7 Days to a Stress-Free Thanksgiving
Day 4 How to Brine a Turkey
One of the biggest worries we have on cooking our Thanksgiving turkey is keeping it moist. Nobody likes dry turkey. One way to help flavor the bird and keep it super moist and yummy is to brine it before roasting. Using a brine is not hard at all and it infuses flavor and moisture into your turkey.
There are several different ways to brine. I prefer to use a Soy Sauce Brine. You can see more details on using a salt brine here.
Just follow these easy steps. (note, if you don’t have a fridge large enough, try using a cooler – just be sure to follow the temperature information here)
Here is what you will need:
- 2 gallons cold water
- 10 ounces of Soy Sauce
- 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried sage
- 2 tablespoons dried celery seed
- 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
- 16 -24 lb Turkey
The night before you are ready to roast, clean the Turkey ( like you normally would).
1. In a large stock pot, mix water and all the ingredients except Turkey.
2. Place the turkey in the brine. (if you would like, you can use a Brining Bag – I prefer to just put it right in the pot)
3. Cover the turkey and place in refrigerator overnight or atleast 8 hours.
4. Remove your brine and rinse well. Follow your regular cooking instructions.
Make sure you check out Days 1 through 3 of our 7 Days to a Stress-Free Thanksgiving series.
Also check out all things Thanksgiving in our Thanksgiving section.