Long story short, I have a fresh turkey with a sell-by date of Dec-1. I put it in Smokin's turkey brine last night, but it won't be served until Sat evening (I'm frying another one to go with it).

What's my best option here? Will brining for 3-4 days hurt it? Should I brine 2 days then let it dry in fridge 2 days? Should I brine 48 hours, dry 1 day, partially smoke, fridge, then finish in oven? Put in in the dishwasher?

Your suggestions appreciated.

Dennis - I held a fresh bird in the fridge (not brined) six days befor cooking for Thanksgiving.

You'll have to be the judge on the "sell by" vs. the "use by" date. Best of luck in keeping away from the nasties!!!

I'd go with the brine 2 days, fridge two days. Can't say what will happen with a 3 or 4 day brine, but that's pretty long.

Just wrap it tight so the air doesn't get to it too much.

I've done real big birds[20-24 lbs],back when I did big birds ,for three days.

Like smokin says,I don't think a couple days resting in a really cold refrig would hurt it.

If you are smoking it,I'm one of those folks that thinks they are better when sectioned,wrapped tight,chilled ,and sliced up a couple days after cooking.

We like them served cold and you can see Smokin's brine come out when you cut the cold turkey.

We often do the cold one,ahead of time,and oven cook one the day of serving.

Makes a nice contrast.

Dennis - You did not mention the size of your bird but when brining a turkey, I go at about 2.5 hrs/lb. Following the brine, I'm a big believer in letting the bird air dry (unwrapped) in a fridge for 12-24 hours (forms a type of "pellicle"-seems to take the smoke better and comes out with a little crispier skin). After that, as Smokin and Tom mentioned, wrap and hold in the fridge for 2-3 days. Should have no problems at all.

Personally, I get my best results when smoking a turkey by starting out (after the brining/holding period) with a cold bird straight from the fridge and smoke, breast down, at 200F for 2 hours. I then pull the bird and finish on a rotisserie.

This is a 20-pound bird. I plan on smoking for a while, then moving it to a hot oven.

I want good smoke penetration, so any suggestions on when to move from smoker to oven? I was thinking around 120-130 in the breast.

Thanks.

Well, I wound up leaving the bird in Smokin's brine for 36 hours. Then I removed it from the brine and placed it uncovered in the fridge for 48 more hours (the fridge sure smelled good). Then into the Smoker with 4 oz hickory and 1 briquette.

I smoked @250 deg to an itnernal breast temp of 130, then into a 400 deg oven to 160 internal.

Results: It was e x t r e m e l y juicy--the best turkey I've ever had. Smoke flavor was very light (I wish it would have been a little more prounounced). I disappeard fast and I got many compliments that it was the best turkey they'd ever eaten.

Ya reckon Smokin' is a master smoker? I too did the holiday brine for Thanksgiving. You are the Master of Smoking Smokin'. I reaped the benefits of your trial and error. It was loved by all the adults. What do children know........ lol. Most of the children loved it too. I had numerous requests for ya recipe. I gave it to all. My recipe has a notation at the bottom giving you all the credit. All I can say is WTGGGGGGG Smokin'.

Well, gosh, thanks.

If I make you guys look good, that makes me happy.

Glad it worked out Dennis. The key is now you have a basic brine so add some of your own thoughts on seasonings.

Appreciate the feedback. And please do share the recipe, if it helps others, then good for them.

Smokin'