How to Brine a Thanksgiving Turkey: Turkey Brine Recipes, Methods and Tips

Does your Thanksgiving turkey come out dry and taste like cardboard? If you answered yes, then you need to think about making this turkey moist and juicy. How can you make your turkey moist? Most people are lazy when it comes to cooking that 10-25 pound turkey, they figure stuff it, and baste with with loads of concoctions to make the turkey juicy and moist.

However, experimenting for years with my turkeys, this method only makes them dry, and crispy.Yes, we all love crispy skin, but you need moisture and juice to keep the bird fresh and moist. The best solution is to Brine the turkey. Turkey brine recipes is the only way to go if you want that perfect bird.

Few Things To Consider On How To Brine Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Choose your frozen turkey, and make sure it's not a kosher turkey. Most of the kosher turkey are already brined, and if you repeat this method your turkey will be a total mess.

Decide on what type of flavor you want to add to the turkey. Do you want a smokey taste, spicy, or a hint of citrus? Once you have decided, then get started with the brine procedure, by placing the ingredients into a large pot.

What ingredients should I use to brine a turkey? This is an excellent question since there are so many different ways to do this. May I suggest a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com? This turkey brine recipe makes your turkey so juicy, and just simply melts in your mouth. I used it last year, and I swear by it.

It contains sea salt, rosemary, sage, vegetable broth, and thyme. Your thanksgiving company will rave about this for years.

Now if your searching for other great turkey brine recipes I can help you out. Just remember though, after your brine your turkey keep an eye on it cooking, because the timing will vary and be less than normal.

Smoker Cooking.com

This website has 5 wonderful and easy recipes to follow. You can make your turkey hot and spicy, apple and spice, sweet, or use a classic brine. I like these recipes, because there is only a few ingredients needed.

All Recipes.com

Since I have already used one of their recipes I couldn't leave this site out. It has loads of ideas for that turkey. You can use a citrus brine, apple brine, orange, or even a nice savory brine using soy sauce.

About.com

Choose from the top 10 most popular turkey brine recipes. Savory, smoked, apple spice, fruity brine, maple, clove and honey, and even a luscious cranberry turkey brine. Talk about yummy flavor.

Last but not least is a must read website, if you are considering brining your turkey this Thanksgiving. Virtualweberbullet.com. You can't go wrong if you follow these brining topics. Learn how brining works, how long to brine, recipes, which salts to use, and how to introduce the flavors.

Sources:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-brine/Detail.aspx

http://www.smoker-cooking.com/turkeybrinerecipes.html

http://bbq.about.com/od/turkeybrinerecipes/tp/10turkeybrinerecipes.htm

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brining.html