So the turkey I got for Thanksgiving turned out to be pre-brined. It recommends halving the salt you'd usually use if you want to brine it additionally yourself. I was planning on dry-brining it for a couple days, but now I'm not sure. Any recommendations for dealing with this curveball?
Second, I'm planning on spatchcocking it and smoking it over a bed of carrots, celery, and onion, all of which will be sacrificed to the God of Gravy. How far ahead can I chop those and how do I store them in the interim?
by randomthrowaway62019
3 Comments
FWIW, I’ve dry brined my pre-brined turkey for years and it comes out well.
I wouldn’t dry brine it. I’ve had this scenario many times and I’ve never wished a pre brined turkey had more salt. To me this is madness. It’s brined. You don’t need to brine it again. If you want to dry it out spatchcock it a few days early and very very lightly salt the skin and air it out in the fridge. The meat has enough salt in it.
Posted the same question two years ago because I had the same dilemma. Didn’t get much response and went with still dry brining it but using less salt than I would have otherwise. Turned out good and not too salty. Didn’t really measure salt used and went mainly off vibes so this anecdotal story probably isn’t too helpful but think your safe to try.