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The first year I brined my Thanksgiving turkey, it was something of a disaster. I didn't plan ahead well as to what I was going to brine my turkey in and so ended up using a tall, blue plastic garbage can that I had stashed away in my hall closet (I scrubbed it well before committing any edibles to it).
I started out by pouring my brining liquid into it and then plopping my turkey in. Of course there was too much liquid, so I had a flood of brine pour out all over my kitchen floor. I vividly remember standing there, bailing out the brine with a small sauce pot. Then, after I had cleared a space in my fridge for brining turkey, the weight was too much for my plastic fridge shelf, and I ended up cracking the bottom shelf. I ended up lining the shelf with a wooden cutting board which seemed to give it enough support and the refrigerator didn't fall apart overnight.
Thankfully, it was all worth it in the end, because I ended up with tasty, juicy bird that all my guests enjoyed. That taste has kept me brining and happily I've gotten better at it through trial and error. I've learned to use double layers of the large zip top bags (both Glad and Ziploc make them) that are designed for storing sweaters as the brining vessel. I've also gotten the brine recipe down to a science and you can find it after the jump.
Turkey Brine
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons black pepper corns
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
Dissolve brine in 2 quarts of boiling water. Once it is dissolved, add in 1-2 quarts more water (depending on the size of your bird). Place your turkey in a large Ziploc storage bag (one of the big ones designed for holding sweaters). When the brine is cool, pour over bird (you can add a bunch of ice cubes to speed this process).
Let bird sit in brine for 12-24 hours. Remove, rinse and roast normally.
Watch how to brine a turkey step-by-step from the Culinary Institute of America for more tips on brining the perfect bird.
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12-18-2010 @5:58PM Janelle said... If I Brined the turkey with the gizzards in a bag still inside the neck cavity, will it taint the meat?
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11-15-2011 @7:59AM matt said... you all need to quit using kosher salt and use tenderquick curing salt. you will have much better results.
11-23-2011 @8:34AM Allison Lumsden Garrett said... I put my birds in the brine when they were still slightly frozen last year, and pulled out the giblets when the turkey was pliable enough to remove them. Both turkeys (one was smoked, one was roasted) turned out perfectly.
11-09-2007 @10:40AM Harley said... Williams-Sonoma also carries amazing brines as well as the bags large enough to brine your turkey in.
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11-09-2007 @11:23AM Wendy said... I brined my first turkey (that I ever roaster after being a vegetarian for 16 yrs) last year and it was ridiculously delicious. I'm going to use your brining recipe for this year's turkey.
I used a brining bag and brining mix from Whole Foods last year and kept the turkey on ice in my 5-day cooler (keeps things frozen for 5 days). This year my turkey is going on a road trip to my mother's house, brining along the way, (she cannot roast a good turkey and is against brining!) so the cooler will definitely come in handy.
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11-09-2007 @11:51AM Brad said... One nice thing about living in a colder climate (Canada!) is you can use your outdoors (or your garage with a concrete floor) as a refrigerator. I put my turkey in a cooler, pour the brine over it, top with ice cubes, and leave it sit in mother nature's ice-closet. =)
Really handy during the holidays, as we tend to have lots of family over, and fridge space becomes a premium.
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11-09-2007 @12:36PM Jason Bird said... If you are frying your brined turkey, don't forget to drain it well and dry off the surface. If you don't it will be hot splatter city!
Another turkey frying tip to limit splatter, after drying the outside of the bird, rub it with some of the frying oil before dropping it in.
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11-09-2007 @1:31PM Stuart said... If you added some crushed apples and onion to that brine recipe and replaced about half of the brown sugar with honey it would look a lot like mine.
Also, I've used a bake-in bag to brine a turkey in to good effect - you just need to use a bit less brining solution than you might otherwise.
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11-09-2007 @2:53PM Kiwi Carlisle said... I've always used a brand-new food-grade container (if I use plastic) when brining so that there's no possibility of any contamination. If I'm using glass or ceramic, a good scrubbing is all that's necessary, but plastic is just a little too porous for complete safety.
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11-09-2007 @2:59PM rainey Smith said... An 18qt Cambro tub both holds a turkey nicely for brining and fits in most fridges. Alternatively, most coolers will hold a turkey, brine and a large quantity of ice for keeping it in a garage or basement without benefit of a fridge or electricity.
I have also put my Cambro packed with ice as well as brine outside overnight in Los Angeles at this time of year.
Paying what W-S charges for a jar of kosher salt is my personal definition of nutz. I'm am actually offended at what they have the nerve to charge for that.
Here's the brine from Melinda Lee's LA area radio broadcast that I've been using for years. I really like it:
Brine for Turkey
• 1 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 10 whole cloves
• 3 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 6 quart apple juice or apple cider
• 1 orange peel, make sure all pith is removed
• 3 teaspoon thyme or sage, or a combination of the two
Combine all the ingredients in a non-reactive pot, bringing the mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Allow brine to cool completely.
Remove giblets from turkey. Put aside. Rinse turkey under running water, inside and out. Pat dry and submerge in cooled brine. Turkey should be completely submerged.
Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-10 hours or up to 24 hours.
Remove turkey, Pat dry, stuff and roast.
