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I have a logistical problem that leaves me with no fridge room for 2 days before Thanksgiving... I always brine my turkey, so I don't have any questions about that, but typically it's only an 8 - 10 hour brine.

Is it possible to "over brine" a turkey? Lets assume I keep it covered and keep it cold (so that we're not discussing food safety as it relates to the turkey getting warm).

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2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

It is possible to over brine meat. If you leave it in too long it will get too salty.

If you use a more dilute brine it won't get as salty but you will wash out more of the natural flavor into the water as well.

You could submerge your turkey in its packaging in ice water in a cooler for a day before brining. You could even thaw the turkey in this manner if you made sure to keep it in ice water so it didn't get to 40F.

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up vote -1 down vote

The meat will be moist and delicious, but the gravy you make from the drippings will be so salty it will almost be inedible. Anything over 48 hours will probably be too much. You can soak in water after over-brining to extract some of the salts.

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I'm curious why this answer got downvoted? Is it just wrong? By osmosis it makes sense... I don't intend to brine and then un-brine my turkey, but that being said, was this guy's logic simply wrong or did it create a food safety hazard or anything? – Rikon Nov 28 '11 at 17:20
I'm not the downvote but I make gravy out of my brined turkey drippings every year. It surely doesn't need any extra salt but it is delicious. – Sobachatina Nov 30 '11 at 20:16
Nothing is wrong with making gravy out of the drippings of a brined turkey. My point was that if you brine for too long (more than 48 hours), the gravy will come out too salty as you reduce it. This is just my opinion based on experience, take it with a grain of salt ;) – Josh Stodola May 16 '12 at 20:17

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