Who wouldn’t want to eat a tender, moist, and flavorful turkey for their Thanksgiving feast? Brining is a salt marinade which causes the meat tissues to absorb water and flavorings by breaking down the proteins. This is why brining is a popular method of preparing a Thanksgiving turkey because any moisture loss while roasting still produces a juicy and flavorful turkey.
It’s important to note that you do not want to brine a kosher or self-basting bird. Otherwise the turkey will be too salty.
Most brining recipes call for a gallon of water or stock and a cup of salt and sugar each. From there, people often add apple juice, vinegar, whiskey, and other aromatics. I like to keep things simple by using ingredients I have in the pantry.
A few weeks ago I brined a turkey for two days for my father’s birthday. Everyone commented on how juicy and tender the turkey was. Dad was happy, I was happy, and I decided brining is the only way I’ll ever prepare turkey again.
I thought I would share with you how I brined the turkey.
Using a thawed turkey, I removed the giblets and neck from the inside. Next, I rinsed the outside and inside of the bird thoroughly. Then, I set the turkey in a rimmed roasting pan and pat it dry with paper towels.
I placed an oven roasting bag in a large soup pot with the opening of the bag over lapping the rim of the pot, carefully placing the turkey in the bag.
***Many people will tell you to brine your turkey in heavy duty garbage bags, Home Depot style pails, and XXL size ziplock bags. I’ve read that garbage bags shouldn’t be used because they are not made from food-grade plastic. Unless you have a second refrigerator, I don’t see how a large pail can fit in a family refrigerator. I also had a hard time finding the XXL ziplock bags. So what I decided the most practical thing to to do was buy poultry oven roasting bags I knew would fit my turkey. I also emptied out, washed, and sanitized the bottom meat drawer of the refrigerator. I found this was a good way to brine my turkey with the least amount of hassle, taking up the least amount of space, and kept the turkey nice and cold.
I slowly poured the brine into the bag and tied a loose knot.
I carefully transferred the turkey to the (cleaned and sanitized) meat drawer from the refrigerator with the knot facing upwards. I marinated the turkey for 1 day before turning the turkey over so the top side was bottom, and the bottom was top. This way both halves of the turkey had ample time to marinate. I basted the upper side of the turkey once during the process.
When it was time to roast the bird, I rinsed the turkey again, including the inner cavity. I patted the turkey dry before lathering with seasoned butter before cooking. This is how I brined the bird and highly recommend you do the same for moist, flavorful turkey!
*Notes:
-Someone suggested in the comments that you should brine your bird for 1 hour for every pound. I think this is a good rule of thumb but I have brined for longer with good results too.
-I’m getting asked a lot if a person can brine a pre-seasoned turkey. Technically speaking, experts say not to. However, I have and I cut the brine time down in half with no problems of excess salt. I am not recommending you do this but just sharing my own experience. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).
-The “things” floating in the picture are not anchovies or sardines as people have mistaken them for in the comments. They’re ice cubes. 🙂
Here’s my guide on how to roast a turkey.
- 12 cups water, divided
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sage
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- 2 tablespoons rosemary
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 4 cups ice
- Bring 4 cups of water to a simmering boil. Add salt and sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat. Stir in 8 cups cold water, apple cider vinegar, sage, thyme, rosemary, pepper, and ice. The brine is ready to be used.
- Remove giblets and neck from the cavity. Rinse the outside and inside of a thawed turkey. Using paper towels, pat the turkey dry. Complete submerge the turkey in a large soup pot bigger than the bird and cover with a lid. Allow the turkey to marinate for 12 hours for a small turkey (8-10 lbs) and up to a full day for a bigger bird. (Update: 11/27/13 - You may need to flip your bird half way through the brine process) Rinse turkey and pat dry before adding additional seasoning, butter, or oil in preparation for roasting.
Here’s my guide on How to Roast a Turkey. Click here for the recipe.
Kimberly says
Hi Alice,
This is going to be my second time making a turkey and I’m truly excited and nervous (the first time was a few years ago and it didn’t turn out as I had hoped). I would like to use your brining recipe and was wondering if I used chicken broth instead of water, will I end up with the same results? Also if I did use chicken broth, is there anything I should do differently while using your recipe? Please help, I am truly an amateur when it comes to cooking. Thank you.
Anna Gibson says
This brine recipe was excellent! I made it last year at Christmas and the turkey came out so tender.
Mike says
Howdyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Can I use a cooler for the turkey? If I use a cooler I could add more ice and even frozen ice bags to keep the turkey cool.
Thanks for the help.
