TURKEY! Wet Brine vs. Dry Brine vs. Injected!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- My Sauces, Rubs and Merch: heygrillhey.co...
Today I'm doing a TRIPLE TURKEY EXPERIMENT! I'm going to take you through a wet brine, dry brine, and injection to see which one packs more flavor. Lets go!
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I’ve tried wet and dry brine. I like them both. But i prefer the dry brine. It’s easier, less mess, and the you get a crunchier skin.😊
The method that works for my family and I, is the Wet Brine method and following it up with a Cajun butter creole injection. After this I smothered bacon fat (binder) all over the whole turkey and then follow that with my rub of choice. Then to the smoker we goooo… Happy Holidays to you and your family!
I want to do this (brine and inject), but I’m worried it will be too salty. Has that ever been an issue for you? Do you do anything to help mitigate against over salting? Thanks!
Very interesting and informative! Am wet brining my first turkey this Thanksgiving (2022) and then smoking on a Weber grill. Thank you for the great information. Related- your script, camera, lighting, and sound are first class- subbed.
I prefer dry brine, especially for skin on poultry because during the brining process, the skin dries out in open air which leads to better crisping. Best flavor combination possible there.
You mean "brine". Dry brine is a misnomer. Brine is by definition a solution whereby salt is dissolved in water. When you just tap some salt into the surface of the meat, there is no way around it-you are dry curing the meat, not brining it.
The problem with dry "brine" is that salt will not penetrate all the way through the meat in that given time. Its also because there will be less salt on the surface than there is in the water solution. You can test it yourself with a curing salt; in the same amount of time, the actual water solution will penetrate the meat and make it pink throughout (since that is what nitrates do), at the same time, dry "brine" will only have brief salt penetration. So the flavour is inferior in the dry method, unless you cure it for a much longer time, than the wet solution. Wet solution also makes much more juicy meat which is impossible to screw up.
@@mac1414 Nah
Dry brine/salt cure, butter injection, along with a compound butter rub or butter/rub under the skin. I've done the wet brine, and everyone was freaked out by the pinkness and thought it was undercooked. I swore that it was more than cooked enough, but no one believed me. I only make two turkeys a year. I don't have the luxury of a lot of experimenting.
@@robertooso6518 Brine/Injection combo Q for you! (Yes, you commented on a turkey video 11 months ago) .I always do a spatchcock dry brine, but I want better flavor penetration. Is there anything to be mindful of when combing the two? I'm thinking a salt/sugar cure on the skin side, a miso rub on the underside, and a miso butter injection in the white meat.
@lmjohnsono I've never thought about a sugar/salt dry brine. Sounds like it might work though. I would just be mindful of the amount of salt. I've overdone it before, and it's hard to counter balance after the fact. Spatchcock is the way to go. Way better evenness in cooking. But, my old lady won't let me. She always wants the "traditional" whole bird look with stuffing inside.
Do you wash off the wet brine before cooking? Trying to decide what method to use this weekend! Thanks!
Used your dry rub and injected Turkey last year and smoked per your guidelines/videos. I got requested to cook again!! Great advice and love the test.
Ive done them all a lot. Not just for holiday. My favorite is wet brine, 5 gal bucket mini fridge. Let it go 3 days and I don't know about this mushy problem you mention but I haven't used your recipe
Can you do all 3?
Awesome video! Wet brine is the BEST!!!! So we agree there. Really digging your butcher knife and cutting board.
This channel deserves more subs
I dry brine and injection and it comes out great
Give us more info. More details please. I'm thinking of doing this exact thing this year. Dry rub and then use my new injector. Thanks.
Try a multiple prong injector typically used to tenderize
The great thing about living in northern Michigan is I can brine a turkey in a bucket in the garage, no fridge needed
Use an ice chest for wet brining. I have one specifically for brining chickens and my holiday turkey.
Don't be afraid to dry brine your turkey or chickens for longer, especially whole birds. I let them sit for days in the fridge and haven't had any issues with the meat being mushy. Great flavor and moisture, especially for whole birds, and way easier than wet brining.
Over aging in brine can cause mushy flesh. Has a diminishing rate of return.
How can you cook them all at the same time when they had different brining times???
I prefer wet brine AND injection. Also we do a whole turkey and we found these super huge Ziplock bags we put it in and then instead of using a refrigerator we put it in a cooler and pack it with ice to keep it cold and completely submerged in the brine.
I dry brine and inject my deep fried turkey.
That's EXACTLY how I do my turkey,with awesome results. Tried dry brining great texture that's it.
