To Brine or Not to Brine a Turkey Breast

Forever and a day I’ve contemplated the age old question : ” … to Brine or NOT to Brine a Turkey …”   Turns out that until I attended the California BBQ Association’s University “Authentic BBQ Advanced Class” it was always … NOT!!  Well I have seen the light, tasted the results and it prompted me to definitely give brining  a shot.

My local grocery store had Bone-In Turkey Breasts and Turkeys on sale so I gobbled up 3 breasts for a great price of $9 each – No matter what the weight.  Picked out the largest ones and saved over $30.

Turkey Brine:

• 1 Gallon of Water
• 1 cup of Sugar
• ½ cup of Sea Salt
• 1/3 cup of Brown Sugar
• 1 ½ cups of Apple Juice
• Laury’s 12 oz Herb & Garlic Marinade

Into the fridge to brine overnight.  A general rule to use for brinning is around one hour per pound.  This breast was 9.4 lbs and was brined for 14 hours.

Removed breast from brine and rubbed on/under skin with EVOO and Jans Dry Rub.  Preheated the MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet Smoker-Grill to 230ºF with Hickory wood BBQ pellets.

Setpoint to SMOKE (~180ºF) for 2 hours.  Bumped the temperature to 325ºF until the Internal Temperature hit 165ºF.  Rested under a foil tent for 20 minutes.

You can see just how moist the Bone-In Turkey Breast turned out and the flavors were exquisite!!  Can’t wait to use the leftovers to make a big batch of Turkey Tetrazzini …

The Money $Shot$ … Some Brined Turkey Breast, portion of Rice garnished with some tasty Gravy, a Salad with fresh ingredients from the garden (tomatoes and cucumber) …  I may never smoke/cook another Turkey without brinning it first.  If you’ve been hesitant to brine a Turkey and/or Chicken I recommend you brine one the next time and see for yourself the benefits of brinning!!