Brining adds moisture and flavor to poultry and helps to keep it from drying out. A good turkey is an investment in time and money, so you want to make sure it is perfect. Whether you ultimately grill, smoke, fry or roast it, you can brine a bird.
Supplies
To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. You will need at least 10 to 12 hours (plan on 1 hour per pound of turkey), a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need salt, water, sugar, seasonings and ample space to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose the turkey needs to have enough room to be turned so it should be big. The bird should always be kept refrigerated during the brining process.
Turkey
The turkey should be cleaned out, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey.
Brine Ingredients
To make the brine, mix 1 cup of kosher salt in 1 gallon of water. You will need more than 1 gallon of water but that’s the ratio to aim for. Make sure that the salt is completely dissolved before adding the seasonings you like, making sure not to add anything else that contains salt. Brines can be spicy hot with peppers and cayenne, savory with herbs and garlic or sweet with molasses, honey and brown sugar.
Sweetening the Brine
Sugar is optional to any brine, though its very effective in counteracting the flavor of the salt. While you may choose a brine without sugar, we recommend that you add sugar to maintain the flavor of the turkey. Add up to 1 cup of sugar per gallon of brine. Like the salt you need to make sure that the sugar is completely dissolved.
Set-up
Place the turkey in the container and pour in enough ice cold brine to completely cover the turkey with an inch or two to spare. You do not want any part of the turkey above the surface of the brine. Now you put the whole thing in the refrigerator. The turkey should sit in the brine for about 1 hour per pound of turkey. Brining too long is much worse than not brining enough so watch the time.
Chill It
Don't have room in the refrigerator? Try a cooler. A cooler big enough to hold your turkey makes a good container for your turkey and brine. The cooler will help keep it cool and allow you to brine your turkey without taking up precious refrigerator space. If the weather is cool, but not freezing you can put the whole thing outside until you need the turkey. If the weather is warm fill a zip top bag with ice. Place this in the cooler with the turkey and brine and it will hold down the temperature during the brining process.
Rinsing
When you are ready to start cooking your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface inside and out. Safely discard the brine and cook your turkey as normal. You will notice the second you start to carve your turkey that the brining has helped it retain moisture. The first bite will sell you on brining turkeys forever, and after you've tried this you will want to brine all your poultry.
