The holidays are approaching fast and theres nothing that says Thanksgiving quite like a perfectly cooked turkey. But theres a not-so-well-kept secret to that turkey wonder and its called brining. If youve never heard of such a term, keep reading for a brining 101 crash course.
What Is Brining?
In the simplest of terms, brining is soaking your turkey (or any meat really) in a bath of salt water. Some folks also swear by adding different seasonings, but anything extra you add is really up to you and your taste buds. The salt water soaks into the meat and adds flavor from the inside out. Others believe that adding anything else other than salt does nothing more for flavor, so to each their own!
How you choose to season your salty brining water is your business, but the most important ingredients are, well . . . salt and water. This makes brining super simple and stunningly cost-effective too.
But why salt water? There is some science behind it, but salt water actually helps raw meat (especially lean meats like turkey) soak up extra moisture before you cook it, so it doesnt dry out in the oven. It works by helping the muscles in the meat retain moisture by absorbing the extra water.
The technical term is called denaturing, which is when the muscle fiber proteins in a piece of meat swell and unwind because of the salt in the water and allows the water in the mixture to bind to the proteins. Then when you cook the meat, the water gets trapped between those proteins, resulting in a juicer, tastier piece of meat. Just be careful not to overcook it, or all your brining efforts will be for naught.
What Do You Need to Brine a Turkey?
Not much, beyond your turkey, your salt and your water. It takes roughly 2 cups of salt and a gallon of water to brine a turkey,. You can also trade out part of your water for apple cider vinegar if you prefer, just make sure you have plenty of liquid and the whole bird is submerged. Some recommend replacing less than a quarter or so of your water with an alternate liquid. Other popular brining additives are broth and beer, so dealers choice.
If you would like to add additional seasonings, ingredients like sage, thyme and oregano are great flavors for a delicious turkey, as well as lemon, orange, ginger and bay leaves. If you like a little kick, try black peppercorns or chili flakes. Some folks also like to add sugar to their brining liquid. Sugar doesnt really make the meat sweeter, but it some believe it does make your turkeys skin crispier. Try it and see. You also need to make sure you have a container small enough to fit inside your fridge, but large enough to hold your turkey, plus enough liquid to cover it completely. You should use about a pint of liquid for every pound of meat as a good rule of thumb.
Steps to Brine a Turkey
Find your container, and then calculate how much liquid you need. You can do this using a measuring cup to pour over your turkey and count how many pints it takes to submerge it. Then youll know how much salt to use. Also, keep in mind that not all salt is created equal. With kosher salt, use roughly 2 cups of salt per every gallon.
If youre doing just salt or salt and sugar, you can do a cold brine. However, if you choose to use other ingredients and flavorings, youll need to boil those for a few minutes to release the flavors and then add that to your remaining (cold or room temp) brining liquid.
Before you place your turkey in your solution, make sure you remove the giblets and neck and tail, and also anything foreign like a pop-up timer or the connectors for the legs of the turkey. Once you do that, you can rub some salt on the inside and outside of your turkey if youd like, then submerge it.
If your bird keeps floating and wont stay under, try placing something heavy on it, like a plate to keep it down. Then place your container with your bird and brining solution in the fridge and allow the magic to happen. You should let your turkey brine anywhere from 12-48 hours depending on the size of your bird. Just be careful not to let it sit in the brine too long, or it will get too salty
Once your turkey is done brining, its ready to be cooked. Enjoy!
