how long do you brine meat?

[mazzgolf]

I usually brine turkey, goose and small game meat for 24 hours. Water, salt, and some herbs/spices like oregano, pepper, onion powder, etc. But I still noticed the meat is a bit tough.

 

So the turkeys I shot this season I decided to leave them in the brine for at least 48 hours.

 

Well, last night I cooked some breast meat that came from a Jake I shot last week. It was in the brine a little over 48 hours before I cooked it in the oven for 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised at how tender it was! It came out really good.

 

Now, I don't know if the meat was so tender because it was a young Jake or because I let it sit in the brine for twice as long as I normally do.

 

I have an older Tom turkey (almost twice as big as the Jake) I shot over a week ago - that meat was in the brine for 72 hours. I haven't tried cooking that yet - meat is still frozen. That might be a better indicator once I cook that and see.

 

But I'm curious - how long do you folks brine your meat? Do you leave it in for 48 or 72 hours? Or do you brine it for just 24 hours before cooking or freezing?

 

I also trim off the silver skin before it goes in the brine - I like taking that stuff off as soon as I butcher the birds.

[Lunatic]

As far is I know brine does not tenderize the meet. It makes the meat moist which may make it feel like is more tender.

Slow cooking tenderizes the meat. If you took a brisket and cooked it on the grill like a steak it would not be edible. This is because there is a tough membrane/fibers holding the meat tight together and brining will not break this down. Slow cook the brisket for many hours and it becomes very tender.

I slow cooked yesterday two legs and 1/2 breast of a wild turkey in a slow cooker for 8 hrs. The meat, even leg meat, is tender and falling apart.

 

Another way is to slice the breast in thick slices and then beat the hell out of it with a mallet so you end up with very thin slices.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Lunatic

[Stan Putz]

Brining is not going to tenderize meat, just moisten it a little (as mentioned). I wouldn't let it go much longer than 2 days, I'd be worried about it coming out too salty. Actually, freezing meat tenderizes it slightly be breaking down some of the fibers.

[newjerseyhunter]

Why not just throw it in the slowcooker? Never had a meat come out of my slowcooker that wasn't nice and tender.

[mazzgolf]

Hmm.. maybe it was because it was a young bird then.

 

I need more ways to cook these things. All I got is small crock pots, some cast iron pans, and a stovetop/oven.

 

I need a pressure cooker and maybe a nice slow cooker or smoker. I would love to be able to get turkey legs to come out right. Have yet to get those to come out good.

[Lunatic]

Hmm.. maybe it was because it was a young bird then.

 

I need more ways to cook these things. All I got is small crock pots, some cast iron pans, and a stovetop/oven.

 

I need a pressure cooker and maybe a nice slow cooker or smoker. I would love to be able to get turkey legs to come out right. Have yet to get those to come out good.

 

Crock pot is the way to go. Set it and forget it:-)

[Tarhunt]

Poultry I brine for 3 to 5 days and venison I brine for 5 to 7 days.

[Bucndoe]

I have never had a turkey breast of a wild bird been tough, especially a jake, ever. No need to brine or tenderize it unless it's your choice. We have eaten 3 wild turkey breasts this year so far in my humble abode

[Bubblehead]

You are probably over cooking it. You can brine it for a month but if you cook it too long it's going to be tough