Thanksgiving Turkey Brine
October, 23rd 2022 By Recipes by Sugar
Recipe Credit: A Spicy Perspective
Thanksgiving Turkey Brine. This is honestly a recipe I never knew I needed. I have never brined a turkey before and let alone, seen anyone do it. I decided to brine my turkey a couple of years ago and I was amazed, I will never go back. It adds a lot of great flavor but also keeps the turkey moist while cooking. I have never been a huge turkey fan, always been all about the ham. Until I came across this recipe. It is a pretty easy recipe to throw together, the hardest part for me is remembering to thaw the turkey out in advance. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do.
Ingredients for Thanksgiving Turkey Brine
- 1 gallon warm water, plus another gallon
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup sea salt
- 3 shallots, roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons whole peppercorn
- 2 tablespoons Juniper berries, optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
Utensils Needed
Directions for Thanksgiving Turkey Brine
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Brine Time: 1 – 3 days
- A Spicy Perspective
- In a large bowl, mix warm water with the brown sugar, salt, shallots, garlic, herbs and spices. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
- Place turkey in the large stock pot and dump water mixture over top.
- Add additional water until turkey is fully submerged.
- Cover the pot with a lid and place in the fridge.
- The brine time should be determined based on the size of turkey. For a turkey 15 pounds or under, brine for just 24 to 36 hours. For a turkey larger than 15 pounds, brine for up to 3 days.
Variations
- For some reason I have a hard time finding fresh rosemary where I am so I use dried rosemary.
- I leave the thyme in sprigs to add to the brine.
- In my entire life, I have never been able to find juniper berries so I always leave them out.