Turkey Brine Recipe (How to Brine a Turkey) – brining a turkey has never been more popular and it is SO EASY! Whether you are cooking a whole turkey, roasted turkey breast or turkey tenderloin for Thanksgiving or your next special get-together – brining a turkey can take its flavor and juiciness to the next level.
How to Brine a Turkey
Curious about brining a Thanksgiving Turkey? Here is the run-down and all the answers to your turkey brining questions! Whether you are making a Deep Fried Turkey, Smoked Turkey (Smoked Turkey Breast), Grilled Turkey (Grilled Turkey Breast) or a Juicy Roast Turkey Breast in the oven … brining a turkey is a great way to elevate your bird! After you check out this guide you will be able to create your own brine or you can check out our recipes for an Apple Cider Turkey Brine or Smoked Turkey Brine.
Ever Tried Spatchcocking a Turkey?
If you have never butterflied or spatchcocked a turkey, you definitely need to give it a try! Drastically decrease the cook time with our roasted spatchcock turkey or smoked spatchcock turkey.
What is a Brine + What Does it Do
A brine is a the simple process of soaking a cut of meat, here a turkey, in a mixture of water and salt (along with other aromatics and herbs) for a period of time (usually 12-48 hours). As the meat is submerged in the brine mixture, it soaks up the extra moisture and salt resulting in a more flavorful and juicy cut of meat.
What You Will Need
- kosher salt + water: this is the basic wet brine (ratio found in the recipe card below).
- aromatics/herbs: this is where you can get creative. Once you have your water + salt combo down you can liven up your turkey brine with so many different things such as: bay leaves, garlic cloves, orange slices or orange peel, spices, whole peppercorns, fresh rosemary sprigs (or other fresh herbs), apple cider, onions, lemons, thyme, brown sugar, etc.
- turkey: you can use this with a whole turkey, turkey tenderloin or turkey breast (check out our guide on How to Thaw a Turkey).
- vessel to soak your turkey in
- brining bag (optional)
Basic Turkey Brine Recipe
- Here is an easy turkey brine recipe – of course you will need to double, triple, etc. the recipe until you have enough to cover your particular cut of meat:
- 1/4 cup of kosher salt (table salt (not recommended) should be cut in half – otherwise it will be too salty)
- 4 cups water
- add aromatics and fresh herbs, as desired
- Multiply this ratio until you have enough liquid to fully submerge your turkey.
How To Make a Wet Brine
The first steps to brining a turkey are to pick-up a brining bag or some type of vessel to hold the turkey submerged in the brine mixture.
What To Brine A Turkey In
It goes without saying that if you don’t use a brining bag you will want to ensure your brining vessel is clean:
- cooler (use a brine bag)
- bucket (food-grade plastic or with a brine bag)
- large stock pot
- some people like to use a crisper drawer from their fridge!
Determine how much water you need to fully submerge the turkey. Then determine how much salt you are going to need (1/4 cup salt for every 4 cups of water). Add 4 cups of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt and allow to dissolve. Remove from heat and let the salt water solution cool completely. Place the raw turkey in whatever you will be brining it in (large cooler, bucket, etc). Add the salt solution, as well as the remaining cold water needed to submerge the turkey.
Let the turkey sit in the brine for 12-48 hours. When ready, pull the turkey out of the brine. Discard brine.
How To Prep Turkey to Cook
Option 1: You can pat dry bird (no need to rinse) with paper towels and rub with soft butter or ghee. Cook turkey as desired.
Option 2: Pat dry the brined turkey and set in the fridge, uncovered, anywhere from 2-12 hours. This will result in a more crispy skin. Before cooking, rub with soft butter or ghee and then cook as desired.
Wet vs. Dry Brine
While a wet brine consists of submerging a cut of meat in a salt/water mixture, a dry brine consists of rubbing salt, herbs and other seasonings directly onto the skin and meat of the turkey and letting it sit in the refrigerator for a period of time (usually 48 hours). Dry Brine Recipe: Here is a great recipe for a Dry Brine Roasted Turkey!
What’s The Best Way To Cook Turkey After Brining?
We have a variety of different cooking techniques for making the perfect turkey or turkey breast, just check out our post on the best ways to cook a turkey!
Recipe FAQs + Tips
- Can I make a brine for other protein foods? Yes! You could absolutely use this technique on other protein foods – like a pork chop brine or smoked chicken brine!
- While the turkey is brining do I need to keep it refrigerated? Yes! It will need to stay refrigerated during the brining process.
- Do you HAVE to brine a turkey before cooking it? No. It is simply one way of keeping the meat moist and giving it a little extra flavor.
- Should I let the turkey sit after taking it out of the brine before cooking? Some recommend letting the turkey sit for 4-12 hours (in the fridge) after removing it from the brine. This will help dry out the skin and result on a more brown/crisp skin after cooking. Totally personal preference!
- Do I rinse the bird after brining? There is no real need to rinse the bird after brining, but feel free to if you want!
- Should I season the turkey after brining? Before cooking we recommend patting the turkey dry and rubbing the outside with soft butter or ghee. You can season it with some salt and pepper and have the option to stuff the inside with aromatics!
- USDA: Check out this post by USDA about safely brining a turkey.
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Other Ways To Season Turkey
Turkey Brine Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Refrigeration Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 turkey brine 1x
- Category: Brine
- Method: Refrigerator
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our basic Turkey Brine Recipe is a great way to ensure that your turkey is juicy, tender, and flavorful, no matter how you cook it!
Ingredients
Wet Turkey Brine:
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
Multiply this ratio as-needed to fully submerge turkey.
Add-ins:
- 2–3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2–3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- sliced apple
- slice of lemon
- 2 slices red onion
- 6 black peppercorns
Instructions
- Dissolve Salt: Determine how much water you will need to fully submerge your turkey. Then determine how much salt you are going to need (1/4 cup salt for every 4 cups of water). Add 4 cups of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt and allow to dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- Wet Brine: Place the turkey in whatever you will be brining it in (cooler, bucket, etc). Add the salt/water solution as well as the remaining water needed to submerge the turkey. Add any of the additional ingredients you want to include. Place turkey in brine for 12-48 hours in the refrigerator Remove turkey from brine. Discard brine.
- Turkey Prep Option 1: You can pat dry bird (no need to rinse) and rub with soft butter or ghee. Cook turkey as desired.
- Turkey Prep Option 2: Pat dry bird and set in the fridge, uncovered, anywhere from 2-12 hours. This will result in a more crispy skin. Before cooking, rub with soft butter or ghee and then cook as desired.
Notes
- Kosher Salt: Make sure you pay attention to what type of salt you are using. Use kosher salt and if you HAVE to use table salt, it is recommended that you cut the total salt amount in half to avoid it getting too salty.
- Refrigerate: It will need to stay refrigerated during the brining process.
- Rinse: There is no need to rinse the turkey after brining, but you can.
- Season: Before cooking, pat dry turkey dry, and rub down with soft butter or ghee, plus salt, pepper, and any other seasonings.
Originally published November 15, 2019.
EH says
Thank you for this!