Easy Turkey Brine

Why not give your holiday turkey an overnight soak in a seasoned salt water solution? For a moist and flavorful bird, try using the process known as brining. It's easy and we're sure you'll find the result feast-worthy!

Notes

If you don't have enough space for a 5-gallon bucket in your refrigerator, you can use a cooler instead. Just make sure you put enough ice in cooler to keep it cold overnight, adding enough ice as needed to keep the temperature at 40 degrees F. Be sure to follow directions as stated, turning turkey once during the process.

See how it's done! Howard shows you how with this easy step-by-step video on How to Brine a Turkey!

Chilling Time8 hr

Ingredients

2 gallons (32 cups) cold water, divided
1 1/2 cup coarse salt
6 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
1 (16- to 20-pound) fresh whole turkey, rinsed and patted dry
2 cups apple juice
2 onions, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch parsley

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maryellen14043 875 7545

Nov 18, 2014

i look forward to trying this, but am mostly curious: could you do this to a chicken as well?

Test Kitchen Team

Nov 19, 2014

Yes, you can make this recipe with chicken. Just cut the recipe in half because a turkey is about 16-20 lbs and a chicken is about 5- lbs. Sounds yummy!