dinner & holiday & thanksgiving 22 May 2007 09:23 pm
Brining a turkey
Soaking a turkey in brine is the best way to make it moist and delicious. The salt soaks into the meat and tenderizes the bird. Here’s how you do it.
ingredients:
1 gallon vegetable broth
2 TB molasses
1 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TB black peppercorns
1/2 TB allspice berries
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 gallon iced water
Get a giant pot for the stove top. Combine all the brine ingredients (not the iced water) to a boil then cool down to room temp. Now add the iced water to the brine, and mix.
Get a large CLEAN bucket and pour in half of the cooled brine. Make sure you only put half! The weight of the turkey will make the water level rise.
Then lower the bird into the bucket – partially filled with the brine…Now pour in the rest of the brine, covering the turkey as best you can. Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight. Approx. 8 hours.
In the morning, remove the bird from the brine and pat the turkey dry. Mix up a rub of garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and rub it on the outside – don’t forget the inside too…very important for flavor!
Now to add even more aromatics, chop an apple in half and throw it inside the cavity. We just happened to have an apple but you can use an orange or an onion just as well.
Throw that sucker in the oven. The best way to test to see if a turkey’s done is to use a probe thermometer. When it reaches approx. 165, you’re pretty good to go.
Here is the lovely finished product. Make sure you let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before you carve it, or else you will lose all of those vital juices.



on 25 Dec 2007 at 7:34 pm 1.Jen14221 said …
Christmas Eve 2007 was a hit and I owe it all to JustJenn’s awesome turkey brining instructions.