So i have a basted in 9.5% solution of broth, salt sugar and seasoning, can I brine this turkey
I’d love a new term for “dry brine”. A “brine” is salt + water. If you remove the water, you just have salt. It’s like sprinkling sugar on pancakes and calling it “dry syrup”. I propose we simply say that we’ll salt/season a few days/hours ahead of time.
You're the best! I was trying to decide which brine method to use - so this video was super helpful!!
I am going to try butter injecting and lots of butter with seasoning under the skin.
Happy Thanksgiving Hey Grill Hey. I have never wet brined a turkey. Since there are only 2 of us, I bought the boneless turkey roast. I want to try this to see how it turns out. Have a blessed week.
Thank you, very informative. 😮
Would it be possible to wet brine for twelve hours, then dry brine the skin Right afterwards for twelve hours and then inject it with the seasoning right before baking it.
Thanks for all the great tips going to be smoking one for Thanksgiving. Keep up the great videos. I've even used the leftovers into smoked turkey and dressing its really yummy
We could marinade or brine it in the injection too instead of injecting it?
You could!
Try Buttermilk Brine it’s terrific!
I wasn't aware that injecting was a substitute for brining (dry or wet) and thought they served separate purposes.
I would think brining is the act of introducing the poultry to either salt or a salt solution to promote juiciness, while injecting was more a mechanism for imparting fat/flavor.
Is there a chart to show the length of time to wet brine the turkey? Is it by weight? thanks
24 hours is about it. any more your just wasting time
Another awesome review and video …. Sure do appreciate you taking your time to share …. I always learn something from watching ….. continued success, and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Moisture is Power! Thanks for this comparison.
I prefer wet Brine in my 5gallon bucket left outside because it is cold outside. With a secured lid. No need for Frige space. Then injection with butter and spices. I smoke one and also deep fry the Turkey for a different great taste!!
I use that one all the time , luv the season through out
Inject with Tony's butter Creole and smoke with cherry wood
Sweet and simple
You are fantastic! And I'm subscribing. Id like to see you try a mixture of the methods... an injected dry brined turkey. All of the flavor injected in with the dry brine texture. Or a wet brine with the dry brine texture. I'm a fan none the less :)
Where'd you get your knife?!? That thing is awesome
Pretty and can handle the grill. You hubby hit the jackpot.
What about folks on a low sodium diet, like many senior citizens? Any suggestions for a low sodium marinade?
We have to do dry brine because we don’t have the fridge space. But. I have a hard time believing you can get a better bird than my dry brined spatchcocked bird. It was… amazing.
I dry brine and inject a whole spatchcocked bird and it is BOMB!
When I wet brine, I put the turkey in a Gatorade type cooler with ice. I bought it at home Depot. No frig required just ice. You can get a smaller size.
I don't even bother with the cooler.
I got a 5 gallon bucket from Lowes and lined it with a turkey oven bag.
Looks great, I usually inject a mixture of butter and rub but want to try the wet brine as well. Any recommendation on brining if it is a standard say butterball whole turkey?
See my comment above, Gatorade cooler.
I am thinking of ordering a camp chef 36 pro
I know u have used one how do u like it
Love it!
Thank you
I am a loyal fan of your videos
Great job 👏
Thank you for the recipe and test!!!
Can you inject with a salt-based injection after a wet brine, or does it make the meat too salty?
Space tip for brining. Use a cooler, brine and ice. I have a cooler dedicated to brining. Saves space in my fridge
I do a dry brine and injection combination
More details please. Dry brine for how long? Inject with what ingredients? Thanks.
Nice job!!!
Awesome demo! Thank you, can't wait to try
Excellent video thank you
wonder what all 3 together would do?
Just a question as I'm a little slow on the uptake, if the wet brine takes 12 to 24 hours, but the length of the dry brine and possibly injection should be shorter, how did you cook them together? Unless you had a 4th wet brine one you brined earlier? Love this and all your other videos though, so thanks very much.
Movie magic. For some of these videos (perfect example here) I have do some parts beforehand so it doesn't take me 24+ hours to put together one video.
All the turkeys at the store are pre brined. Do I still wet brine or should I do a dry brine
Dry brine will be fine, but if you want a different wet brine you’ll need to soak your turkey for a day or so to remove the current brine from it.
Thank you for a great video with valuable information. Just wish you would have commented on placing the wet brined bird in a plastic bag an packing it with ice in a cooler. You can completely submerge the meat with less solution and it frees up space in the refrigerator. It seems a lot of people brine and inject their birds, I know I do. It's nice to know I'm not alone.
Brine and inject is my go to whether I smoke or fry. Thanks for the plastic bag tip. I usually use a brew bucket lined with a plastic bag and then top with ice to keep cool.
Why not do all 3?
