Turkey brine full of beautiful fruity flavors will turn your turkey into a show stopper!
I love Thanksgiving and especially turkey. My sister Kassie on the other hand is not a fan of turkey, that is until she tasted this one that I soaked in this yummy brine. It was moist (sorry, I know people hate that word) but there really is no other word to use. It was full of flavor and a 14 pound turkey was gone, not any leftover. Now that is a sad day.
It is so easy to make. You will add ingredients, bring them to a boil and pour it over your turkey. Really, that easy.
Salt, water and apple cider.
Some brown sugar.
Bay Leaves
Peppercorn!
Garlic! Oh how I love thee… (and don’t stare too hard at the chopping job). I have helpers in the kitchen that are learning. Love it!
Let’s pretty it up with some gorgeous orange peel and rosemary. Oh it smells divine.
Bring to a boil. Cool to room temperature and let those flavors combine, then you can pour over your turkey. I put mine in a large oven bag and into a big container that could fit my bird in.
Tie that baby up and refrigerate 16 to 24 hours.
Next day you will rinse your turkey in some cold water to get off all that extra salt and then cook according to directions. You don’t necessarily have to soak your turkey for 15 minutes. I will do that if I am making homemade gravy, by doing that your gravy won’t be so salty. I have also just rinsed my turkey really well in some cold water and not let it sit and it turns out fine. Don’t worry, you won’t be losing any flavor, all of the flavor goes into the turkey, not just on the skin.
I will be posting how I bake my turkey for turkey day!
Enjoy!
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- 3 cups Apple cider If you can find Honeycrisp Cider it's my favorite
- 2 gallons Cold Water
- 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
- 5 cloves garlic Minced
- 1-1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
- 5 whole Bay Leaves
- Peel Of Three Large Oranges
Ingredients
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- In a large pot combine all ingredients. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.
- Allow to cool completely (I've actually skipped this step before and it has been fine), then pour into a large brining bag or pot. If you can't find a brining bag a oven bag works great as well, just make sure to tie it tight.
- Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.
- When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Submerge turkey in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in clean water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside. !*NOTE If you don't want to make homemade gravy you can skip this soaking step. It just helps to get off all of the excess salt. HOWEVER, you will still want to rinse the turkey well under some cold water. I've done it this way as well and it works fine. Just another note too, don't add any extra salt to the bird. Your brine has done the job on that!
- Discard brine. Remove turkey from clean water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.
