Brining a Turkey : ARDELL's Seattle Real Estate Blog

ARDELL's Seattle Real Estate Blog

Nov. 22, 2006 - Brining a Turkey

1 fresh turkey,18 peppercorns, 2 cups Kosher salt, 6 sprigs fresh thyme,1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 5 cloves garlic, crushed,1 large thumb ginger, sliced (optional), 8-10 juniper berries (optional)

The evening before cooking, bring 2 quarts of water to boil, add salt and sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add remaining spices and simmer for several minutes, then cool. Pour into a clean 5-gallon bucket and place in refrigerator, or in garage less than 40 degrees. Add about 2 gallons of ice water, turkey, and enough cold water to submerge bird. Cover and brine overnight. Remove, rinse, pat dry, season as you normally would and roast. Andi

Oops...re-reading this I see 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, and I only used 1/2 cup. Oh well. Too late now! I added a little anise, tarragon, poultry seasoning, rosemary and pretty much a little of every spice I have in the cabinet :-)

I couldn't bear the thought of putting the turkey in a "bucket", so I first put it in a turkey oven bag.

But I still didn't want to put my "dinner" in a "bucket", whether the bucket was clean or not, even though it was in a bag. Luckily I have pots bigger than buckets :-)

The turkey was totally covered, only if we pulled the bag up, like it was hanging from a hook.

So we tied the top of the bag around the handle of the pot.

So the turkey is now out on the deck in a pot. If the animals out there don't get it...or the neighbors don't come over after reading this :-) and take it for their dinner, we'll have two turkeys tomorrow. One brined and one not brined.

Let's see if it's worth the extra effort to brine it. We'll take a poll of dinner guests who taste them both.

Thanks Andi, and other brine info contributors from Real Talk at Internet Crusade.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comments (4) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
View more entries tagged with: Brine, Turkey, Thanksgiving, Real Talk, Internet Crusade

Nov. 23, 2006 - re: Brining a Turkey

Posted by Caron Mosey

We brined ours, too! The very first time. I think they cook faster when they are brined. It's now almost 10:15 AM, and my bird looks done! What do I do now?!?!?!?

Permanent Link

Nov. 24, 2006 - re: Brining a Turkey

Posted by Vicki Lloyd

So, Ardell, how did you like it brined? (I've been brining turkeys for 5 years and think they are the best!)

Vicki

Permanent Link

Nov. 24, 2006 - re: Brining a Turkey

Posted by ARDELL DellaLoggia

Caron, We were cracking jokes all day about your turkey done at 10:15 a.m. Dessert at noon? Wake up everyone, dinner's ready? Thanks for the laughs. Vicki, Verdict was: Brined one was tastier, but dryer. I guess my regular method is moist enough. The seasonings finding there way into the turkey by brining, did make it tastier though. Unlike Caron, the brined took looker than the unbrined one, so we have a lot of it left for tasty turkey sandwiches with gray or mayo, so dry doesn't matter now.

Edited by Ardell on November 24, 2006 at 7:25 pm

Permanent Link

Nov. 25, 2006 - re: Brining a Turkey

Posted by ARDELL DellaLoggia

The dinner today was better than on Thanksgiving. We used the brined turkey for hot turkey sandwiches...very tasty..

Permanent Link

Write a Comment

Your Name:

RealTown Members: Click here to login

Your E-Mail:

Your Website:

Subject:

Your Comment:

Notifications:

Notify me by email when new comments have been posted to this entry.

Privacy:

Private Comment - Do not publish this comment to the public.

Verification:

To verify that you are a human and not a script, please enter the verification word from the image into the box on the right.

ARDELL DellaLoggia On Seattle Real Estate including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Green Lake and most areas around Lake Washington North of Downtown Seattle. Phone: 206-910-1000 - Mailto:Ardell@RainCityGuide.com