I saw a video of your's recently where you discussed how to "remove" the prebrine that some turkeys are now being sold with. I cant find that video now. Can you help me with the process. I think is was submerging in cold water, but I'm not sure if I needed to add anything else, or for how long. Thank you for your help.
Submerge your turkey in water for the last day of the defrost, or overnight if already fully defrosted. That'll pull most of the old brine out and allow you to brine again with whatever you want!
@@Heygrillhey awesome. Thank you so much. I have never noticed the "pre-brined" turkey before.
2/3 butter, 1/3 chicken broth injection is great!
Why not all three?
Are you able to dry brine a turkey then eject it ? I'm having problems finding a recipe 😕
Great comparison Susie. Quick question, should I brine the turkeys that already have a % water/salt solution in it, like your typical Butterballs in the store?
I wouldn't brine a pre-brined bird. Injections work well with them though.
@@Heygrillhey how long did you brine? Usually do 24 hours for whole Turkey but how long for Turkey Breast? So many conflicting answers. I’m guessing only 45 min per LB? So around 5-6 hours?
Great video… very informative. Thank you!
I like the wet brine method, but I get mixed results. Sometimes it's the best turkey I've ever had, other times it's juicy but not flavorful. I saw on one of your other videos you mentioned that if they are pre brined, it gets in the way.
Wet brine it is for Thanksgiving....thx
Any thoughts on the need to rinse the bird after wet brining?
I don't rinse raw meat. It poses a big sanitation/food safety issue.
Felt like Hellraiser mass injecting mine all over today, curious how it turns out!
You mentioned a recipe for an injection on your website. I could only find a whiskey peach one. Is that what you meant or do you have a more traditional one? Thanks!
I actually don't have any injection recipes on my website.
@@Heygrillhey fair enough. thanks for the reply!
Like always, food looks amazing..this will be my first time smoking a Turkey..hopefully I dont overcook it 🤞
Purchased a pre-basted frozen turkey and going to buttermilk wet brine it. Is that over-kill?
Not overkill, though season the buttermilk otherwise you will pull the salt out of the turkey
I'm doing all 3 in one:)
Hey Susie love your channel but I got a bone to pick with you about this one You're wet brine recipe wasn't enough to cover a turkey breast let alone my 18 lb Butterball so if you have a large size turkey recipe or a link that I could see I would appreciate it keep up the great work
Adjust to fit your needs. heygrillhey.com/simple-apple-spice-turkey-brine/
Always wet brine my turkey i use Alton Brown method and i added injection to my turkey.
I’m more interested in the effects of wet and dry brining has on the skin.
I don't have any experience with dry brining.
The last few years I have wet brined and smoked my turkey for thanksgiving and always wet brine my smoked chicken.
Skin has always been a loss turning out rubbery.
I would recommend you try dry brining if crispy skin is a must have.
Dry Brine is the way to go, Wet brine doesn't really add much flavor as she is making it out to be. Look at serious eats Jj kenji lopez alt ran tests and goes further into detail. Dry brine gives you a crispy skin. Brad from BA Test kitchen did a video a few years ago also testing both methods and ultimately decides that dry brine is the best route.
I wet brined a turkey this year and to help get crispy skin, I put it in the fridge uncovered for a couple hours after coming out of the brine to dry it out before smoking it
How did that work out? Im thinking of doing the same.... maybe add some cornstarch to the skin? @@huckinator
275 for only 1.5 hours. Were they fairly small as far as weight?
Great information and presentation.
Got a tip for injecting though. Don't contaminate your source. Pour off what you think you're going to use into another container and pull from there. Raw meat into a wet solution is no joke. Pathogen's dream!
I love wet Brining but need room for bucket if fridge 🔥🍖😊 also nostalgia plays a part of that for us as well - 👍👏 thanks for the great content!
Get a turkey bag on Amazon. It won't add much extra bulk, and you don't need a bucket or huge pan.
I use a cooler and thaw the bird in the brine
Did you see my comment
We love turkey here In Australia but is only available at Xmas time, I’m gonna do a wet brine this year for the first time and can’t wait, great vid grill girl
I have a dedicated 5 gallon turkey brine bucket I only use for turkey! It fits in my spare fridge, but I have seen people use ice chests too. And here in the States the weather is usually freezing at Thanksgiving and Christmas so keeping it in the ice chest on the porch would work.
Your talking to the 1% that waste their time on just doing the breast.
I usually buy an extra turkey or two at Thanksgiving time to stash in the deep freezer. Then in June when we want to grill an entire turkey I already have it and don’t have to hope I can find one at the grocery store. If you have the freezer space then I recommend doing the same.
