How to Brine a Turkey

How to Brine a Turkey How to Brine a Turkey When you prepare a thanksgiving dinner and you want to show off your juicy moist turkey, the first thing that you need to know is to brine the poultry. Many of us while cooking special dinner, tend to make the mistake of not brining the poultry meat. Now if you are wondering what brining is all about then, you need to read on. Brining is all about making the poultry juicy and succulent to eat, no matter what recipe you cook. Whether you roast, grill or fry, if you brine the poultry meat, then you actually ensure that you get higher taste than ever. At times when you go to a restaurant and you order some dishes, you wonder how they might have cooked to keep the meat so juicy. And most of us end up thinking there is some secret method to do it. But there is no such thing. Even if you are a first time cook, you can achieve a fantastic result if you just follow a few simple tricks.

Many cooks worry about cooking a turkey that doesn’t taste dry. The turkey is usually pretty dry and when you don’t brine it, the meat becomes difficult and tasteless to eat. When you brine it, it actually breaks the connective tissues making the turkey tender than before and tastes better. It adds moisture to the poultry and makes it more flavorsome. You must remember that brining is not difficult but it may consume some time. So you need to brine a turkey a few hours before you prepare the dinner. Usually the ratio is to brine one pound of poultry for a little over one hour. So you can decide how much time you need to bring. Here is how you can brine a turkey like an expert.

Utensils and Ingredients you would require

A large pot made of plastic or steel. You can use a bucket even if you have a bigger turkey. Remember that you have to soak the turkey in it, so you must find a big enough pot.
Kosher salt or light brown salt. (You would need about a cup for a gallon of water. You can make sure you have added enough salt when you can float eggs on it.)
Spices or other herbs like molasses, honey, and or sugar if you want it sweet or pepper and cayenne if you want it hot, or anything that you want to add to the brine. Some even prefer to put garlic, wine, vinegar, orange juice etc. into the water.

Process to brine

Thaw the turkey clean and keep it ready to be used.
Take water in a pot and add salt to it. You can check if you have added enough by applying the above mentioned trick of floating eggs.
Once you have done this, add the rest of the spices to the water.
Place the turkey into the container and make sure you have enough brine to cover it completely. You can measure the amount of water you would require by place the turkey in the pot and pouring water into it. Once the water level reaches about two inches above, you can remove the turkey and add salt and spices to the water.
You would then need to place the pot inside the refrigerator for about 8 hours or more. You would also need to turn the turkey in about one hour gap to make sure you have got it completed brined.

Once you have brined your turkey, you can rinse it thoroughly before you roast it or fry it as per your requirement.

Note: You can use the spices of your choice and get your own brining recipe too. This would give something new to your guests and you would be praised for you culinary skills.