i took my 19 pound purdue fresh bird out of the freezer friday night and put it in the fridge. i just started prepping the apple brine and took the turkey out of the packaging to find the wings and breast/neck area still pretty frozen. i assume it should be ok to let it thaw the rest of the way in the brine? i plan to brine for 36 hours. i have it setting on the counter right now until the apple juice/salt/brown sugar mixture cools in the fridge.

There is no problem letting it finish defrosting in the brine.

quote:

Originally posted by Pat McCreight:
There is no problem letting it finish defrosting in the brine.

Yep, I agree. As long as you can get the bag out of the cavity, have at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:

quote:

Originally posted by Pat McCreight:
There is no problem letting it finish defrosting in the brine.

Yep, I agree. As long as you can get the bag out of the cavity, have at it.

CHECK BOTH CAVITIES!!

Bill

lol, yea i got the neck and goodie bag out.

i am so at myself. i woke up out of a dead sleep realizing i forgot the garlic in the apple brine. i put it in now, but i'm sure it may be too late.

Tony,thanks for asking that. I put my partially thawed bird in a basic brine last night. I'll take it out tonight,let it dry in the fridge overnight,then put my aromatics in tomorrow morning just before I slap it on the bullet. Here's hoping!

Next time you brine do what I do. I cut back on the water and replace it with ice cubes after the salt/sugar dissolves then you don't have to wait as long for it to cool.

well i finally decided at 11 last night to go with high heat like the apple brine tutorial suggests. so i pulled it out of the brine and rinsed last night. i just got it on and the WSM is up to 300. the only modifications i did from the tutorial was iced the breasts down for 30 minutes like larryR suggested and instead of veg. oil i used wok oil which is infused with onion,garlic,ginger and cilantro. seemed like a good match to go with the brine

well it got done in 3 3/4 hours. i was hoping it would take another hour. breast was 163-165 and thighs were 170-175. i have it foiled and resting breast down in the cooler for the next 1.5 hours. i think i'll try a slow and low one on christmas to see what i like better