BEST TURKEY BRINE RECIPE – HOW TO MAKE TURKEY BRINE FROM SCRATCH
Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution, which results in incredibly juicy, flavorful meat. Here’s how to do it.
Provided by: THEPIONEERWOMAN.COM
Categories: Thanksgiving,comfort food,meat,poultry
Total time: 25 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 18 servings
Ingredients:
| 3 c. apple juice or apple cider |
| 2 gallons cold water |
| 4 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves |
| 5 cloves garlic, minced |
| 1 1/2 c. kosher salt |
| 2 c. brown sugar |
| 3 tbsp. peppercorns |
| 5 whole bay leaves |
| Peel of three large oranges |
Steps:
- Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve. Turn off heat, cover and allow the brine to cool completely.
- Place the uncooked turkey in a large brining bag or pot, pour in the brine solution to cover the turkey, and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.
- Before roasting, remove the turkey from the brine (discard the brine) and submerge the turkey in a pot or sink filled with fresh, cold water for 15 minutes. This removes excess salt from the outside.
- Remove the turkey from the water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.
GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY RECIPE | ALTON BROWN | FOOD NETWORK
This holiday season, serve Alton Brown’s most-popular recipe: a brined and roasted turkey from Good Eats on Food Network.
Provided by: Alton Brown
Categories: main-dish
Total time: 9 hours 45 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients:
| 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey |
| 1 cup kosher salt |
| 1/2 cup light brown sugar |
| 1 gallon vegetable stock |
| 1 tablespoon black peppercorns |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger |
| 1 gallon heavily iced water |
| 1 red apple, sliced |
| 1/2 onion, sliced |
| 1 cinnamon stick |
| 1 cup water |
| 4 sprigs rosemary |
| 6 leaves sage |
| Canola oil |
Steps:
- Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
- The night before or early on the day you’d like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
- Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.