Using Andi Durbin's recipe

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!