How to Brine (& Roast) a Turkey -- with things you already have in your home!

Can you believe it's going to be Thanksgiving next week. I was realizing how close we are to Thanksgiving and that we should talk about the amazing results are of a turkey that has been soaked in a brine. I typically use a very simple salt and sugar brine. I've seen some pretty interesting combinations of stuff put into the brine solution.

Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. The turkey. I've read that it is best to only brine a fresh turkey (one that has never been frozen) because the kind that have been frozen tend to have a salt solution injected into them to help preserve juiciness. I've brined a frozen turkey using this method and never had an issue with the meat being too salty. I always make sure to rinse it well and it has always turned out well.

The first time I ever attempted to brine a turkey, which was about 7 or 8 years ago, I didn't have the brining bags. I have used a variety of methods to soak the turkey in a brine and find that two clean trash bags work wonderfully if you don't have a brining bag on hand (like this one pictured from Williams Sonoma). They sell a set of 4 bags for $17.95. 2 small ones for a 5 lb chicken and 2 large ones that will hold up to a 23 pound turkey. And let me just say, once you start brining, you probably won't go back. It makes the breast of the turkey soooooo moist. Even the leftovers on the next day are still moist. It is A-MAAAAZING! But if you don't want to buy bags right away for your first time, then you can use a couple of regular tall kitchen trash bags.
 

Here's my cute little Tom turkey, in a bag and waiting for the brine to be added. It has been thawed (which was done in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days prior to the day before Thanksgiving at no higher than 38 degrees Fahrenheit.), the innards were all removed, it has been rinsed, and then set into two large clean trash bags. For the brine I used a large 5 gallon jug or bucket and mixed all the stuff together. You can use a large pot or other container that will hold all the ingredients. 

 {{The first time I made a brine I didn't have a super large container for the brine so I just used a one gallon pitcher, added the sugar & salt, mixed it as well as I could, then put it into the trash bag, without the turkey, then added the rest of the water needed to cover the turkey. Then added the turkey. It worked wonderfully.}}

Some brines you have to cook and then wait for them to cool, but this one is simple. You take 2 cups of kosher salt (table salt will work too), 2 cups of white granulated sugar, and 2 1/2 gallons of cool water (not hot because you don't want to warm up your turkey and not cold because then the salt & sugar won't dissolve as easily). These are the ratios for a turkey that weighs about 12 -14 pounds and if your turkey is bigger then you will need a bit more water, salt and sugar. Keep it proportional... for every 1/2 gallon more of water add a 1/3 cup more salt and sugar. Stir the ingredients together.

It is important to keep your turkey cool while it brines. You don't want to just store it on the counter because it will get too warm. It needs to be kept cool. I can never store my turkey in the fridge during the holidays while it is brining because there is never enough room. I always have a bunch of pumpkin pies and other yummy holiday food crammed in there. You want to brine your turkey for about 4-6 hours minimum, but I usually start it at night before bed (10, 11 or midnight- depending on how much other stuff I still have to do before going to bed) and let it brine over night... for about 8-10 hours. 

You'll want to calculate backwards from when you want your turkey ready to serve. Here's an idea:

1. Serve the Turkey at 1 PM.
2. Remove Turkey at 12:30 to let it sit and rest for about 15-20 minutes before carving.
3. A 12-16 pound turkey, that is unstuffed, will take about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to cook. 
4. Between 9-10 AM you will want to have the bird in the oven. 
5. 8:30 AM start dressing up the bird with whatever spices, butter, etc that you've chosen. 
6. 8 AM pull the bird out of the brine, rinse, let it soak in water for 15 minutes, rinse again. 
7. 11 PM the night before, start brining your bird, and it will be soaking for about 9 hours.

I've found a fantastic way to keep it cool and not take up space in the fridge. Use a cooler. First I layer some ice cubes in the bottom of the cooler, then I put my trash bags in the cooler, add the turkey, and add the brining liquid.

You'll want to remove the excess air so that the liquid is covering up the turkey and then seal up the bags. I used a small zip tie. It was effective and strong at keeping it closed, but you can use whatever you can find.

I noticed that my turkey would float to the top of the brining water and I wanted to keep it submerged. So after it was sealed up, we added a small bowl to the top so that when we close the lid on the cooler, it would push the turkey down fully into the liquid.

Finally we wanted to keep the turkey cool so we added ice cubes all around the turkey in his little salt bath. Closed the lid and came back 8 hours later and it was ready to start the roasting process.

This is a very important step. Rinse the turkey well. You want to get rid of any excess salt. Rinse the outside of the bird and use your hand to rub off salt. Make sure you rinse out the inside of the bird well as well. Then fill up the sink full of cold water and let your bird soak in the cold water bath for about 15 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse him again.

Pull the bird out of his bath and pat him dry with some paper towels. Let him rest on a clean dry towel to allow any excess water to drain out while you prepare your other ingredients for roasting.

Then he is ready for you to start roast. Everyone has a preferred method of roasting. Breast side up or down. High heat then low heat, only low heat, in a bag, or in a roaster. There are lots of ways. I've used multiple methods.

There's a simple Roasting method included here.

Start preheating your oven to 425 degrees. All you need is butter, some pepper and low sodium chicken broth. After the turkey has been rinsed let it sit and drain any excess water. Pat dry with paper towels. Mix 5 tablespoons of softened butter with 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Rub this butter under the skin of the turkey, next to the turkey breast. Then take the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and brush that on the skin. The turkey is cold so it will solidify the butter. I sprinkled a little more pepper on top of the skin as well. (Then I stuffed some celery stalks, onion quarters and some carrots into the cavity of the bird. It wasn't stuffed full, just some vegetables to add some extra flavor.) Then in the bottom of your roasting pan, pour in the low sodium chicken broth to use for basting and to keep things from burning in the bottom of the pan.

Put the prepared turkey into the 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes. Baste and then rotate the roasting pan in the oven. Bake for an additional 25 minutes and then baste it again. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue to roast, baste and rotate the pan every 30-40 minutes. It will only need about an hour to an hour and half more (if it is about a 12 pound turkey). Keep cooking the turkey until the breast reaches an internal temperature of about 170 degrees and the thigh meat is 180 degrees. Pull out the turkey and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes before carving. 

{{Brining & Roasting A Turkey}}

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2 cups Coarse Kosher Salt

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 gallons cool water

1 (12 -14 pound) fresh, whole, bone-in skin-on turkey, rinsed and patted dry

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup low sodium chicken broth, wine or water

      

To Brine: Combine Kosher Salt and sugar in cool water in a large, clean stockpot or 5 gallon jug until completely dissolved. Place the whole turkey in the brine until completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours minimum (or cover with ice in a cooler) and up to 8-12 hours. Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse inside and out under cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt. Fill up a sink of cold water and let the turkey sit in the water for about 15 minutes. Drain water, rinse inside and out again then pat dry with paper towels.

To Roast: Mix the softened butter with the pepper. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan. Rub the seasoned butter under the skin. Brush the skin with the melted butter. Pour the 1 cup liquid (wine, broth or water) over the pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning. Roast turkey at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes, baste and then rotate the roasting pan. Continue roasting until the skin turns golden brown, an additional 25 minutes; baste again. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F; continue to roast, basting and rotating the pan once about halfway through cooking, until the *internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F for turkey breast meat and 180 degrees F for turkey thigh meat. Remove the turkey from the oven. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.

Happy Brining! Have a Happy Holiday!