"Cook frozen" 12lbs young turkey questions

Should be thawed in the fridge. Might take a couple days.

Yep,like said above,read the turkey 101,check out the FIND at page top,open all forums,and you'll have a good start.

Some people do, but I never throw anything frozen in the smoker. Thaw it safely.

The turkey 101 is at the top of this forum, a link inside "annual turkey discussion"

Thanks...

I red the 101 and bought some cheese cloth during lunchtime!!

should I still brine it or since it's been "solutioned", that would be too much ?

thanks!!

Did ya ever try to rip the raw giblets bag outta a frozen bird?? lol Doesnt sound fun to me. But I would thaw and remove giblets and rinse. Pat dry and cover with mayo.. even under the skin. Loosen the skin up real good. Then rub with your fav rub and smoke it. Some folks like to mix their rub in the mayo.

bob

quote:

Originally posted by Tha Freak:
should I still brine it or since it's been "solutioned", that would be too much ?
thanks!!

still no answer?

and how long to thaw a 12lbs young turkey ??

Mine have usually taken about 3½-4 days. Once it's thawed enough to get the giblet pack and neck out, into the brine.

Brining will help leach out the solution that it was injected with and replace it with the flavors of your brine.

quote:

Originally posted by Tha Freak:

quote:

Originally posted by Tha Freak:
should I still brine it or since it's been "solutioned", that would be too much ?
thanks!!

still no answer?

and how long to thaw a 12lbs young turkey ??

Takes about three days in the frig to thaw a 12#er. I have left the bird on the kitchen counter, covered with a couple of bathtowels (still in the plastic wrap) for a full day. The bird is still pretty frozen but softened on the outside.. so, the overall temp is still in the safe zone. I wouldn't do it any longer than that or it might become unsafe.. and I wouldn't do the counter method unless covered with a blanket to keep the outside of the bird at or below 40º. When I want to thaw a bird fast, I submerge the bird in a sink, still in original packaging and fill the sink with cold water. I change the water about every hour. Takes about a day. It's important to cook the bird that day when thawed by submersion.

Regarding brining:

I had this same question when I first started doing the big birds. So I called Butterball. They got back to me after checking with their cooking specialists cuz they hadn't had this question before. The answer was NO.. or it might be too salty.

Unless you buy fresh birds, it's hard to find a bird that hasn't been solutioned. I used to think this was a good way for the meat companies to make a cheap buck.. and it might be.. but, I believe the overriding reason is to help cooks produce a moister bird.. the same reason we brine the birds. I'm too cheap to buy a farm fresh bird.

That said, I have brined a solutioned bird and really couldn't taste the difference.. so, it's a toss-up for me. Interesting thing about brining, according to Alton Brown. Brining can carry flavors added to the brine into the meat.. whereas marinading only affects the surface and a fraction of an inch into the meat.