Have you ever brined a turkey? Brining a turkey keeps it moist and flavorful. Once you brine a turkey, you will never go back to un-brined turkeys again!
I started brining our Thanksgiving turkey years ago. I volunteered to cook the turkey for John’s family Thanksgiving the year before we were married. Since then, I get nominated to make the turkey every year. And he has a big enough family that we need two turkeys! So, I guess my point it… be sure you’re up for the challenge… because once you start brining your birds, there is no going back!
But it is so worth it!
How to Brine a Turkey
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When we’re talking about a big piece of meat – like a turkey – we brine instead of marinade the meat. Marinating works well for smaller cuts of meat (like steaks, chicken breasts, or pork chops). Brining is for larger cuts of meat (like whole turkeys, chickens, or roasts).
Brining is amazing. It gives the turkey an amazing flavor, and it helps to keep the meat nice and moist. You will never taste a more tender, moist, flavorful piece of turkey!
The good news is, brining a turkey isn’t that difficult. It does take a little bit of prep work, and you do need a little bit of special equipment. But heck, you need to do some serious prep work when you’re making a turkey, anyway!
I learned this technique from an episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats. I’ve adapted it – just a little bit – to fit what I can get my hands on at the local grocery store.
You’ll need to start the day before you plan to cook your bird. Actually, you really need to start a few days before that by pulling your turkey out of the freezer to thaw. Plan on at least 24 hours of thawing time for every 5 pounds of turkey. (Get some more tips for thawing your turkey here.) The turkey needs to sit in the brine for 12-16 hours before he goes in the oven, so do some clock-math to figure out when you need to start your bird in the brine.
I try to find a turkey between 12-14 pounds. If you use a bigger bird, by the time the inside is cooked through, the outside will be starting to get dry. If you need to feed more people than a 14 pound bird will feed, you should cook two turkeys. (Find out how much turkey you need here.)
The brine is pretty easy to whip up. Instead of using big boxes of pre-made chicken broth (or using up all my homemade chicken broth or turkey broth), I use Knorr Homestyle Stock concentrated packets. It is much easier to carry home from the grocery store and keep in the pantry than big boxes of pre-mixed stock, and it usually is a little bit less expensive.
When you’re ready to brine your turkey, you’ll need someplace cool to stash him. You need a big container – big enough to hold a turkey and 2 gallons of liquid. And someplace to keep him cool. That’s where these coolers come in handy. They are just the perfect size to fit the turkey and the brine, and they’ll keep your bird cool without taking up all of your refrigerator space!
Then you just need to find a place to hide the cooler to keep it out of your way. You’ll probably be brining your turkey overnight, so it won’t be in the way too much. But you certainly don’t want to trip on this cooler on your way to the coffee pot in the morning!
We stash ours in a corner of the kitchen, or under the breakfast bar between the stools. If we’re having people over before the turkey will go in the oven, we can put the cooler outside on the porch. (You do want to keep this cooler as your “turkey cooler” – it wouldn’t be great to serve drinks out of it later in the day.)
Are you ready to brine your turkey this year? When you combine the brine with these 3 Steps to the Perfect Turkey or an awesome Fried Turkey, you definitely can’t go wrong!
Take the Fear Out of Turkey
Do you want even more tips about turkey? Check out these Top 10 Turkey Tips and never be afraid of cooking turkey again!
Enjoy!
- 1 thawed turkey, 12-14 pounds
- 4 packets of Knorr Homestyle Stock, chicken or vegetable
- 14 cups water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon whole allspice berries
- 1 gallon iced water
- Combine all ingredients, except turkey and iced water, in a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve all solids. Bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat off, and let the brine cool down. Refrigerate until ready to use - up to 24 hours.
- Place the thawed turkey, rinsed with giblets removed, into a large cooler. Pour cooled brine and iced water over turkey. Cover, and let sit for 12-16 hours, until ready to cook.
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