How to Brine a Turkey
Ingredients
- 3 c apple juice
- 1 ½ c kosher salt
- ½ c brown sugar
- 1 Tb whole peppercorns
- 1 Tb rosemary dry, crushed, or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 onion peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 oranges
- water see instructions
Instructions
- To begin, combine the first 7 ingredients in a stockpot or other large pot.
- Using a microplaner (or zester), zest the oranges into the pot to release all of the flavorful oils.
- Cut the oranges in half. Squeeze the juice into the pot, then toss the orange pieces into the pot as well.
- If your pot is big enough, add 2 gallons of water. If it isn't just add one gallon at this time.
- Bring everything up to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the salt is completely dissolved.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. I generally make this the day before I will need it so that it is completely cooled.
- To brine your turkey, place the thawed turkey neck-side down in a food safe bucket.
- Pour the cooled brine mixture all over the top.
- Add the additional gallon of cold water at this time if your pot wasn't big enough to hold it all.
- If any of the turkey is out of the water (usually the ends of the legs), add enough additional cold water to completely submerge it.
- Cover the bucket with the lid or with foil if you don't have a lid for your bucket.
- Place the bucket inside a tub, or large cooler, and fill tub/cooler with ice. Let this chill overnight or up to 24 hours.
- YOU MUST MONITOR THE ICE. Make sure that your turkey continues to have plenty of ice in the tub/cooler so that it is kept at a safe temperature. If you have a refrigerator big enough that you could set the whole bucket in there, that would be even better. But most people don't have one big enough, or certainly don't have the room for it.
- When you are ready to bake your turkey, carefully pull it out of the bucket and rinse it under cold water in the sink (inside and out). Set it in the sink over a rack to allow any excess liquid to drain out. Pat it dry with paper towels and then place it in your roasting pan.
- Your turkey is now perfectly brined and ready to roast!
See This Recipe:
https://cosmopolitancornbread.com/how-to-brine-a-turkey/Equipment Used
- food safe bucket 5 gallon
- large tub with ice
- stockpot or other large pot
- microplaner tool or zester
- paper towels