Would of been great to do a blind taste test with you husband. To hear his opinion too. Great video. When i get my LSG pellet i will give these a try. Thx
Keep it in the fridge?!?! I just put mine outside! Actually, I have to put it in the garage so it doesn't freeze overnight 🤣. Great video, though.
I usually dry brine and inject.
What about Todd his opinion at the same time as yours would have been awesome plus he was drooling anyway
Hey Suzie! Great video as always! How much added sodium do you think the wet-brine method adds to the turkey? Those of us that have to pay attention to the salt levels are curious... Thanks!
Turkey breast three way? 😂😂😂 I think I'm going to try the dry brine. 👍🏽
Great choice!!
Two things! (One of them being a food safe point)
1. I wish you took as much care with the dry brine as you do with the wet brine. You unintentionally undersold the dry brine by using only salt. Adding brown sugar, dried herbs, different types of salt, toasted cumin, toasted anything really could elevate the dry brine. You can really add as much spices as you do with your wet brine.
2. Please please please, if you're using injector seasoning - do NOT use it directly from the storage container if you plan on using it again after. Introducing raw meat of any kind into that container will compromise the food safety of the injector seasoning if not used immediately. Try pouring what you think you need into a separate bowl/cup!
No matter how you spell it, the purpose of brine is primarily to add salt to promote juiciness and retaining moisture during the cook. While adding other spices may be somewhat beneficial, leaving that to the rub and injection is more effective.
Wet brine has always been my favorite!
On a whole turkey, the skin is in the way for a dry brine.
Every turkey I have dry brined was super dry! I am not a fan. Dry brine = dry turkey. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Could try covering the bird for most of the cook. I prefer wet brine myself with some seasoning on just before it goes in to cook.
I use the dry brine method on thick steaks. My first experience went bad because I didn’t wait long enough. Seems I pulled them out to grill at about the stage the salt drew out the moisture. I got a cross between steak and jerky. Now I exclusively dry brine steaks overnight and have great success. Have not tried turkey but the same principle may apply.
I prefer wet brine. then sometimes I inject
Can you wet brine AND inject?
Sure!
Smoked in 18 lb turkey today. Use her rub recipe. Didn't cook it over 160°. We brinded first. Turned out a big try. Any suggestions?
I'm thinking that I might stick butter between the skin and bird....
I personally think you messed up on the injection method and sitting time. Inject in smaller increments as you move the needle around. Also similar to the wet brine method you need a longer sitting period of 12-24hrs to let the turkey absorb and distribute the injected brine into the surrounding meat. Doing it this way gets you to the wet brine method of flavor without the hassle of large bucket of brine but also more juice inside.
I think seasoning them all after kinda messed up your comparison. My two cents. 🤪
i let my refrigerated turkey sit out ( covered ) at least 12 hours prior to cooking to warm the cold spots.
i do a dry salt brine on the turkey with coarse ground pepper.
make a mixture of melted butter and salt for the injection into the breasts only.
preheat oil to 350 to sear the skin.
into the fryer holding 325 for 2.5 minutes per pound.
crispy skin with moist slightly salted breasts.
there is NEVER any of it left over.
many times i cook for 60 or more people.
there are always leftovers from the other foods.
there is never any turkey left.
Wet brine,inject,rub it’s we’re it’s at Kosmos Turkey brine,Tony’s Cajun injection and Hey Grill Hey chicken rub the best combo in my opinion!
A nice video but not really a fair comparison, since the wet brine was salt, sugar, apple cider, and spices; the dry brine was just salt; and the injection was its own different flavor profile. Would have been better to do a plain salt or salt/sugar wet brine vs dry brine vs injection. For myself, I prefer a dry brine using the perfect amount of salt as calculated based on the weight of the meat, and then to rest the turkey with that dry brine for several days so it can age a bit and enzymatic reactions can help break down the tougher tissue. With a wet brine it's too easy to get an oversalted turkey and the skin is just always a soggy loss, even drying it out for a day or two after.
I've brined a turkey breast in the past, and seasoned the surface and it was way too salty!!!!!!!!!!!
So basically the same as my dentist injects then.... That's all you gotta say!
Dry brine and inject with no salt melted butter.
Beat Bobby Flay!!!
Yep! I didn't win though lol
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this video!! I've been intimidated by our smoker but found a giant turkey for $5, so I had to try smoking it 😁 We have a small Pit Boss pellet smoker so I couldn't fit the whole turkey. For time sake, I dry brined (my first brining ever😁) the breasts... it turned out AMAZING, so stinkin juicy.. I totally surprised my hubby. Next, I'm gonna use your 2020 Turkey leg video for the giant drumsticks 😋
Watching you cut each one of the turkey breasts with the grain instead of against it just made my heart sink. Why, just why???