Accidentally bought a "butter basted" turkey. Can/should I still brine it?
I was looking forward to trying out brining a turkey this year. But I have ended up in the UK for Thanksgiving and have had to buy a "butter-basted" turkey. I have done a lot of googling, but can't figure out exactly what this means and whether I can/should still brine it.
While trying to figure out if "butter basting" involves salt, I keep coming across the term "self-basting." And it is usually associated with advice to avoid brining.
Can anyone out there help? I just began to defrost the turkey and my original plan was to do the defrosting in a brine in the fridge. Given that it's "butter basted" though, I'm wondering if I should go near it with salt at all. Thanks very much.
Best Answer
Pre-basted turkey is indeed already brined. You can double check this by looking on the ingredient list of the turkey packaging and you should see a salt or vinegar solution listed.
You can still soak the bird if you would like, but either use no salt or a low-salt brine, like a 0.5-1% solution. In this case you will probably be pulling out some of the salt from the brine that's already on the turkey.
Here's a description from The Food Lab (a pretty rigorous source) on these types of turkeys:
Self-basting birds have been injected with a salt and flavor solution to help keep them moist while cooking. They come out incredibly moist, almost wet, and can be cooked directly from the package with minimal pre-roast work required. They also tend to be dull and diluted in flavor.
Pictures about "Accidentally bought a "butter basted" turkey. Can/should I still brine it?"
Is it OK to brine a butter infused turkey?
You can brine a Butterball turkey, but it's not necessary with this brand. The birds are already treated with a brine solution before packaging. If you do decide to take this step, cut down on the amount of salt that you use in the brine.Should I brine a store bought turkey?
Make sure it's not pre-brined It's not unheard-of for store bought turkeys to be injected with brine to impart moisture. If you see a label that has ingredients other than turkey, your bird may be pre-brined. If you brine a pre-brined turkey, you will end up with a very salty Thanksgiving centerpiece.Can a basted turkey be brined?
I brine a self basted turkey every year-better flavor, not too salty and very crispy skin. I don't see any reason to pay 2-3 times as much for a fresh or un-basted turkey. You can achieve the same results with the frozen self basted variety.Should you brine Butterball turkey?
Brining your turkey prior to cooking will help ensure you end up with a deliciously moist and flavor-packed turkey for your next gathering.Citrus Dry-Brine Turkey
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