Brining turkey tips

[IfIOnly]

This will be our first year brining a turkey. This recipe is the one I'm leaning towards. Will cut the salt to 3/4 cup for the solution as a reviewer suggested. I'm going to Wal-Mart to buy a food-grade, 5 gallon bucket later today. Any tips? Other recipes? I'm looking forward to the shorter cooking time brining offers.

Since it should be so moist, I'm also considering cooking the turkey the day before and reheating it the next day, leaving the oven more free and not as much to do the day of. Good or bad idea?

Thank you!

Edited November 24, 2020 by IfIOnly

[wintermom]

Sounds delicious! I've never heard of brining, but I will have to try it out. Good luck! 

Re: bucket - could you use a large stock pot instead of buying a bucket? 

[IfIOnly]

38 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Sounds delicious! I've never heard of brining, but I will have to try it out. Good luck! 

Re: bucket - could you use a large stock pot instead of buying a bucket? 

I think so too! It'll be fun to try something new. We raised two turkeys this year (one is for Christmas), and they're huge - 35 pounds each give or take before they went in the freezer. I might end up having to use an ice chest. If a turkey is smaller, there are better options. I'd rather do something food-grade though and am hoping a bucket works! 

Edited November 24, 2020 by IfIOnly

[Amy Gen]

I use Martha Stewart’s brine recipe. I mix it in a stock pot, let it cool, and put it over the turkey in a giant zip lock, then put the ziplock in an ice chest overnight. 

[Momto6inIN]

1 hour ago, IfIOnly said:

This will be our first year brining a turkey. This recipe is the one I'm leaning towards. Will cut the salt to 3/4 cup for the solution as a reviewer suggested. I'm going to Wal-Mart to buy a food-grade, 5 gallon bucket later today. Any tips? Other recipes? I'm looking forward to the shorter cooking time brining offers.

Since it should be so moist, I'm also considering cooking the turkey the day before and reheating it the next day, leaving the oven more free and not as much to do the day of. Good or bad idea?

Thank you!

We've brined ours the last few years and I'll never make it a different way now! We use Kate's Thanksgiving Turkey that I printed off several years ago but can't find the link to right now, sorry.

I've done it both ways - the day before and reheat slowly in a roaster with the juice and some gravy the next day and also roasting right before serving. Both are delicious.

I like using a countertop roaster for the turkey so I can use the oven for other stuff.

[IfIOnly]

5 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

We've brined ours the last few years and I'll never make it a different way now! We use Kate's Thanksgiving Turkey that I printed off several years ago but can't find the link to right now, sorry.

I've done it both ways - the day before and reheat slowly in a roaster with the juice and some gravy the next day and also roasting right before serving. Both are delicious.

I like using a countertop roaster for the turkey so I can use the oven for other stuff.

Thank you! I'll look for that recipe!

[IfIOnly]

22 minutes ago, Amy Gen said:

I use Martha Stewart’s brine recipe. I mix it in a stock pot, let it cool, and put it over the turkey in a giant zip lock, then put the ziplock in an ice chest overnight. 

I'll check out her recipe too. Thanks!

[HS Mom in NC]

We do this one every year.  I think coating it in the oil and radiant heat cooking it are they keys to making it extra juicy. SIL does it in the oven which is still very good. It's delicious the day of and exquisite the day after. Turkeys float, so be prepared to flip it in the brine. (We soak ours for 2 days.)

Apple Brined and Hickory Smoked Turkey

2 quarts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 oranges quartered
4 ounces ginger thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 cloves of garlic crushed
14 pound turkey just barely thawed
olive oil for brushing turkey
roasting pan and roasting rack/turkey lifter
hickory chips soaked

Plan cooking time at about 15 minutes per pound.

In stock pot bring apple juice, brown sugar, and kosher salt just to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and boil for about 3 minutes.  Let it cool to room temperature.  Pour into a container in your refrigerator and put turkey in breast side down.  Let sit at least over night, but 2 days is best.

Soak your woodchips overnight. Make a 2-4 foil packets of soaked wood ships the day you grill.  Use two layers of aluminum foil to make a large rectangular pocket folded several times around the edges to seal.  Put in  several handfuls of soaked woodchips and seal up the last open edge.  Cut half a dozen slits in the top of the package to let smoke out. (Like the silts in the top of an apple pie to let the steam out.)

Set up the grill for indirect heating on medium heat. Put the foil packet of woodchips on the heating element if possible.  Other wise get it as close as you can.  It has to get very hot to start smoking.  Replace with another when it is no longer smoking.

Put the roasting pan on the side of the grill that is not directly over the heat.  Put the roasting rack or turkey lifter in the roasting pan. Put the turkey on the roaster/lifter with the breast side up.  Brush with olive oil.  After about 40 minutes the wings will be golden brown.  Put foil over them so they don't burn. Brush the rest of the turkey with more olive oil.  About 1 hour or so into the cooking time the breast will be golden brown.  Cover it in foil so it doesn't burn. Turkey is done when juices run clear and the internal temperature is 180 degrees.

Transfer to cutting board and cover loosely in foil.  Let rest about 20 minutes before carving.

 

[IfIOnly]

1 hour ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

We do this one every year.  I think coating it in the oil and radiant heat cooking it are they keys to making it extra juicy. SIL does it in the oven which is still very good. It's delicious the day of and exquisite the day after. Turkeys float, so be prepared to flip it in the brine. (We soak ours for 2 days.)

