I’ve been brining turkey for Thanksgiving each year for the past five years. It makes a delicious, tender, juicy bird. And its not difficult to do! Here are instructions and some brine recipes for you to use this year.
To brine a turkey you will need a large pot that will hold the whole bird in the brine and a space in the frig large enough to store it for a day. You can improvise if your frig isn’t big enough. I have used buckets of ice and placed another bucket full of turkey and brine in it. For the last two years though, I have used a large, new trash bag to put the bird and brine in. I sit the bag with brine and turkey into a large cooler and surround the bag with ice. When the ice melts, I take the cooler to the back steps and let it drain, then fill it up with ice again. You want to make sure the bird stays at or below 40*F.
I always start my turkey out defrosting on Saturday. By Wednesday it is usually thawed and ready for a 24 hour stint in the brine.
Brining is simply soaking the turkey in a salt solution that has spices and flavors added to it. Brining a turkey imparts delicious flavor and moisture to the meat, it’s the best way to roast a turkey I think. More than that though, if the turkey gets left in the oven for an extra 10-15 minutes, the brining keeps it moist and flavorful. You can leave a turkey in the brine for up to 2 days, but usually just 24 hours will be sufficient to lend those delicious flavors to the meat.
I’ll walk you through brining, it’s not hard but you need to think about what your family likes before you start. Brines can be tailored to your taste. These are just a few brine flavors, there are hundreds out there. Check the internet for more. The rule of thumb is: Use the basic brine and add the flavors your family likes!
Basic Brine:
Dissolve 1 cup table salt or 2 cups kosher salt in 2 gallons cold water in a large stockpot or clean bucket. Your pot or bucket must hold 6-8 gallons so that you can immerse the turkey. After you add the flavors, brine the turkey for 12-24 hours.
Now add the flavors you like. Here are some suggestions:
Honey Brine
1 ounce tender quick
1 cup honey
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp pickling spices
Traditional Turkey
1 -2 Tablespoons of each:
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Celery seed, ground
Sage
Thyme
Fresh ground black pepper
Spicy Brine
1/2 cup molasses
1-1/2 T crushed or minced garlic (or garlic powder)
1/2 T onion powder
1/4 cup pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 oz maple flavoring
Another Spicy One
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp oregano
Apple Cider Brine
4 gal. apple cider INSTEAD OF WATER
1/2 cup kosher salt INSTEAD OF THE SALT IN THE BASIC BRINE
1 onion, diced
2 heads of garlic divided
1/2 cup fresh ginger, chopped
3 pcs. star anise
4 bay leaves
4 oranges quartered
Roasting The Brined Turkey
To roast the brined turkey, it is important to rinse the turkey well and to pat it dry with a clean cloth or paper towel before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 400* F. Paint the breast portion with soft butter, add some herbs if desired. cover the breast with a foil tent. Roast the turkey at 400* for 35 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and roast the remaining time indicated on the packaging of the turkey. Uncover the breast the last 1 1/2 hours. The USDA recommends that you let the turkey breast come to 170* and the legs to 180* before removing the turkey from the oven. Remember however that the turkey will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven. Especially if you cover it with foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. The resting period will also allow the juices to settle in the meat, making for a better tasting turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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How spicy is spicy?
The ones that say “spicey” aren’t really hot-spicey. If you consider how big a turkey is and the amount of black pepper in the one brine, you can see that its not too hot. You can taste the spices though, especially in the skin of the roasted turkey. My children like them all.
Sylvia,
Thank you not only for the recipes but the ‘how to’. I have a rather large turkey and was fretting about how in the world I would even fit it in the fridge to brine it. The ice bucket solution is perfect.
We’re going to try your traditional brine this year. I’ve never brined & the men in the house have never had brined turkey. I’ll be using a cooler & putting it in the garage where the temp runs mid-30’s in the winter here.
Great food!
I just can stop my self to eat if plates will putted on the table near me. Ingredients mentioned here are not much expensive and recipe also quite easy. I will surely try it ane let you know later. Thank you!
This was DELICIOUS! I have this whole post printed out & am adding the page to my “favourites” binder. Thanks so much!
Now I’m off to comment on some other blogger’s recipes, as I tried a few new ones this year!
Michaela, I’m so glad you liked it! I used the Traditional Turkey brine this year too, it was sooo good.