Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Can I "over-brine" a turkey? Is that a thing?

— Michael Senteck

Answer:

Um, you, you can, and the, you, you can over brine anything. Uh, the usual concern is, uh, excessive salt uptake, and therefore, a salty product on the palate. As the salt penetrates, the, the salt solution penetrates deeper, and then in exchange, it pulls out, you know, the, the, the natural water that's present. And so you can continue to pull in, uh, more salt as time goes on. So you can, that's probably the biggest issue. Um, if you were to, uh, keep something in, uh, that environment for a long time, you can start to affect the, the, the texture of the protein or of the meat itself. And, um, so, um, uh, a couple of possible outcomes. But the, the biggest and most immediate and common concern is gonna be over salted food. You can play with this, you know, by, if you're wet brining, then you can create a solution that's less than, uh, whatever recommendation you're following. And, um, then you can see if you can go longer, you know, in that environment if you have to, for some reason. Let's say you're traveling or you're busy doing something else, but you need to start the brining process. Okay? So again, um, take notes, uh, beforehand, take notes while you're tasting, and then do some comparisons to see what works best for you and the equipment and, uh, you know, your particular situation.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com