Brining My Thanksgiving Turkey

[Country Girl]

This year I want to brine my Thanksgiving turkey and am looking for any tips people may have. I'm not new to brining, I love to use this method for chicken and pork chops, but I've never done it with turkey. Does anyone have a favorite brining recipe or method? Any tips for dealing with a 20lb turkey? Does it matter what type of turkey I have? I was looking on the Pioneer Woman's blog and noticed she has a recipe but says do not use it with frozen turkeys because they have been injected with a salt solution. Anyone have any experience brining a frozen (not fresh) turkey? Will it turn out too salty? I don't think I can find a fresh, 20lb turkey locally without having ordered ahead.

 

This is my first year hosting the Thanksgiving dinner for my husband's family (normally it is only our own small family or maybe my parents too) and his family is full of good cooks. My worst fear is ruining the turkey!

[Mejane]

We did this one year:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

It was probably the best turkey we've ever had - so moist! We used a thawed supermarket turkey and it was fine.

[LittleIzumi]

Dh has brined with a normal frozen grocery store turkey and a snazzy free range turkey, and it always turns out fabulously.

ETA: I don't know what recipe he uses, but he mixes up his own brine. I'll try to remember to check.

Edited November 15, 2010 by LittleIzumi

[TN Mama]

I'll see if I can get ahold of the brine recipe we use at Mom's. She uses a frozen turkey and it was not too salty at all. We used a large cooler for the 18lb turkey in brine.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

.

[Miss Peregrine]

We did this one year:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

It was probably the best turkey we've ever had - so moist! We used a thawed supermarket turkey and it was fine.

 

 

Same here. Soooo good.

[Country Girl]

Perfect! Thank you all for reassuring me that by brining a frozen, grocery store turkey, I wouldn't ruin it!

 

Keep the recipes coming, they all look good and I love variety! Ohhhh, I'm looking forward to turkey!:drool:

 

 

Thanks!

[ktgrok]

We did this one year:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

It was probably the best turkey we've ever had - so moist! We used a thawed supermarket turkey and it was fine.

 

:iagree: We use the same recipe, and use a big gatorade type drink cooler to hold it. We always use a frozen turkey from the grocery store and it is delicious. In fact, I've been known to put the turkey in there when not fully thawed...just kept it in there longer.

[Forget-Me-Not]

We did this one year:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

 

It was probably the best turkey we've ever had - so moist! We used a thawed supermarket turkey and it was fine.

 

Yep, we've done this one several times, with thawed frozen turkeys and we've always had fabulous results.

 

I line a 5-gallon bucket with a 10-gallon ziplock bag, add my turkey and brine, and then zip it up. Works great and I can toss the bag when I'm done.

[kitten18]

My recipe looks pretty similar to the Good Eats recipe. I always use a frozen turkey and it turns out great.

 

I don't have enough room in my refrigerator for a big turkey with all the other stuff for Thanksgiving so I put the turkey in a cooler. I very carefully (with help) put the turkey into a double layer of turkey sized oven bags, then pour the brine into that. I then put it into the cooler with ice.

[wapiti]

Another two thumbs up for the Alton Brown recipe. I've used that, oh, maybe four times. And I've altered it for chicken, etc. I got a large plastic container, a box, from Target, and it lives in my pantry solely for the purpose of brining turkey.

 

I'm not sure what we're going to use this year. If it's just us and my mom, I might just do turkey thighs. Or a chicken though I don't think I can get away with that when she's here ;). I don't like leftover turkey.

 

Keep in mind that you'll need to re-arrange refrigerator shelves to accommodate the height of your plastic container.

 

Have fun with the recipe!!

[SABE]

I have been using this recipe with a frozen turkey for years: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Turkey-Brine/Detail.aspx

[Momling]

I've used this one for the past five turkeys. They come out wonderful! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Brined-Turkey-with-Giblet-Cream-Gravy-102478

 

The night before Thanksgiving, I clean out the vegetable drawer of the fridge and put the brine and turkey in it and then put it back in the fridge. I always get smaller turkeys -- about 10-12 lbs. I don't know if a 20 lb bird would fit...

[Country Girl]

Thanks for the recipes and tips on how to brine it. I'm thinking it might be cold enough that I can brine it outside in a cooler so I don't have to use up precious fridge space!

 

Another question, has anyone ever used a roaster to cook their turkey rather than their oven? I know my mil has done this before but I never have. Any tips? She said it doesn't brown very well this way..... any ideas how to remedy that? I will be cooking a turkey and a ham so I was thinking if there was a way to free up oven space that would be helpful too!

