Picture from Squidoo

If you host Thanksgiving, to brine your turkey or not brine your turkey is a topic of discussion every Thanksgiving. If you do not host Thanksgiving on a regular basis you may not be familiar with the technique and if you have never cooked a turkey before, and/or are not that interested in cooking, the idea of another step in the process may seem completely overwhelming.

So, what is brining?

In simplest terms, it is a salt bath for your bird that tenderizes the meat. Herbs and spices may be added to treat the brine as a marinate of sorts as well.

Why brine?

There are so many reasons that brining makes sense, but aside from all of the reasons that you will read in every other food article, I’d like to offer an additional perspective in addition to the obvious. Quickly the technical reasons:

When you brine a turkey it pulls all of the extra blood out of the turkey and tenderizes the meat. At the same time it pulls the skin tightly against the meat, sealing in the juices. Once you taste a brined turkey you will know the difference forever! And, the answer is NO, it is not salty!!

Another perspective:

Call it ego, if you must. I am fine with that.  A turkey, whether fresh or frozen, that has been brined is so tender, juicy and delicious that your guests are going to flip out!  There is no comparison. Because most people do not brine their birds, sad but true, most people have, therefore, never experienced the deliciousness that can be tender, juicy turkey. In fact, when you mention turkey, a lot of people think dry, or at the very least don’t get very excited. Brining really requires very little extra effort and the praise you will receive is SO worth the effort! If you are cooking a frozen turkey, I recommend brining twice as much!

Second unusual reason to brine your turkey:

Do you have school age children? Include them in the process! Children love to be involved in the kitchen and this is such a great way to include them. Sounds crazy? Trust me! Even parents that cook with their children do not let them handle two things, eggs and raw poultry, right? The Thanksgiving turkey is so exciting to children, but they are usually not allowed anywhere near it. Brining a turkey requires a lot of water and a lot of ice. Children can be involved pouring water, dumping ice and scooping sugar and salt while looking at the big bird and never actually touching it! It is the biggest hit of the season at our house, crazy, but true!

How:

Start this process on Wednesday night. This is a basic brine recipe. There are many ways to add to it, thyme, sage, apples and fruits, etc.

Brine Turkey overnight

1 larger cooler

Large plastic Turkey bag or for 26-30 Lb bird use a 4 gallon Ziplock bag

1 box kosher salt

1 cup sugar

5 lb bag of ice

Water

Unwrap Turkey from packaging. Remove gizzards and wrapped organs from internal cavities and discard or save for other use. Rinse Turkey well in sink with cold water. Place turkey into plastic bag and then into cooler. Begin to fill bag with water until water just covers the turkey. Pour the entire box of kosher salt and sugar into the bag. Continue pouring water into the bag until it overflows the bag and flows into the cooler. Stir mixture in bag with large spoon. Dump in the bag of ice. Fill the rest of the cooler with water leaving a few inches empty at the top. Close the lid and let sit overnight.

Make sure to rinse the turkey thoroughly before cooking. The recipe for my molasses glazed turkey will follow!