FOOD NEWS
What You Need To Consider Prior Brining Turkey For Smoking
BY JOHN TOLLEY
Smoking a turkey requires attention to detail from start to finish. The first step is brining, and if you’re between a wet or dry brine, there are good reasons to dry-brine.
Wet-brining involves submerging the turkey in water, salt, and flavorings. This adds moisture, but if the meat absorbs too much water, it can dilute the overall flavor.
By contrast, dry-brining only requires applying salt directly to the meat, leading to a final result with a moist, juicy texture, crisp skin, and enhanced flavor.
Dry-brining works thanks to the salt, which helps pull moisture out of the meat, concentrating its flavor, before the moisture is reabsorbed for a juicy end result.
You can get creative by adding other seasonings to the coarse salt, like cumin, paprika, garlic, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, or a dry rub, since you'll be smoking the turkey.