How to Brine a Turkey

Learn How to Brine a Turkey in 4 easy steps! Plus, pro tips for roasting without overcooking. Makes the most tender, moist, and flavorful turkey! Remember to plan your Thanksgiving Dinner with this holiday menu plan!

Growing up, I never paid attention to how my mom cooked the turkey at Thanksgiving. Why would I? I was the kid, too busy playing with my friends and cousins to bother being in the kitchen.

However, it’s my turn to cook the bird and with 15+ people at our table, it’s pretty important that I find the best way to cook a moist and delicious turkey!

I did some research and learned how to brine a turkey from Alton Brown, but his recipe uses ingredients that I normally don’t have on hand…

And I certainly don’t want to buy a bag of something for ONE bird that I’m cooking this ONE day of the year!

So I made some modifications and you know what? My family LOVED the turkey!

Why brine a turkey?

Brining is a method of soaking meat (usually poultry) in a salt-water solution for several hours before cooking.

It creates a bird that is incredibly tender, moist, and flavorful. Plus it makes overcooking the turkey nearly impossible!

(Which is perfect for those of us who are now responsible for feeding the masses!)

How to Brine a Turkey

I mentioned that Alton Brown’s method for brining a turkey is fool-proof, but it calls for ingredients I normally don’t have on hand.

Plus I think his method can be tweaked so we can save money too!

How long to brine a turkey?

The longer you brine, the better. I recommend at least 24 hours for the juiciest, flavorful bird. However, a turkey brined for 4 hours will taste better than a turkey that wasn’t brined at all.

What You Need to Brine a Turkey:

• Turkey. I usually use a 14 pound turkey.
• An extra-large Ziploc Big Bag. This makes the process of brining a turkey SUPER easy, but you can also use a large stockpot or large bucket or even a cooler. These methods work great if it’s cold around Thanksgiving, but if you live in an area where it’s usually warmer, a Ziploc Big Bag makes the job easier.
• Kosher Salt. You need a lot of salt to brine a turkey, and kosher salt is best. Don’t worry, you can use the extra salt to make No-Bake Sweet & Salty Energy Bites or Man Bread!
• Vegetable Scraps (or Vegetable Stock). I make homemade vegetable stock for free using kitchen scraps, but if you don’t have any stock available, just toss in any vegetable scraps you may have at the time.
• Whole Black Peppercorns. I have black peppercorns in my spice cabinet because we have this pepper grinder. If you don’t have whole black peppercorns, substitute an equal amount of ground black pepper.
• Ground Clove. Alton Brown called for allspice berries, but I’ve NEVER bought those in my life! I know that you can swap ground clove for ground allspice in most baking recipes, so we’re doing that here too.
• Ginger. Fresh ginger is best, but you can use ground ginger too! You don’t need much, and it’s much more practical than buying candied ginger for such a small amount.
• Water. You’ll need more water if you’re using kitchen scraps, but you’ll need anywhere from ½ gallon to 2 gallons of water in order to fully submerge the turkey in the brine.

You’ll also need a medium pot (like this one) to prepare the brine.

A Quick Note on Turkey

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How to Make Turkey Brine

1. In a medium pot, place salt, spices, and 4 cups of vegetable stock (or water).
2. Cook this over medium heat just long enough to dissolve the salt and spices.
3. Remove from the heat and let it cool before using it to brine the turkey.

Steps to Brining a Turkey

1. 2-3 Days Before You Plan on Cooking the Turkey: Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator.
2. Early on the Day Before Roasting Turkey: Prepare the brine. Place the turkey in the large Ziploc bag or stock pot or cooler and pour the cooled brine over the turkey. Add enough water to fully submerge the turkey.
3. Seal the large brining bag and refrigerate until the next day. (Or cover the turkey and place it in a cold location, like the garage or even outside.)
4. The Morning of the Day You Want to Cook the Turkey: Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the turkey with cold water and place it on a large roasting pan.

Pro Tips for Brining a Turkey

• It’s best to use a FRESH turkey for brining, rather than a frozen turkey. That means letting a frozen turkey thaw first, and then brining it.
• The week leading up to the day you brine, save your kitchen scraps! You can use them instead of vegetable stock and save money!

How to Roast Turkey

I followed Alton Brown’s method, but here’s a recap:

1. 2-3 Days Before Roasting: thaw the turkey. This should be done in a refrigerator. Turkeys take a LONG time to thaw, to it’s best to start early. There’s no harm in letting a thawed turkey sit in the fridge for an extra day!
2. Early the Day Before Roasting: Prepare the turkey brine according to the recipe below. Let the turkey sit in the brine, fully immersed, for 24 hours.
3. Early the Day of Roasting: Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the bird with cold water and set on a roasting rack. Let it come to room temperature before roasting (1-2 hours).
4. To Roast: Place the oven rack on the lowest setting and roast the turkey at 500F for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F until the temperature reads 161 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. (A 14-16 pound bird requires around 2-2 ½ hours).
5. Once done, let the turkey rest, covered loosely with foil, until ready to carve.

Side Dishes to Serve with Brined Turkey

• Oven Roasted Potatoes
• Easy Roasted Broccoli
• Lemon Pepper Asparagus
• Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
• Cloud Dinner Rolls
• Slab Apple Pie
• Chocolate Pie
• Cheesecake Baked Apples

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How to Brine a Turkey

Print Recipe

Learn How to Brine a Turkey in 4 easy steps! Plus, pro tips for roasting without overcooking. Makes the most tender, moist, and flavorful turkey! Have fun planning your Thanksgiving Dinner with this holiday menu plan!

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 24 hrs
• Cook Time: 3 hrs
• Total Time: 45 minute
• Yield: 1 Turkey 1x
• Category: Main Meals
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 turkey (I usually use a 14 pound turkey)
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 3–4 cups kitchen scraps (carrot peels, apple peels, celery ends and leaves, onion paper, garlic papers, etc.)
• 1 Tbsp black peppercorns (or black pepper)
• 1 ½ tsp ground clove
• 1 ½ tsp ground ginger (or fresh ginger)
• 1/2 – 2 gallons water

Instructions

1. In a medium pot, place the salt, kitchen scraps (or vegetable stock), peppercorns, clove, and ginger. Add 4 cups of water if you’re not using stock.
2. Cook the brine over medium heat, just long enough to dissolve the salt and spices. (The black peppercorns will not dissolve – that’s okay).
3. Remove the brine from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
4. Do not discard the solids from the brine! This is flavor and you’ll need it for the turkey.
   
   

   How to Brine Turkey

5. On the morning of the day before you plan to roast the turkey, place your thawed turkey inside a large Ziploc bag or stock pot or cooler.
6. Pour the cooled brining liquid over the turkey.
7. Add additional water in order to fully submerge the turkey.
8. Seal the bag and refrigerate until the next day. (Or cover the turkey and place it in a cold location, like the garage or even outside.)
9. Before roasting the turkey, remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the turkey with cold water and place it on a large roasting pan.
   

   Roast Turkey

10. Preheat the oven to 500F.
11. Place the oven rack on the lowest setting and roast the turkey at 500F for 30 minutes.
12. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F until the temperature reads 161 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. (A 14-16 pound bird requires around 2-2 ½ hours).
13. Once done, let the turkey rest, covered loosely with foil, until ready to carve.

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