There are plenty of American cooking sites trying to break the brining habit…this from seriouseats.com on why dry brining (rub) is the way to go. I make a rub with lots of flavour and colour (e.g., paprika) and give it 24 hours in the fridge uncovered. The result is crackling skin and moist flavourful meat.
"By far the most common alternative is plain old salting. When you salt a turkey (or chicken) breast, meat juices are initially drawn out through the process of osmosis (yes, this time it really is osmosis at work). As the salt dissolves in these juices, it forms what amounts to a very concentrated brine, which then allows it to break down muscle proteins. The loosened muscle fibers allow the juices to get reabsorbed, this time taking the salt along for the ride.
Through this process—osmosis, dissolving, reabsorbing—the salt will slowly work its way into the meat."
And before people come back with “But you can get much cheaper ones in the UK !” - yes you can but these are probably the same people who are claiming their turkeys are bland and tasteless.
If some people applied even a bit of their food purchase thinking to other life choices, they’d all be driving around in Dacias or Kias.
I might be a walking joke, but I have to mention the competitive prices of Aligro: fresh turkey legs & breasts, entire frozen turkeys in the Schlieren shop.
In the run up to every Christmas I watch Fanny Cradock from the 70s on YouTube, purely for entertainment value ha ha.
She stuffs the bird under the skin using a nylon piping bag. Some of her stuff would revolt you though, mincemeat omelette anyone?
I’m scared of looking for Fanny Cradock online. It can be anything, a candid video from other times, a solo electronic album produced in a basement or something awful that can only come from a twisted mind. Ignorance is bliss
