm interesting in hearing more about this?!?!?

The jack and maple brine?

[jdmessner]

I ended up doing a test run yesterday with two 10 lb turkeys. My wife is working over the holiday, so she wanted some turkey around the house. She also has a coworker that didn't think she would be able to cook a turkey this year. Figured it might be fun to do a comparison.

For one turkey I did a dry brine with the boiling water trick (as mentioned in a previous thread). The second turkey went in "as is". Both had 8% solution and were spatchcocked. I was amazed at the difference. The brined turkey was noticeably much better. Skin was crisp and the meat was very moist. Unfortunately I was not able to get any photos (phone died).

The other part of the experiment had to do with how to transport the bird. For Thanksgiving I will be cooking the bird and then going to my mom's house about an hour and a half away. I put one turkey in a cambro for a few hours to see if it would hold its temp and what the skin would look like. The temp came down a little bit, but was still well in the safe zone after two hours were up. The skin looked a bit steamed, but within the realm of acceptable given the circumstances.

Thursday morning I will be playing for keeps with the 22 pounder on the grill. I think it should work out OK, I'll definitly dry brine and do the boiling water trick. I was glad to have had a chance to do the comparison ahead of time.