It brings a flavorful succulence to the turkey that is sometimes missing otherwise. When you roast a beastly bird for a few hours, it's bound to lose some moisture. When you brine before roasting, it counteracts that. I now brine other poultry and meats too, using this same basic recipe that I got from Savory Sweet Life.
Note: You do NOT want to brine a kosher or self-basting turkey. It will be like a giant salt lick, your Thanksgiving will be ruined, and everyone will cry because you will be eating hotdogs out of the freezer instead of the much anticipated turkey. Pre-seasoned turkeys? Meh. You can still brine. Just cut the brine time down by half or more.
Ingredients
12 cups water (four up front and eight later)
1 cup kosher salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh sage (chopped)
3 tablespoons of rosemary (I typically toss in a bunch of sprigs)
3 tablespoons thyme (I typically toss in a bunch)
1 tablespoon white pepper
4 cups of ice
Directions
Remove from heat. Stir in eight cups cold water and the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.
Make sure turkey is totally thawed. I usually thaw it for a day longer than the directions suggest. Remove giblets and neck and rinse the bird thoroughly, inside and out. Pat that baby dry with paper towels.
Place the turkey in a large bag - once I used a trash bag, but now I use those large ziploc bags because they are food grade and trash bags are not. Whoops.
Pour brine into the bag and put it in the fridge. The minimum amount of time is one hour per pound, turning it halfway so both sides get good and brined. You can go longer than that if you want or need to.
When it's time, rinse the turkey inside and out. Pat it with paper towels. From there I like to lather mine with seasoned butter and roast that sucker.
What about you? Briner? Not a briner? Brawler? Shot caller?
