Best My Favorite Turkey Brine Recipes

MY FAVORITE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine 2 gallons cold water with the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, rosemary and orange peels in a large pot. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover.
• Allow to cool completely, then place into the fridge to chill. Place uncooked turkey in the chilled brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.
• When ready to roast the turkey, remove from the brine. Submerge the 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.
• Discard the brine. Remove the turkey from the clean water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.

ULTIMATE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Stir salt and sugar into the water until dissolved; bring water again to a boil. Add cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, rosemary, and thyme to the water, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook mixture at a simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Refrigerate brine until completely cooled.

MY FAVORITE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine the water, cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, orange strips, and rosemary leaves in a large pot. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat and cover. Allow to cool completely, and then place into the fridge to chill.
• Place an uncooked, fresh turke in the chilled brine solution, and then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. (You may add more cold water if you need more liquid for the size of turkey you have.).
• When you're ready to roast the turkey, remove the turkey from the brine. Submerge the turkey in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in the clean water for 15 to 20 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside. Discard the brine.
• Remove the turkey from the water, and then rinse again, pat dry and cook according to your normal roasting method.
• NOTES:.
• COOK'S NOTES: Only brine fresh turkeys. Brining a frozen turkey is never a good idea, because frozen turkeys are most typicaly injected with a sodium solution. There are some organic fresh turkeys that have a much lower concentration of the sodium solution. Generally speaking, though, you'll want to brine fresh, not frozen, turkeys.
• Making gravy from the drippings of a brined turkey can result in a really salty gravy if you're not careful. Don't add salt to your gravy without tasting first; it may not need it.

THE BEST TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup salt, the sugar and 1 quart water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until the salt and sugar are fully dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the peppercorns, thyme, sage and lemon strips. Let steep and cool to room temperature.
• Pour the brine into a large stockpot or bucket and add 3 quarts cold water. Remove the neck and giblets (reserve for gravy) from the turkey and put it into the brine, pushing it down to cover. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Remove the turkey from the brine; rinse and pat dry. Cook according to your favorite method.

MY FAVORITE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine the water, cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, orange peel and rosemary in a large pot. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat. Allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge to chill.
• Place the turkey in the chilled brine solution and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. (You may add more cold water if you need more liquid for the size of turkey you have.)
• When you're ready to roast, remove the turkey from the brine and submerge it in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in the clean water for 15 to 20 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside. Discard the brine.
• Remove the turkey from the water and rinse again, then pat dry. Cook according to your normal roasting method.

MY FAVORITE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine 1-2 gallons water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, sage and bay leaves in large pot over medium heat.
• Stir to dissolve salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Take the brine off the stove and cool down to room temperature.
• Mix brine and ice water in a large stockpot or brining bag.
• Place rinsed and thawed turkey breast side down in brine and cover or tie up brining bag.
• Place inside of cooler and fill cooler with ice (can also be refrigerated) for 8-24 hours, turning the turkey once half way through.
• Be sure to drain and rinse well once removed from the brining liquid.
• Roast or smoke as you normally would.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY WITH SHEET-PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Prepare the turkey: Strip the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme, and coarsely chop the leaves. Place in a medium bowl along with salt, brown sugar and pepper; mix to blend well.
• Place the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack. (If you do not own a wire rack, just place the turkey directly on the baking sheet.) Make sure the giblets (the bagged heart, kidneys and liver, and the neck) are removed from the cavity. Using paper towels, pat the turkey dry on all sides. Sprinkle with the salt mixture, making sure to distribute the seasoning evenly to all the bits and parts.
• Refrigerate turkey, uncovered, for 8 to 24 hours - the longer, the better.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Remove turkey from the fridge, and transfer it to another clean rimmed baking sheet (discard any liquid that has accumulated on the first baking sheet). Stuff turkey with remaining bunch of thyme, a few of the quartered onions and half of the lemons and garlic. Scatter remaining onion quarters, lemons and garlic around the turkey.
• Combine olive oil and 6 tablespoons butter in a small pot over medium heat until butter is melted. Pour half of the mixture over the turkey and onions. Toss the onions lightly to evenly coat; season everything with salt and pepper.
• Roast, rotating the baking sheet every hour or so, until the turkey has reached 160 degrees when a thermometer is inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The turkey will be cooked through and tender, and the skin will be brown, but you can and should get it browner.
• Increase temperature to 425 degrees. Pour remaining butter mixture over the turkey (warm it slightly if solidified) and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and the skin is very deeply browned all over, 20 to 25 minutes. It's O.K. if the internal temperature is just shy of 165 degrees, it will come to temperature as it rests. (If you find the skin is browning too quickly, especially on the top at the breast, feel free to place a sheet of foil over the breast.)
• Remove turkey from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for 30 minutes (and upward of 45 minutes). Tip the turkey, cavity-side down, making sure the aromatics stay inside the cavity and letting any juices run out onto the rimmed baking sheet. (This is what we will use to make our gravy.)
• Transfer the roasted onions, lemons and garlic to another dish and set aside. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let it continue to rest while you make the gravy.
• Make the gravy: Pour about 1 cup Cheater's Turkey Stock or chicken broth onto the baking sheet. Using a spatula (a fish spatula is great for this), scrape up the bits from the turkey drippings, just like you're deglazing a skillet after searing a piece of meat.
• Carefully pour the contents of the baking sheet into a large measuring cup or other spouted vessel. Add remaining stock until you have 4 cups of liquid; you may need more or less stock depending on how juicy the bird was.
• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is sizzling furiously and well toasted, about the color of a graham cracker, 4 to 6 minutes. (The mixture will be thick at first but will thin as the flour cooks.)
• Slowly whisk in fortified stock mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, letting it bubble, thicken and incorporate completely between additions until all of it has been added.
• Add soy sauce and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Continue simmering until gravy is at your desired viscosity and the flavors have all melded together, 5 to 8 minutes. Add more soy sauce if you feel like it needs more depth of flavor, vinegar if you want more acidity, and salt and pepper for seasoning. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.
• To serve, carve the turkey and arrange on a large platter (or two of your largest plates) with the onions, lemons and garlic. Reheat the gravy until it's very hot and transfer to two gravy boats (glass measuring cups or coffee mugs work well if you do not own a gravy boat) and serve alongside.