My Favorite Turkey Brine

Name: My Favorite Turkey Brine
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 18 serving(s)
Ingredients: 3 c. apple juice or apple cider; 2 gallons cold water; 4 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1 1/2 c. kosher salt; 2 c. brown sugar; 3 tbsp. peppercorns; 5 whole bay leaves; Peel of three large oranges

This is all you need for Thanksgiving!

By Ree DrummondPublished: Aug 9, 2023

4.8

20 Ratings

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I brine a Thanksgiving turkey every year because it's the right thing to do. Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution for a certain length of time, long enough for the salt to infiltrate the turkey and actually alter the molecular structure of the meat. It doesn't turn it into a salty mess, either. It just results in a juicy, fantastic turkey. If you've never brined a turkey, you'll just have to trust me on this.

You can buy ready-made brining solutions. I used to buy one at Williams-Sonoma. But making one is a cinch, too. You basically need salt and a mix of other seasoning ingredients. I like to balance the saltiness with the mild sweetness of apple cider (and okay, the not-so-mild sweetness of brown sugar), and it's the easiest way to season a turkey.

There's a couple important things to remember, though:

Only brine fresh turkeys. Brining a frozen turkey is never a good idea, because frozen turkeys are most typically injected with a sodium solution. There are some organic frozen turkeys that have a much lower concentration of the sodium solution. Generally speaking, though, you'll want to brine fresh—not frozen—turkeys.

Making homemade turkey gravy from the drippings of a brined turkey can result in a really salty gravy if you're not careful. Don't worry, I'll show you a few steps that will prevent this from happening.

Can you make the brine ahead of time?

Yes, you can make it several days in advance and store in the fridge until you're ready to submerge your bird!

How long should you brine a turkey?

Shoot for at least 16 hours but no longer than 24 hours. If you brine it any longer than 24 hours the turkey will be too salty.

Do you have to refrigerate a turkey while brining it?

Yes! Do not leave a turkey brining on the counter or it'll spoil. Treat it just like you would a raw turkey, because that's what it is—always refrigerate it!

Do you rinse a turkey after brining?

Yes, you'll need to carefully rinse the turkey (inside and out!) to remove some of the saltiness from the brine. I actually like to soak mine in cold water for about 15 minutes. This is the only time you should ever rinse a turkey! If you don't brine your turkey, you don't need to rinse it. But you should definitely brine it, just so I'm clear.

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Yields:: 18 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 10 mins
Cook Time:: 15 mins
Total Time:: 25 mins

Ingredients

3 c.
apple juice or apple cider
2
gallons cold water
4 tbsp.
fresh rosemary leaves
5
cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c.
kosher salt
2 c.
brown sugar
3 tbsp.
peppercorns
5
whole bay leaves
Peel of three large oranges

Directions

1. Step 1Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve. Turn off the heat, cover, and allow the brine to cool completely.
2. Step 2Place the uncooked turkey in a large brining bag or pot, pour in the brine solution to cover the turkey, and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.
3. Step 3Before roasting, remove the turkey from the brine (discard the brine) and submerge the turkey in a pot or sink filled with fresh, cold water for 15 minutes. This removes excess salt from the outside.
4. Step 4Remove the turkey from the water, pat very dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.

It's time. It's time for Thanksgiving recipes.

I don't care that it's not even Halloween yet!

Oh, I know how it goes. Every year around this time, I think I have all this time to post Thanksgiving recipes on this little food blog of mine. I think, "It's not even Halloween yet. I've got all the time in the world!" Then it happens. It's the same every year. We dress up our children in Iron Man and Richard Nixon costumes, go trick-or-treating in our quaint little town, then by the time they're on their last piece of candy—which is actually like twenty hours later—it's suddenly Christmas. And I’m looking around my kitchen and my little food blog like, "Okay… what just happened?"

And then I ask my children if they have any candy left because I'm having a wicked sugar craving. And they tell me to go bake a pie or something. Smart aleck little varmints. Anyway, today I'm sharing my step-by-step method for brining a turkey. I brine a turkey every year.

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Here's what you need:

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Cut off the top and bottom of each orange.

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Carefully slice off the peel in sections.

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Mmm. Fragrant to the max.

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Strip the leaves off the rosemary sprigs, measure the salt, sugar, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Inhale. Exhale. Thank the Lord above for the aromas that spring forth from the earth.

At least that's what I do every time I make this turkey brine.

(Oh, and you'll need some minced garlic. I just forgot that step. Happens.)

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Pour three cups of apple cider into a stock pot.

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Add two gallons of water…

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A cup and a half of salt…

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Two cups of brown sugar…

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Bay leaves…

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Rosemary…

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Peppercorns…

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And orange peel.

And the forgotten garlic.

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Loveliness!

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Now, bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature; feel free to stick it in the fridge or freezer halfway through the cooling down process

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This is an alien hand (left) and a brining bag.

I'm obsessed with brining bags. Obsessed!

It's all I think about anymore.

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Here’s the turkey inside the brining bag.

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Once the brine solution is cooled, pour it over the turkey.

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Now you’ll just need to seal up the bag and refrigerate it for at least sixteen hours. Twenty-four hours is better, though, especially for a large turkey. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the bag, but 2/3 of the way through the brining, flip the turkey in the bag to make sure it brines evenly. Just pretend you’re an obstetrician and you’re trying to get a breach baby to flip!

Note: This is enough brine for a 20-pound turkey. If you feel as though the turkey needs even more liquid, just top it off with more water and it'll be fine. If you're using a much smaller turkey or a turkey breast, just halve the recipe.

Next up: Roasting this dang thing. (Here are the turkey roasting instructions!)

The fun has only just begun.