Show of hands — who’s done this before?
On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s the Pain In The Ass factor for this?
Brining the Thanksgiving turkey.
19 Comments for “Brining the Thanksgiving turkey.”
Leave a Comment
More like this:
Here’s what I’ve been doing since I finished up Laundrysplosion 2010: Okay, it’s only been a couple [Read More]
About a month ago, my kid announced she was now a vegetarian. She has made this proclamation before, although I suspect [Read More]
Lunch is the bane of my existence. Well. One of them, at least. We’re not really breakfast people [Read More]
My last secret food shame post is over two years old (and is the most commented post on this blog), so I think [Read More]
Some of these things are good. Public pools. Outdoor movies. The free ferry to Governors Island, with its green lawns [Read More]
I brine every time I do turkey. I use 3/4 cup kosher salt per gallon, then either bourbon and sage, thyme and peppercorns or coffee and molasses (1 cup and 1/4 cup per gallon). Brining not only allows more moisture in the bird, it also gets flavor into the meat instead of just sitting on top of it. I smoke the turkey with cherry wood, also.
Kristen, you’ve got plenty of time to brine it. I use a 5 gallon bucket, and I put ice water in it. If it’s cold enough I just put it in the garage, in a cooler of ice so it’s around the bird. Otherwise, I put the bird in a brining bag in a cooler filled with ice. I also inject the bird with olive oil or butter and a bit of bourbon.
I’ve done the cheesecloth, but I’ve soaked it in apple cider. The white wine sounds really good.
You won’t believe the difference brining will make! mmmm….
I think you can use a yard/leaf trash bag in lieu of any special “brining” bag.
Ive done it and find it to be easy as pie…
Mmm. Pie.
I did last year for family and friends. The spousal unit, who claims she didn’t really like roast turkey now raves about my turkey. Can’t wait until this year when I shall brine again.
And yeah, it was a PITA… especially Le Big Ole Brining Bucket inna fridge… but this year, brining bag will be used.
I’m not sure where to post this tbh :P . I know people are real edgy with all the blog spam etc. I use to run a blog myself, so I’m aware of the work you actually do to keep this up :D . Anyway point is I thought I’d try and put something back into the community so I’ve written a little plugin folks might like. You can find it if you click through to my website. If you don’t like it just delete this comment. Thanks for your time.
Oh, baby! Brining is most definitely worth the effort, even if it’s only a chicken! I use 2 limes, 2 lemons and 2 juicy oranges in the brine mix, along with brown sugar and some salt. MAN, is it good!!! We don’t use any other method anymore!
I brined our turkey for the first time last Thanksgiving and my kids raved that it was the best turkey they had ever had in their life! (they are 26 and 23). I had to go out and buy a 5 gallon plastic container to hold the turkey and brine and clear out the top rack of my refrigerator but I have to say it was SO well worth the trouble. Last week I cooked a chicken after brining it in Apple cider ovrnight. It was ridiculously succulent and tasty.
I have to comment! LOL
I brined my turkey last year(2007) and there were NO LEFTOVERS!
I used the Martha Stewart Brine and only had to omit the Juniper Berries. It was SO juicy!
I had to do a second “Thanksgiving” a week later (Family Stuff) and did it again and again, was awesome!
So for Christmas, we drove from Washington State to Fedsco California. (near San Fransisco) and stopped for a night in Oregon.
My Father in California told me not to make a big turkey (even though there were like 20 people there) because my family does not like turkey really. Well, I decided to be a rebel! LOL
I took a 23lb turkey out of my freezer and plopped it into a cooler with ice the day we left for Oregon. After about 24hours, I opened the turkey and prepared it for my brine. I plopped it into the brine, into the cooler, with ice before e left for California. It sat in the brine for I think about 2 days. Replacing the ice regularly of course!!!
When my uncle carved that turkey, there was literally an audience as all my uncle cous say was “wow! This is almost bleeding with juice! Awesome job Sweetheart!!”
That turkey, as well as my first, had absolutely NO LEFTOVERS!!
-so much for a family that does not like turkey ;)