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The annual Thanksgiving nightmare: turkey that is dry as dust. With a simple brining solution and an extended soak before you begin cooking, you can save your bird (and guests) from that cruel fate! "What is brining?" you may ask. It's an easy way to ensure a moist, tender turkey. Let the turkey soak in a bath of salted water for several hours to ensure your guests are treated to a deliciously moist and tender turkey. This page will teach you how to ensure moist, flavorful meat throughout your turkey.
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Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
- You'll need:
Creative Commons Brining turkey, with herbs and spices (by John Verive)
- A non-reactive (plastic, stainless steel, or glass) container large enough for the turkey and water
- - If you're pressed for space in your refrigerator, Cook's Illustrated recommends using the Ziploc Big Bags XL as a brining bag.
- Cold water (enough to submerge your entire turkey)
- Roughly 1 cup of table salt per gallon of water used
- - If you prefer kosher salt, Cook's Illustrated says two cups of table salt is equivalent to three cups of Morton's Kosher Salt or four cups of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt; alter proportions accordingly
- Optional: Various herbs and spices
- - Flavorings are not required, but never hurt for a tasty final product!
- You'll need:
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Step 2: Prepare the Brine
- Soaking your turkey in a salty solution may seem like an odd way to lock in moisture and flavor when you cook it later on. But the brining process draws water (and any dissolved spices) into the turkey, and the salt content actually alters the protein structure of the meat to make it more tender than it normally would be.
- To get your basic brine started, simply mix the cold water and salt together in the proportions described above. A couple useful tricks to make a quick step even easier:
- You can tell if your salt is complete dissolved when a raw egg floats in the container
- Even if you're not planning on going crazy with spices, quickly adding a portion of sugar will make sure your turkey doesn't wind up too salty.
- Make sure any additional flavorings you have do not contain any extra salt.
- If you're having trouble dissolving your salt, or have other ingredients (herbs or spices) that do not dissolve easily bring them to a low boil in a small amount of water.
- - Let the heated mixture cool completely before adding it to the brining container.
- For more tips and suggested combinations of herbs and spices, make sure to consult Mahalo's page on brining recipes, and read our step-by-step guide on How to Season a Turkey.
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Step 3: Dunk Your Bird
- Now that you've prepared your brine, it's time to take your turkey for a little swim:
- Remove the turkey from any wrapping.
- Remove the innards from the turkey. If you plan to use them in any other dish, set them aside; if not, throw them away.
- Pour the salt into your non-reactive container.
- Submerge the turkey in the brine, starting with the breast-side facing down.
- Make sure there is about 1 or 2 inches of brine covering it.
- Flip or rotate the bird about halfway through the process to make sure that the entire body gets an equal amount of brine absorption.
- - This is an especially important step if you're using a shallow container that doesn't completely soak your bird.
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Step 4: Let It Soak
- Once the turkey has started to soak, you'll need to find a cool place that is large enough to store the container until the brine has finished working over the body of the bird.
- Make sure that the temperature of the brining solution-- and the turkey itself-- does not exceed 40 degrees Fahrenheit!
- The easiest place to keep temperatures low is the refrigerator.
- - Place the container on the lowest rack possible to avoid contaminating other food with any accidental spillage.
- If your refrigerator is not big enough, you can also store the container in cool parts of your house like the garage or the basement.
- - If it's not cold enough to store in your house, you can also soak your turkey in a picnic cooler. Make sure to pack it with enough ice to keep things frosty, though.
- Let the bird soak for roughly 1 hour per pound.
- - You can shorten the total amount of soaking time by experimenting with different concentrations of salt in the brining solution.
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Step 5: Rinse Before Cooking
- After the turkey has had enough time to tenderize in and absorb flavor from your brine, you still have to wash it clean before you can throw it in the oven:
- Remove the turkey from the container.
- Discard the brine as soon as you've removed the bird; it's full of stuff that poses serious food safety hazards.
- Rinse the turkey, both inside and outside, under cold water until there are no visible traces of salt or other seasonings.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Store the turkey in the refrigerator if you're not planning on throwing it right into the oven after rinsing.
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