Apple Brined and Hickory Smoked Turkey

2 quarts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 oranges quartered
4 ounces ginger thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 cloves of garlic crushed
14 pound turkey just barely thawed
olive oil for brushing turkey
roasting pan and roasting rack/turkey lifter
hickory chips soaked

Plan cooking time at about 15 minutes per pound.

In stock pot bring apple juice, brown sugar, and kosher salt just to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and boil for about 3 minutes.  Let it cool to room temperature.  Pour into a container in your refrigerator and put turkey in breast side down.  Let sit at least over night, but 2 days is best.

Soak your woodchips overnight. Make a 2-4 foil packets of soaked wood ships the day you grill.  Use two layers of aluminum foil to make a large rectangular pocket folded several times around the edges to seal.  Put in  several handfuls of soaked woodchips and seal up the last open edge.  Cut half a dozen slits in the top of the package to let smoke out. (Like the silts in the top of an apple pie to let the steam out.)

Set up the grill for indirect heating on medium heat. Put the foil packet of woodchips on the heating element if possible.  Other wise get it as close as you can.  It has to get very hot to start smoking.  Replace with another when it is no longer smoking.

Put the roasting pan on the side of the grill that is not directly over the heat.  Put the roasting rack or turkey lifter in the roasting pan. Put the turkey on the roaster/lifter with the breast side up.  Brush with olive oil.  After about 40 minutes the wings will be golden brown.  Put foil over them so they don't burn. Brush the rest of the turkey with more olive oil.  About 1 hour or so into the cooking time the breast will be golden brown.  Cover it in foil so it doesn't burn. Turkey is done when juices run clear and the internal temperature is 180 degrees.

Transfer to cutting board and cover loosely in foil.  Let rest about 20 minutes before carving.

 

 

Thank you so much for all the great tips. The apple juice is a fun addition to the brine. We like all those spices and flavors too.

[KungFuPanda]

I quit brining when I started spatchcocking the bird to cook.  It cooks quickly enough that the meat doesn't dry out.  I'm thinking this might not translate exactly to a giant turkey.  I generally pick the smaller ones.

[Ali in OR]

We brine with Alton Brown's recipe (too lazy to find it now) just for 8-10 hours on Wed in a stockpot in fridge. We don't let it brine overnight--I read somewhere that was bad--maybe that's in the recipe I'm too lazy to find. Anyway, dh then smokes it on our Weber charcoal grill, rain or shine (on covered front porch if it's rain). It is amazing.

[IfIOnly]

Turkey is brining in ice chest. Had to double recipe in OP. Out in mud room where it'll stay a good temp. Actually brining breast down overnight. Was turning it for a bit. Looking forward to trying it cooked tomorrow.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I do a liquid brine every year.  I get the Williams Sonoma brine and put it in a big heavy duty turkey bag in the fridge.

[Acadie]

For the first time this year we tried dry brining. The turkey was moist and flavorful with brown crispy skin, and so much easier than soaking in liquid! Dh and I agreed we've found the method we're going to stick with forevermore 🙂

Brushing with butter and starting with high heat are important.

https://www.askchefdennis.com/dry-brine-roast-turkey/#wprm-recipe-container-74171

[IfIOnly]

1 hour ago, Acadie said:

For the first time this year we tried dry brining. The turkey was moist and flavorful with brown crispy skin, and so much easier than soaking in liquid! Dh and I agreed we've found the method we're going to stick with forevermore 🙂

Brushing with butter and starting with high heat are important.

https://www.askchefdennis.com/dry-brine-roast-turkey/#wprm-recipe-container-74171

Interesting! I'll keep dry brining in mind.

I watched the video and the turkey looked just like our liquid brined turkey this year. Ugly! Ha! The spices kind of make it look funky. It's not your picture perfect turkey. It sure tasted great though and was so moist and flavorful. It could have brined longer, especially for the size of our turkey. Definitely a successful experience. Yum!

[Forget-Me-Not]

Late to the thread, but I use Alton Brown’s brine recipe too (except I use chicken stock instead of vegetable, and I don’t put a cinnamon stick in the aromatics inside the cavity). We brined it overnight, rubbed it with canola oil and roasted it in a countertop turkey roaster. It was really good. The gravy from the drippings was amazing. 

[IfIOnly]

2 hours ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

Late to the thread, but I use Alton Brown’s brine recipe too (except I use chicken stock instead of vegetable, and I don’t put a cinnamon stick in the aromatics inside the cavity). We brined it overnight, rubbed it with canola oil and roasted it in a countertop turkey roaster. It was really good. The gravy from the drippings was amazing. 

Yum! I accidentally dumped all the drippings down the drain! An emergency run to the store for gravy packets then followed. I was really looking forward to trying the gravy from brined turkey. Boo!

[Acadie]

10 hours ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

Late to the thread, but I use Alton Brown’s brine recipe too (except I use chicken stock instead of vegetable, and I don’t put a cinnamon stick in the aromatics inside the cavity). We brined it overnight, rubbed it with canola oil and roasted it in a countertop turkey roaster. It was really good. The gravy from the drippings was amazing. 

I made gravy with the drippings of my dry-brined turkey this year and it needed no additional seasoning whatsoever--the salt, pepper, and aromatics balance was just right! Couldn't believe it.

[Carrie12345]

We’ve brined once or twice before, but dh picked up some brining kit this year rather than DIY seasonings. It was a hit, but we threw away the packaging and will probably never remember what it was, lol.  I wound up overcooking it in the electric roaster, but you couldn’t actually tell!