Has Anyone Ever Brined A Turkey?

[Brandles]

Has anyone here ever brined a turkey (or even a chicken)? What did you brine it in? How did it taste? Thanks! :)

[Ericka_Jarett]

I brined a turkey one year.

Used a recipe from Good Eats. Was veggie broth and carrots, celery, peppercorn and salt (IIRC)

It came out pretty good, had to let it sit overnight and that was the tricky part since a turkey is not little and our fridge was not huge, good thing it was cold outside, I put the lid on the container and put it in the car trunk overnight.

The following year I didn't bother to brine the bird, was just a pain.

[Brandles]

Ericka_Jarett--

Thanks! What did you brine it in? I don't think my stock pot is big enough for a turkey (that's why I asked about a chicken, too).

The car trunk is a good idea (it's usually cold here at Thanksgiving)...but I'm going to be doing it either this month or next month and that's not an option in Ohio in the summer! ;)

I think I'll probably take the stock pot with me when I pick out the bird to make sure it fits! ;)

[Smilin13]

My husband is a HUGE fan of Alton Brown and Good Eats. And therefore he is now addicted to brining. He brines everything, chicken, turkey, pork, shrimp. When he decided he wanted to brine the turkey for Thanksgiving, he came up with a plan.

He went to Home Depot and purchased a new, never been used 5 gallon paint bucket with a lid. He also got a smaller 2 gallon bucket for smaller items such as chicken and pork.

I don't think we've ever brined a turkey except in the winter, so we put it in the bucket and sat it out on the balcony.

I'm pretty sure we will have brined turkey everytime we have turkey.

Enjoy!
:)

[fastlayne224]

I have brined a turkey before and it was the best one I have ever made. I used one of Alton Browns concoctions. Seems like it was water, limes, garlic, and salt or something similiar. I brought the brine to a boil in a large pot and then let it get cold. I put the thawed turkey in a large trash bag, poured the brine over it, and then set the whole thing down inside a rubber maid storage container. It turned out great! It is a little bit of a pain to get it all together, but I think so worth it!

[Sophia]

DH follows the Good Eats recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html). Best turkey ever, and totally worth the hassle. We used a big tamale pot to brine it in because 1) they're huge and 2) they have their own lids. You could probably use a big canning pot if you can't find a tamale pot where you live. Even though the pot wasn't in the fridge, the ice water the recipe calls for kept it all very cold.

[Hello Kitty]

I did the Good Eats recipe last year with my turkey, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. It was kind of - meh. The year before, I brined differently, and that had a ton of flavor. Will bump a thread with lots of recipes and techniques.

To brine it, I used a beverage dispenser - like one you see at sporting events, except mine was smaller. It was insulated and it had a nice lid, and it could stay outside.

[Ericka_Jarett]

We just got like a 4-5 gallon bucket from Walmart, worked well, used the same bucket for another brined turkey and that one I was able to put in the feridge since it was a full size fridge

[rubyslippers]

We brined one last Christmas using the Alton Brown recipe and it got rave reviews. DH used a 10 gallon bucket and lined it with a food grade plastic bag got from culinary school.

[Pineknot]

You could put it in a bag, then put the bag in a thermos cooler, the kind you take to the beach.

That's what Emeril does. :)

[Brandles]

You could put it in a bag, then put the bag in a thermos cooler, the kind you take to the beach.

That's what Emeril does. :)

Does it matter what kind of bag? Is a trash bag okay? Or should it be one of those oven bags? :confused:

[janders6]

I did mine in a brining bag I got from crate and barrel, but it was basically a thicker clear plastic bag. I would think a clean garbage bag (maybe double bag it) would work well. I then put it in the refrigerator drawer by itself. It took up the whole drawer.

[Etoile]

We're another that use the Alton Brown recipe--we've done it 2 Thanksgivings in a row. My husband does not like turkey but he'll eat this! It turns out delicious and juicy.

[megc1]

We used the AB recipe last Christmas. It was the most beautiful (I took a picture and I swear it could have been on the cover of a food mag) and best tasting turkey I have ever tasted! It received rave reviews. We also bought a bucket at Home Depot and left it in the garage (cold climate obviously).

[karen]

I've brined a few turkeys last year. There are two recipes from AB, our favorite is the Honey Brined Smoked Turkey. I followed the directions for brining but we roasted the turkey instead. It wasn't the best turkey I've ever had but it was pretty good. Even my non-turkey eating friends loved it.

We used a container that someone gave me but I see them at Smart and Final. It's square and really tall. It was perfect for brining the turkey, just wide enough for the turkey. We also lined it with a garbage bag. The container fit in the fridge nicely (we have two).