Thinking of salting my turkey this year instead of brining...

C

carianna-in-wa

Well-known member
I don't know why I'm thinking that... brining has always worked so darn well for me. But the siren song of "something new" is a-ringing in my ears.

Bon Appetit had an article about salting in this Nov.'s issue. Have any of you tried this method for Thanksgiving? Results? I have a chicken sitting in salt in the fridge even as I type this... tomorrow night's dinner/test run. I'd love experienced turkey feedback, though!

 
I'm anxious to read about your results. The LA Times has been touting salt methods for

a couple of years now.

 
Salting works!!

I leave salt on for only 24 hrs, rinse and then air dry in the refrigerator.

 
That's a great article... thanks Gay. Great details!

Can't imagine leaving it in the fridge for 4 days though. That takes WAY too much planning ahead. (Thaw for 3 days, salt for 4 more... whew!) But I love that it won the taste test. I really think I'll try it this year. smileys/smile.gif

 
Gay - how long do you keep the salted chicken in frig? Do you rinse the chicken before cooking?

 
One similarity is flipping the bird on it's breast for the first 30 minutes of roasting, but,

after you turn him over, the V-rack leaves an imprint even after your done roasting.

I brined my last turkey and I had imprints too.

Does anyone have a solution for this?

Thanks for reading,
Ann

 
I salted a whole chicken last week, inside and out and although the recipe

called for it sitting in the refer for one or two days, mine sat all day. It was the most moist whole chicken I have ever had. It also browned well...which I cannot say the same for the one I brined.

 
Salting results:

The meat itself was great... juicy, but not spongy. It wasn't dry at all. The skin was terrifically browned and crisp.

I thought it was way too salty though. I must've been a little over-generous in my salting method. I never thought my brining made the bird taste salty - maybe that's because the brine has sugar in it as well?

I think I'll still try it for T-giving on the turkey. It is really so much easier than brining. I just need to come up with the right porportion of salt to bird I guess.

 
I use 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup for the salt method...

did you use kosher salt? Did you rinse? it shouldn't be at all salty. Hope this helps.

 
I mixed up 1/3 cup of the salt mixture, but didn't use it all...

I would say a little less than 1/4 cup is what got on (and in) the bird itself. I used Morton Coarse Kosher Salt (with some herbs and a little lemon zest thrown in for good measure). I rinsed it inside and out before roasting it, patted it dry, and brushed it with a little melted butter. I added no additional salt. The salt flavor had penetrated right into the meat.

It was definitely juicy though. I loved that the white meat didn't dry out...

 
Was it a turkey or chicken you tested? How many #'s was it...

as that will help determine amt of salt.

 
1/4 cup for that size chicken I believe is toooo much!

I would use 1/4 cup for the turkey you're making based on the size. It's about 1T per every 5 lbs.

 
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