Mike
Alice Currah says
Hi Scott,
That is an awesome testimony of why brining is the key to great tasting turkey. Best tasting turkey, huh? I think you just earned yourself the job of making the turkey every year. Thanks for stopping by.
Alice Currah says
Hi Lynn,
You don’t need the ice cubes as long as your bring mixture is cold. The reason for the cubes is to cool the brine down so it doesn’t start the cooking process prematurely. Thanks for stopping by.
Lynn says
Are the ice cubes absolutely necessary? I don’t make ice cubes but could go buy a bag. But if I can get by without them this time (my first time brining) it would be great. The turkey is just for me, no guests etc.
scott says
I tried your recipe for the first time last Thanksgiving. I told my girlfriends mom I would cook the turkey last year. She said I doubt the turkey would be great. Well I am not much of a cook and your directions were easy to follow and her mom admitted it was the best tasting turkey she had ever eaten! Thankyoufor making me look like I knew what I was doing. I will never cook a turkey any other way!
Alice Currah says
So glad your turkey was a hit! Happy Thanksgiving!
Dorothy says
It was amazing! Everyone loved it. I confess, I didn’t do much seasoning other than a little butter and some fresh herbs on top. I was running late and couldn’t bother lifting the skin and doing additional seasoning. I stuck a bunch of fresh herbs and and cut up an apple and put it in the cavity. And, I finally found the giblets after cooking the turkey. I looked and looked, I don’t know how I missed it. But, I made the gravy with a turkey neck stock and pan drippings. Although there wasn’t much liquid in the bottom. I’ll worry about that next year. Definitely the juiciest turkey I have ever had. Thank you for sharing!
Boo says
I brine mine in an ice chest with water and the other ingredients and with more ice cubes to keep it fridge cold, usually because I’ve forgotten turkey bags or our fridge is too full this time of year.
Alice Currah says
Although I am not familiar with that method, I did look, you could brine before cooking it this way. Please come back and let me know how this cooking method worked for you… I am very curious!
Alice Currah says
Absolutely, Angela. Happy Thanksgiving.
Alice Currah says
Hi Sandra, I’m not sure if you would need to since you are deep-frying. However, I would definitely season before placing in the fryer. I know people who’ve had much success injecting a liquid seasoning into their turkey before deep-frying.
Alice Currah says
Hi Melissa, you can use any seasoning you like in the brine. I would also use some of those spices to season the turkey before roasting. Yes, feel free to use regular vinegar.
Dorothy says
Ugh, I first saw 4 cups and my pot was a little small for the additional 8 cups of water (managed 7) for making the brine. Then I kept it on simmer and poured the brine over the turkey in the bag in a stock pot but I did add about 3-4 cups of ice over it and stuck it in the fridge right away (I hope that’s okay). Tied the bag and left the knot up. But, it is standing in the pot (sticking out a bit couldn’t cover). I don’t have room in the crisper. I will turn it over before I go to bed. It is a small turkey 9 1/2 lbs. Wish me luck!
Melissa says
Hello, I am Hispanic and we use different seasonings like adobo, sazon, & sofrito, can I still use those seasonings during or after brining? Also I don’t have apple cider vinegar, can use I use white vinegar?
sandra says
Can you brine a turkey you are going to fry? or do you even need to.
CB says
We are using the trashcan method to cook our turkey. I’ve used this in the past and the turkey has been very juicy already. This year I was thinking about brining…do you think I can use a brined turkey with this method? More info on the method at thetrashcanturkey.com
Angela says
Can sea salt be used instead of the kosher salt?
Alice Currah says
Hi Sarah,
I would start brining now. If it is still frozen, I would thaw out on your counter for a few hours in the brine and then back in the fridge. Make sure to take out the turkey 1-2 hours before roasting to allow the bird to come to room temperature before cooking.
Alice Currah says
Hi Darlene, I make the brine in a pot then transfer to a bag with the turkey. Hope this helps.
Alice Currah says
Hi Rus, Yes you can make the brine now and immerse the bird. If you want to do both steps, just make sure you use ice cubes to cool the brine solution down to room temperature. Hope this helps.
Alice Currah says
The sugar does not make the turkey sweeter but instead helps neutralize the salt. If you make the brine and take a small taste, you will understand what I mean. Hope this helps.
Alice Currah says
Hi, you can stuff a brined turkey but the cooking time will be much longer. Most people do not like stuffing a brined turkey because they worry the stuffing will be too salty as the turkey releases its juices. The texture is more dense, too. It is all personal preference. I do not stuff my turkey.
Alice Currah says
Hi, Spatchcocking is a method of cutting then flattening the turkey before cooking. Yes, you can brine the turkey. The main benefit to spactchcocking is reducing cooking time. Hope this helps.