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[4given]

Anybody have a good recipie for a cured and smoked whole turkey?  I have pink salt, tender quick & etc.   I  had a recipie posted by Grillin Glenn on the old board but I can't find it. Any help would be appreciated!

[02ebz06]

I have brining recipe, but none for curing. First I've heard of it.

[BigDave83]

Was your recipe a wet brine? If so I would do a search on the old interweb for Pop's brine. I use a version of it for all of my wet curing. If you don't have an injector I would find one of those. Tractor supply you can pick up a large syringe and a coupe of long 2.5" needles that work well.

[smokin soon]

I'm not so sure about using a cure in a whole bird, but have some pretty good cooks with legs. Lots of good mixes out there if you search "theme park turkey legs".

[02ebz06]

Was your recipe a wet brine? If so I would do a search on the old interweb for Pop's brine. I use a version of it for all of my wet curing. If you don't have an injector I would find one of those. Tractor supply you can pick up a large syringe and a coupe of long 2.5" needles that work well.

Yes, make brine day 1, cool overnight, turkey in brine day 2, cook day 3.
I have an injector, just don't use it.
I loosen the breast skin and rub soft butter with herbs under it.

When temp gets to 160ish in breast, I tent it with foil to let legs,thighs and wings get up to 170.
Breast should be at 165 then.

Here is recipe:

1         Gallon      Vegetable stock
1         Gallon      Water
1         cup         Dark brown sugar
1-1/2   cup         Kosher salt or sea salt  NOTE – Omit Salt if Turkey is pre-injected
1/2      cup         Apple cider vinegar
1/4      cup         Ground cumin
1/2     TBSP        Candied ginger
2        TBSP        ‘Cracked’ black peppercorns
1        TBSP        Allspice berries
2        TBSP        Worcestershire sauce
4        ea           good-size ‘branches’ of fresh rosemary

Heat until all is dissolved, let cool, then chill in refrigerator overnight.
Next in goes the bird for 24 hours.

[BigDave83]

Was your recipe a wet brine? If so I would do a search on the old interweb for Pop's brine. I use a version of it for all of my wet curing. If you don't have an injector I would find one of those. Tractor supply you can pick up a large syringe and a coupe of long 2.5" needles that work well.

Yes, make brine day 1, cool overnight, turkey in brine day 2, cook day 3.
I have an injector, just don't use it.
I loosen the breast skin and rub soft butter with herbs under it.

When temp gets to 160ish in breast, I tent it with foil to let legs,thighs and wings get up to 170.
Breast should be at 165 then.

Here is recipe:

1         Gallon      Vegetable stock
1         Gallon      Water
1         cup         Dark brown sugar
1-1/2   cup         Kosher salt or sea salt  NOTE – Omit Salt if Turkey is pre-injected
1/2      cup         Apple cider vinegar
1/4      cup         Ground cumin
1/2     TBSP        Candied ginger
2        TBSP        ‘Cracked’ black peppercorns
1        TBSP        Allspice berries
2        TBSP        Worcestershire sauce
4        ea           good-size ‘branches’ of fresh rosemary

Heat until all is dissolved, let cool, then chill in refrigerator overnight.
Next in goes the bird for 24 hours.

This appears to be just a regular turkey brine. It will not cure the bird. There is a big difference between a cured and smoked and a brined and smoked turkey when it comes to flavor.

[02ebz06]

Correct, just a brine.
Had never heard of curing a turkey before today.

[4given]

Yes it was a wet brine that used pink salt.   Cured and smoked whole turkeys are pretty common. You see them in the stores this time of year.

[Clonesmoker]

I just cured and smoked 10 lbs of porkloin. 9 days curing it with Kosher and pink salt along with brown sugar and maple syrup. Big difference in curing vs brining.  I've but pink salt on jerk to marinate overnight before. So is marinating and bringing the same thing?

Make you wonder if such companies don't get the difference between brining and curing. I've never seen anything in the store for a cured, smoked turkey before or even a cured turkey. I've wet and dry brined things but first I've heard also of a curing a turkey. Sorry. 

[pmillen]

So is marinating and bringing the same thing?

Marinades add flavor to the surface of the item being marinated.  The flavor may penetrate a wee bit (maybe about 0.3 cm.).  They generally have an acidic formula, like fruit juice or vinegar.

Brines add flavor deep into the item being brined.  They are salt-based.  When a chemical reaction causes the brine to penetrate the meat it drags along the other flavors in the brine so the flavors are deposited deeper.

I read posts on another forum where people were discussing the proper way to brine and marinate something.  That's uncommon.  Cooks generally do one or the other.

EDIT:  Brines add moisture to the treated item.  It's a good way to keep slow-cooked pork chops and chicken breasts from drying out.

[elenis]

I actually asked about this last year after my father in law paid like $80 for a smoked turkey to have at my Sister in law's apartment. It really reminded me more of the texture and flavor of ham instead of turkey and he loved it. The closest recipe I had found was for turkey legs specifically, so I am not sure how much longer it would need to cure for a whole turkey, but it was on bbq bible's site. https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/turkey-ham/