I know Smokin has told us brined turkey finishes faster than unbrined. My wife was surprised a couple years ago when our brined whole turkey in the oven finished sooner than expected and conflicted with her meal plans. The brined smoked turkey breast finished on time cause I've done a number of them. If you're new to brining, here's additional valuable information from Wikepedia and consider this when planning this year’s feast:
Brined Meat Cooks Faster
Brined meat tends to cook faster than unbrined meat. Some people believe that the water added to meat through the brining process conducts more heat, resulting in a faster cooking time. The more likely cause, according to Robert L. Wolke in an e-mail to TVWB, is that the denatured meat proteins are partially "cooked" by the brining process, so the heat has less work to do and the meat cooks faster (me..."whatever"). So, if you're used to cooking an unbrined chicken or turkey for a certain length of time, start checking the internal temp about 2/3 of the way through the normal cooking time.
I knew it finished faster but was surprised that the cooking time can be cut by as much as a third. Seems like something to reinforce if folks are brining for the first time.
Oh. And if you've never brined a turkey, read Smokin's Brining 101 and give it a go. I won't do turkeys without brining anymore.
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