 

Thanks!

[Jennifer3141]

I brine my turkey outside every year in large food grade plastic bucket. And I always go for the biggest turkey our health food store can get!! Last year, he was 24.7 pounds.

 

I do an apple cider brine. Wow. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again...

 

I would make searching for a fresh turkey that doesn't have all the extra injected "juices" a high priority.

 

The thing about Thanksgiving at our house was that the sides were really the star of the show, until I figured out how to brine a turkey. :tongue_smilie:

 

Have fun!

 

Oh, the other thing I do is cook the turkey upside down at first too. Now flipping a 25 pound hot turkey isn't easy but it does make the breast meat more moist!!

 

Jen

[kitten18]

Thanks for the recipes and tips on how to brine it. I'm thinking it might be cold enough that I can brine it outside in a cooler so I don't have to use up precious fridge space!

 

Another question, has anyone ever used a roaster to cook their turkey rather than their oven? I know my mil has done this before but I never have. Any tips? She said it doesn't brown very well this way..... any ideas how to remedy that? I will be cooking a turkey and a ham so I was thinking if there was a way to free up oven space that would be helpful too!

 

Thanks!

I brine mine in the cooler with ice (I posted earlier about using oven bags to hold the brine). I keep the cooler in the kitchen because I'm afraid to leave it outside (lots of coyotes here). There is always lots of ice in the cooler in the morning so I know the turkey stays plenty cold.

 

 

I always use a roaster to cook the turkey. The breast doesn't get as browned but the skin on the legs gets crispy. We eat buffet-style and no one here eats the skin on the breast so we don't care about the browning.

The turkey does seem to cook faster in the roaster (you can check the Rival website, I think they have info on how long to cook in the roaster). My turkey always cooks faster than even the roaster instructions says it will.

[Forget-Me-Not]

My brined turkeys always seem to cook faster too. I wonder why that is?

 

I usually don't refrigerate while brining either. In fact, on the show Alton Brown says to just stick it in a cool corner somewhere and that the brine solution is so salty it discourages the growth of any bacteria. We usually put ours in the garage overnight and there is always still ice in the bucket the next morning.

 

FYI--they usually replay that Good Eats episode over several times during this time of year. If you get Food Network, check your lineup. Also check out the one where he deep fries the turkey and builds an outrageous turkey derrick with a household ladder :D We're big time Good Eats fans here.

[Country Girl]

I like the possibility that it will cook faster. With such a big turkey, it would be nice to shave a few minutes off of the cooking time.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips and recipes., it really sounds like I can't go wrong with brining. I'm excited to give it a try!

[ktgrok]

my husband built the turkey derrick last year.

 

 

QUOTE=LemonPie;2187027]My brined turkeys always seem to cook faster too. I wonder why that is?

 

I usually don't refrigerate while brining either. In fact, on the show Alton Brown says to just stick it in a cool corner somewhere and that the brine solution is so salty it discourages the growth of any bacteria. We usually put ours in the garage overnight and there is always still ice in the bucket the next morning.

 

FYI--they usually replay that Good Eats episode over several times during this time of year. If you get Food Network, check your lineup. Also check out the one where he deep fries the turkey and builds an outrageous turkey derrick with a household ladder :D We're big time Good Eats fans here.

[Forget-Me-Not]

my husband built the turkey derrick last year.

 

:lol: That is fabulous! How did it work? I'm going to have to show that to my husband.

[Carol in Cal.]

So how did it turn out?

 

The one time I tried brining, my turkey tasted like lunch meat--so annoying!

[lisabelle]

So how did it turn out?

 

The one time I tried brining, my turkey tasted like lunch meat--so annoying!

 

I did a very expensive brine once--the main ingredients were Guinness and apple cider.

I didn't notice any real difference in the flavor, or moisture. It was so disappointing!

Now I order a preseasoned fresh organic turkey. In the meat department they slather it with butter and then rub their own spice blend into it. I stuff the cavity with onions, carrots, celery and fresh sage. I cook it at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 and cook it until it's done, basting it with a mix of butter and chicken broth. And it's GOOD. I've given up on doing anything else with my turkey. I don't think it can get any better.

[Country Girl]

Now that family is gone, I finally have some time to update everyone...... it was great. The turkey was definitely more moist and more flavorful than normal. I usually think turkey is pretty bland (and dry) and was planning on only eating the ham I made. But once I tasted the turkey, I changed my mind and even went back for seconds on the turkey.

 

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice and encouraged me to give it a try.

 

Thanks!