Turkey Cure Question

[wvhunter1965]

Good morning guys,

I currently have a turkey breast injected and brining in the Complete Turkey Cure and will be taking it out today.

My question is this, do I need to run through the soak and rinse cycle to remove salt as with the bacon cure? I did not see anything in the Meatgistics article about doing this and do not want the turkey to be overly salty.

Thanks

[Jonathon]

wvhunter1965 We did not do this when we cured out turkey and it came out really nice, not too salty in my opinion so I would say that is not necessary, others might disagree though?

[RON PARRISH]

I also used that injection on a wild turkey and did not rinse or soak.It turned out very good!

[wvhunter1965]

Thanks to both of you for the info! As always, Waltons is such a huge help as are the fellow users

[TexLaw]

I can’t comment on the Complete Turkey Cure, and I’m glad to hear that it doesn’t need any soak.

I’ve only brined a turkey by submersing, but I’ve never then gone back and soaked in fresh water (like with a corned beef). It’s always come out just fine. Now, I also don’t use a terribly strong brine.

[wvhunter1965]

Thanks TexLaw. The turkey is in the smoker now and the hardest part is in full swing. WAITING!

[wvhunter1965]

Well, the turkey finished up but it was late so we didn’t get to try it last night. Will give it a try tonight though.

One question though, given the recommended thermal processing time that Waltons supplies in Meatgistics, how long should it take to smoke a turkey breast? That thing was in there for 10 1/2 hours to reach 65 which is fine, but, I am just curious about temp accuracy on my GMG as many items have taken longer than I though they should. Maybe I am just impatient as I am still in the learning stages of this experiment we call smoking meat!

[TexLaw]

It sounds like you need to get a new thermometer. Unless you have a breast from Paul Bunyan’s turkey, a turkey breast shouldn’t take anywhere near 10.5 hours. I’d budget around 3-4 hours for a turkey breast, depending on the size.

Just on the subject, the rule of thumb on a whole turkey is around 30 minutes per pound, and a turkey breast is around 25 minutes per pound. That’s at your typical smoking temperatures of around 225-250F. Meat doesn’t often like to live by rules of thumb, though, so you always need to be ready for it to take more or less time. That said, a breast shouldn’t take 10+ hours.

[wvhunter1965]

Thats my thought also but I do notice one difference in temps. Keep in mind that this is CURED and smoked so it is a slow process. I have done them with out curing and it did not take near as long but this still felt like a lot.

According to the procedure from Waltons, it lists the temps/times below:

THERMAL PROCESSING & SMOKING

Stage 1 - 125° F for 1 hour with smoker vents open
Stage 2 - 145° F for 2 hours and begin smoking
Stage 3 - 200° F until internal meat temp of 165°

My GMG will only go down to 150 so I started there for 3 hours and then moved to 200 and then to 225 to try to get it done.

[rich]

did one on my yoder it was a 6hour cook

[Jonathon]

wvhunter1965 I would take some time to check the temp of your smoker cause 10.5 is too long for a turkey breast. Do you have some sort of thermometer that can read ambient temp? Pellet grills aren’t always the most accurate all around, mine has hot and cold spots that can really change the cook time of whatever I am cooking.

[wvhunter1965]

I have two oven thermometers arriving tomorrow and will do a thorough check on the grill to determine how the temp is and where are the hotspots. The grill is only a couple months old but I realize the possibilities of temp variations.

Hopefully, those thermostats will be helpful. I also want to test my oven temps in the kitchen to see where that is at.

Thanks for the input.