Has any one or does any one regularly brine their turkey? This is the first year I am doing it and I am a little nervous, because I don't want to ruin my turkey.
The Recipe I used is:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup equal parts Johnny's seasoning salt and garlic salt
1 cup Apple Juice
1/2 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle champagne
1 bottle fat tire
8 cups cold water
4 cups salt free organic chicken broth
2 tbls thyme, parsely, sage rosemarry
Do any of you have any other recipes or ever used one similar to this?
I really don't mind all the work. I only get to cook for my friends and family once a year. I made this brine and it smells amazing. Has kinda a sweet and salty quality to it. I usually agree that simple is usually best and depending on my guests reaction I may or may not do this again. Thanks for all the advice.
Just FYI-Fat Tire is a pale ale type beer.
Like Kristen mentioned, this one seems a little over the top (and pricey). We just do salt, sugar, some apple cider vinegar and spices. It works and tastes great!.
Honestly, it sounds like there's more in there than in necessary, and it's all going to compete with each other. (And why add chicken broth? That turkey should already taste like turkey.)
Most brines I've seen have salt, sugar, and maybe some herbs/spices. Maybe keep the salt (increase to 1 cup to account for not using seasoning salt), sugar, herbs, and maybe some apple juice if you want it to be a little fruity (I'd increase the amount of juice). The rest seems overkill.
Funny, I was just sent a Brine recipe but it said Koshure salt, apple cider, brown sugar, peppercorns, and orange peel. My co-worker swears by this. She also told me to watch you tube videos on turkey brining. I have never made a turkey and I'm super nervous.
What is all that stuff? Fat tire??? Is that a joke? Just keep it simple with salt, sugar, water, and maybe some peppercorns.
Hope it turns out! Thanks for the info on "Fat tire"! lol
Sounds yummy. You could call it your drunken turkey recipe.
Let us know how it turns out!
your recipe has too much stuff & it's too much work, you'll be exhausted after all that
I would go with the links B mentioned, they work, I use the ones from Allrecipes too.
the one I use is by Sherry White, has 728 5 stars, its under 'Perfect Turkey'.....sorry I don't know how to attach links so here's the recipe:
1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
Directions
Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture 12 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.
It does sound interesting, but a whole bottle of champagne?
Allrecipes.com has this recipe and the reviews are good:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Savory-Turkey-Brine/Detail.a...
Actually, Allrecipes.com has LOTs of recipes for brineing turkey:
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=turkey...
I just use the Morton Kosher Salt instructions on the box.. Always delicious and tastes like turkey,.
I watched a very interesting episode of Good Eats last night. The brine they used was much more simple than that, vegetable stock with salt, cold water, 1 cup salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and a few other spices. The explained the science behind the brine and the need for salt. This recipe seems like too little salt, especially since the chicken broth is salt free.
This is the first year I'm going to use a brine myself.
Good luck.
Looks short on salt!! But brined turkeys are the best!! And this looks lik. e a great recipe! ! Really worth the effort!! I would compare the salt to other recipes,,,, should be really salty!!
Updated
Looks short on salt!! But brined turkeys are the best!!
There is a local talk radio show in Sacramento that has a great recipe for a turkey brine on their website! Robarnieanddawn.com and find their holiday food section. You may not want to browse the site much, if you don't have an "off" sense of humor ;-)
Happy brining!!
I think it sounds yummy! Hope it tastes as good as it sounds! :)
Keep us updated on the results! I've been brining my turkeys for over ten years, but always with a pretty simple recipe of water, salt, sugar and some hard herbs like bay leaves and peppercorns. I put a compound butter with herbs and citrus zest under the skin to get the real flavor, and sometimes baste with butter and wine (but beer would be good too). I think the compound butter and wine/beer baste have better payoff for your investment than using them in the brining liquid. I've always understood the basting liquid just hydrates and very slightly seasons the meat. I'm really wondering whether the flavors of all those items in the brine will really permeate the turkey well enough to pay off. I can't wait to hear what happens!
