To brine or not to brine? That is the question a lot of people ask when planning to cook a turkey or a whole chicken. I am a briner … I firmly believe in seasoning from start to finish with a dish and turkey is no exception. Poultry of any kind is generally very bland so you have to season liberally, starting with a brine not only starts the seasoning process from the beginning it also helps keep the meat extremely moist.
Below is the custom recipe I use. It’s based off Ann Burrell’s brine recipe with a few of my own tweaks. Over the years I have gotten a lot of requests for this and a lot of compliments have been given to the final product. I highly recommend giving this a go at least once, you won’t be sorry!
Turkey or Chicken Brine
Author: Bear In The Pantry
Ingredients
- 4 quarts water
- 4 quarts apple cider
- ¾ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 tbsp whole peppercorns
- ¾ cup honey
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 1 head garlic, cut in ½ equatorially
- 1 orange cut into segments, squeeze juice into pot and throw in peels
- 1 lemon cut into segments, squeeze juice into pot and throw in peels
- ½ bunch fresh rosemary
- ½ bunch fresh sage
- ½ bunch fresh thyme
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 (12 to 14 pound) turkey, or turkey breasts
Instructions
- To brine the turkey: Combine all of the ingredients for the brine in a large stockpot and bring to boil to dissolve the salt and sugar. Let completely cool, add the turkey to a large container or brining bag, pour in the brine, and let it brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
- Remove the turkey from the brine the night before you are going to prepare the bird, pat it dry with paper towels, and place on a baking sheet to go back in the refrigerator overnight. This allows moisture to evaporate from the skin helping guarantee crispy skin.