NOTES:
A milder brine may be made. It will have a less flavorful result but, if salt is a concern it's permissable to reduce the amount to 1 cup and still get the chemical effect. Less than 1 cup will negate the chemical exchange. The turkey will absorb 10-15% of the salt present in the brine.
Kosher salt is the ONLY type of salt that can be used to make a brine. It is sweeter and more pure than table salt.
There are two kinds of kosher salt. The most common is flaked salt (e.g. Morton Kosher Salt) which has been pressed into flakes by rollers. The other type is a four-sided crystal (e.g. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt). The crystal-shape measures differently because of its shape. Use about 25% more crystal salt.
The formula is 1 tablespoon of table salt = 1 1/2 tablespoon of flaked kosher salt = 2 tablespoons crystal kosher salt.
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11-23-2010 @6:57AM beth said... I hate to disagree with you about kosher being the only salt you can use, but salt is salt no matter what kind you use (true sea salt is excluded). Its just processed differently.
11-09-2007 @3:04PM Dan B. said... I just go for a home depot paint bucket scrubbed and lined. Toss in bathtub filled with cold water and ice (and an ice pack or two in ziplock bags). Open bathroom window, let sit overnight.
Of course, that was the last few years in apartments with small-ish fridges. This year might be easier.
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11-09-2007 @3:14PM vale526 said... I wanted to give brining a chance again after a really salty turkey on T-G 5 or 6 years ago.So I finally got smart a halved a recipe and am test driving it on a chicken for dinner tonite.Cross your fingers and wish me luck!!!
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11-09-2007 @3:50PM rainey Smith said... Brined flesh that is "salty" wasn't brined enough. I know that's counter-intuitive. I've heard why but, frankly, I didn't understand it and forgot it. But I did get the message that if you don't allow enough time for the process to complete itself, you're going to get "salty".
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11-10-2007 @7:36AM Dan said... I tried brining turkey twice, while the meat was delicious I did not like the consistency of the breast meat... it was too tender and moist. Not exactly mushy, but close. Normal turkey roasting sans brining can produce breast meat that is too dry. While I know brining adds other flavor, I have another trick that I have used ever since... and recommended to others to produce near perfect roasting and great breast meat. For me and those that have tried it -- it works everytime. It is simple. Don't roast the turkey with the breast up. Turn the bird over and roast it breast down. All the fat and moistness from the back of the bird, bastes the breast. The skin still gets crispy so you will not be missing the best part of turkey. I would be interested if anyone else does this.
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11-10-2007 @2:47PM dksbook said... I,m an upside-down roaster, too - only I turn the bird right-side up for the last 45 minutes or so to really get the breast skin crackly brown. That is the most nerve-wracking part of T-giving for me, and it usually takes 4 hands, because we usually have 25 lb birds.
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11-12-2007 @12:23PM Stephanie said... We've been brining for a while, using Alton Brown's turkey brining recipe. We use a five gallon frosting bucket that we purchased from our local bakery for the grand sum of $2. Works great.
One caveat for new briners: a brined turkey will roast much faster than you're used to. We average 12 pound turkeys, and they're usually done in about 2 to 2.5 hours.
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11-17-2007 @1:32AM Blujay said... Great trick that works like a charm on any bird, brined or not, is to pre-heat oven to it's highest temp. (500-550) Liberally rub salt and pepper all inside bird, over, in & under the skin wherever you can slide your fingers between flesh and skin.
Freeze in 4 baggies or pieces of cling wrap, 1 or 2 Tblspoons of the basting fat of choice. Try the "highest smoke point fat that is organic coconut oil or peanut oil now proved two of the healthiest vegetable fats (Google it)
You can of course use butter or any oil in the same way. Tuck frozen chunks of oil/butter/both under breast skin at highest point on both sides of breast (DO TAKE THE PLASTIC OFF).
Cover less meaty areas like drumstick ends & wings with foil & moving fast, place bird in oven, shut door fast time for 15 mins. Searing the flesh completely & eliminating loss of juices.
After 15 min. Lower to 350 (325 W/Convection) hold door open until thermostat light on oven comes on then close & continue roasting.
Cook to correct (about 10 degrees below minimal required) inner temp using reliable meat thermometer or probe (Those plastic pop up things are unreliable & usually made to over cook for safety overkill.
If you don't have a thermometer time at 15 minutes per pound.
If you don't have a thermometer that goes in & stays in during cooking...what you have is not a thermometer but a "Juice releaser". Never pierce cooking meat with anything. If something needs to be turned such as steaks or chops you use tongs not a fork!
About 15 minutes before desired temp/end time, remove foil from wings and drums to allow them to catch up in browning.
Combined with the "flash sear" trick this will always produce the juiciest breast meat & the greatest crispy skin you'll ever have. Whether it's a Turkey or Chicken.
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11-17-2007 @8:19PM Stan Rappoport said... One of our Thanksgiving guests is on a somewhat restricted salt diet- mainly no added salt. Does brining the turkey contribute enough extra salt that we should not do this for his sake, or if the extra amount of salt is very low - does it make any practical difference. Thank you for this info.
Stanrap
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11-17-2007 @8:27PM bob said... Can a frozen turkey (8% solution added by manufacturer) be brined? Any changes to recipes? Bob
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