Follow Our Turkey Brine Recipe for an Extra Juicy Turkey on Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

Does brining a turkey make it juicy? ›

Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution for a certain length of time, long enough for the salt to infiltrate the turkey and actually alter the molecular structure of the meat. It doesn't turn it into a salty mess, either. It just results in a juicy, fantastic.

You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

Brining simply means to soak your turkey in a water and salt solution (the brine). Often, other ingredients are added to the brine, such as sugar, molasses, honey or corn syrup. The purpose of a brine is to produce a more tender and flavorful turkey.

Especially if it's a larger turkey {17–20lbs and higher}. If you're going to Brine your turkey get it the Sunday before thanksgiving. Let it sit in the fridge to defrost. You want to Brine your Turkey for a full 24 hours so that it's the most flavorful.

Brining for too long can result in meat that tastes overly-salty and has a spongy texture. If you're not ready to roast the bird after 18 hours, remove it from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate for up to two days.

Continue to roast until internal temperature reaches 165°F. NOTE: A brined turkey cooks slightly faster than an unbrined turkey, so check the internal temperature frequently. Remove turkey from the oven and allow to stand for 20 minutes before carving.

Too little salt won't produce an effective brine, and too much will make the turkey salty. If you'd like to add beer or juice for even more flavor, substitute it for some of the ice.

What spices to add to brine? ›

Flavoring a Brine

tend to work best. Our Brining Mix features aromatic garlic and bay leaves, the citrus flavors of coriander, lemon, orange, and lemon verbena, as well as sweet allspice and sharp peppercorns. It's a great all-purpose blend for brining turkey, chicken, pork, or shrimp.

Yes, it should absolutely be kept refrigerated while you are brining which is typically done for several hours and in some cases several days.

Butterball Fresh Whole Turkey is all natural*, never frozen, gluten free, and raised without hormones on American farms. Every fresh turkey is pre-brined before packaging for meat that's always tender and juicy. *All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients.

After 12 to 18 hours, remove the turkey, dry carefully with paper towels, and roast. For crisper skin, brine a couple days in advance, and let your turkey air-dry at least overnight and up to two nights, uncovered, in the refrigerator on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

Don't Rinse It Off

Once the dry-brining waiting period is up, there is no need to rinse off the surface of your food. The meat will not be overly salty, and rinsing the surface with water will undo all of the surface-drying achieved by the dry-brine process. That, in turn, will prevent browning.

Brining, whether you're using a traditional water-based brine or a dry brine, improves a turkey's ability to retain moisture. Certain muscle proteins are naturally dissolved by the salt in the brine solution. Once these proteins are dissolved, muscle fibers lose some of their ability to contract when cooking.

The dry brine also helps the meat retain moisture better when cooking by denaturing the proteins. The difference between a juicy, flavorful steak and a dry, bland one can come down to dry brining.

Dry brining

The salt draws moisture from the interior of the meat to the surface, where it mixes with the salt and is then reabsorbed with the salt essentially brining the meat in its own juices. The salt rub is then rinsed off and discarded before cooking.

Over the course of the night, the meat absorbs some of that water. More importantly, that water stays put even after the meat is cooked. By brining meat, you can decrease the amount of total moisture loss by 30 to 40%.