How many of you brine your turkey before cooking it?
I found this out a few years ago online and ever since I have never had a "dry" turkey plus it has a lot more favor. My family has never been big turkey eaters, we've always had a lot of left-overs the Monday after Thanksgiving but since I started brinning the turkey the left-overs never make it to Saturday.
Here's a couple recipes I like. Both require brinning for 24 hours. One other thing, Butterball turkey does not do as good as a nature turkey but it still works.
Sometimes I have to use 4 quarts of apple juice depending on the size of the container so the turkey is covered.
Make sure you WASH the turkey off real good in cold running water to get off as much brine as possible.
Apple Brine For Turkey
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2 quarts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
3 quarts cold water
3 oranges, quartered
4 ounces fresh ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Substitute 3/4 cup Morton Kosher Salt or 1/2 cup table salt for Diamond Crystal.
Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, let mixture come to room temperature, then refrigerate to 40�F.
In a large non-reactive container, combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients. When adding the oranges, squeeze each piece to release the juice into the container, then drop in the peel.
Shake's Honey Brine
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1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
2 TBSP Morton Tender Quick
1 cup honey 3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pickling spice
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and heat to 160�F. Temperatures above 160� will harm the flavor of the honey. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Makes about 1 gallon of brining solution.
Morton Tender Quick is a meat curing agent containing salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and propylene glycol. It can be found at butcher supply stores
I found this out a few years ago online and ever since I have never had a "dry" turkey plus it has a lot more favor. My family has never been big turkey eaters, we've always had a lot of left-overs the Monday after Thanksgiving but since I started brinning the turkey the left-overs never make it to Saturday.
Here's a couple recipes I like. Both require brinning for 24 hours. One other thing, Butterball turkey does not do as good as a nature turkey but it still works.
Sometimes I have to use 4 quarts of apple juice depending on the size of the container so the turkey is covered.
Make sure you WASH the turkey off real good in cold running water to get off as much brine as possible.
Apple Brine For Turkey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 quarts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
3 quarts cold water
3 oranges, quartered
4 ounces fresh ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Substitute 3/4 cup Morton Kosher Salt or 1/2 cup table salt for Diamond Crystal.
Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, let mixture come to room temperature, then refrigerate to 40�F.
In a large non-reactive container, combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients. When adding the oranges, squeeze each piece to release the juice into the container, then drop in the peel.
Shake's Honey Brine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
2 TBSP Morton Tender Quick
1 cup honey 3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pickling spice
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and heat to 160�F. Temperatures above 160� will harm the flavor of the honey. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Makes about 1 gallon of brining solution.
Morton Tender Quick is a meat curing agent containing salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and propylene glycol. It can be found at butcher supply stores
