Brine Turkey At Room Temperature

The cooler with the turkey and brine should keep the turkey at 38 f 3 c or below.

Brine turkey at room temperature.

Always allow brine to cool before placing the turkey in. If you re using a cooler with a lid screw the lid on and leave it in a cool place while the turkey brines. A couple of hours brining on the counter should not hurt fresh whole muscle meats as the surface will hit kill temperatures when it is cooked but if the meat has been tenderized with needles or the meat is enhanced with a brine at the manufacturer handle it as you would ground meats cook to a minimum of 156 degrees as anything that was on the outside is now on the inside. Keep your turkey in the fridge while it brines.

Because room temperature turkey falls into this danger zone it is not safe to leave a turkey at room temperature before cooking. When you re ready to cook remove the turkey from the brine brush off any briny bits and let stand at room temperature for a half hour. Brine the turkey in the refrigerator or an ice filled cooler for 12 to 24 hours. It s the best way to be certain the raw turkey temperature stays within a safe range 4 degrees and below.

Remove the turkey from the brine. The temperature danger zone which is defined as the temperature range between which most bacteria grow and reproduce is 40 to 140 degrees fahrenheit. As for the temperature keep it below 40. We do this to avoid keeping the turkey in the range of temperature between 40 140 f.

Chill the turkey in the brine for 8 to 16 hours. Never leave it out at room temperature to soak. Cover the bucket and refrigerate the turkey while it brines. If you re brining outside the refrigerator use a probe thermometer to ensure the brine s temperature doesn t exceed 40 f.

If you brined for 12 hours or fewer you shouldn t need to rinse the turkey. You could go up to about 16 but much longer than that and you ll risk the meat coming out too salty tasting. If your brine did not cool to room temperature it would be a food safety risk to consume. Once this liquid cools to room temperature add the remainder of the water for the brine.

Refrigerate the turkey in the brine for about 24 hours. Keep it in the brine for at least 8 hours.