Cranberry Turkey Brine Recipes

CRANBERRY GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Remove giblets and neck from turkey and rinse inside and out with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels; set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine softened butter, 1 tablespoon fine herbs, crushed garlic, 2 tablespoons marmalade and onion flakes. Use a fork to mix together until well combined.
• In a small bowl combine poultry seasoning, 1 tablespoon fine herbs, salt and pepper.
• Use your hand to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird. Work half of the butter mixture under the skin of the entire turkey. Rub the remaining butter on the outside of the skin and season with the poultry seasoning mixture inside and out. Stuff the inside of the turkey cavity with oranges and leeks. (Truss if desired.) Add any leftover oranges and leeks to a shallow roasting pan; pour in broth and set aside. Insert a pop-up thermometer at an angle about 3-inches down from the neck cavity and 2-inches from the breastbone, in the thickest part of the breast. Place turkey breast side up on a rack over the vegetables in the roasting pan. Place in oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Combine orange juice, remaining marmalade, jellied cranberries, and remaining fine herbs in a small saucepan and simmer until jelly melts. Continue simmering until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes; keep warm.
• After the turkey has cooked for 2 hours brush on the glaze mixture. When the thermometer pops up or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180 degrees F, about 3 hours total.
• Remove from oven and let turkey rest 15 minutes before carving.

GRANDMA'S FARMHOUSE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Stir the salt, poultry seasoning, onion powder, and black pepper together in a large stockpot. Pour in the vegetable stock, water, and cranberry juice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• To use, submerge a turkey into the cooled brine and refrigerate 12 to 16 hours to brine. Drain the turkey and pat dry before roasting according to your recipe's directions.

SALTY AND SWEET CRANBERRY CITRUS BRINE

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, mix together the kosher salt, orange juice concentrate, cranberry juice concentrate, water, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon wedges, orange wedges, onion wedges, garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper; stir until the salt and brown sugar have dissolved. To use, place a whole turkey into the brine, cover, and refrigerate 14 to 16 hours before roasting. Discard used brine.

TURKEY BRAISED WITH CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Combine tablespoon of butter with oil in deep skillet or casserole large enough for turkey legs to fit comfortably. Turn heat to medium high; after a minute add garlic and thyme. Cook for a minute, add turkey legs. Brown on both sides (they will brown unevenly, because of their shape), sprinkling with salt and pepper, and stirring garlic so it does not burn. Remove turkey.
• Add onion, mushrooms, sugar, pinch of salt, and some pepper, and cook; stir occasionally, and adjust heat so vegetables do not burn. When very soft, add 1 cup liquid, half the zest, and cranberries. Bring to boil, return turkey to pan; cover and adjust the heat for a steady simmer.
• Cook about 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes and adding more liquid if necessary, until meat is very tender. Taste sauce, and add more salt, pepper, and sugar if necessary. Remove meat; if sauce is soupy, raise heat and reduce a little; stir in remaining butter. Carve meat as neatly as you can; serve on a bed of sauce, garnish with remaining orange zest.

TURKEY WITH CRANBERRY BRINE

Steps:

• 24 hours in advance, wash the turkey and remove the neck and giblets from the cavity and neck; reserve for broth.
• Mix together in a large pot 1 of the onions, 2 stalks celery, 2 carrots, 6 garlic cloves, peppercorns, 3 sprigs each of the rosemary, thyme and sage, 6 sprigs of the parsley, kosher salt and the cranberry juice; heat and stir until the salt dissolves and mixture begins to simmer; remove and let cool to room temperature.
• Place turkey in a very large pot or turkey bucket and pour brine over to submerge, adding cold water if needed; refrigerate 24 hours.
• Remove turkey from brine and rinse well; dry with paper towels. (It will be a lovely shade of pink but don't worry, it roasts a beautiful mahogany color).
• Season turkey cavity with salt and pepper.
• Place 2 stalks chopped celery, 2 chopped carrots, apple, orange, cranberries, and 4 garlic cloves inside cavity.
• Make a nest of 1 med chopped onion, 1 chopped celery stalk, 1 chopped carrot, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 3 sprigs each rosemary, thyme and sage, 6 sprigs parsley and 3 bay leaves in a large roasting pan.
• Place turkey on top of the vegetables and herbs.
• Put butter pats on the turkey or between the skin and breast meat.
• Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 45 minutes.
• While turkey roasts the first 45 minutes, prepare a broth by placing the giblets in 5 cups of water; simmer to create turkey stock adding more water as needed; remove giblets. (You can chop the giblets and remove the meat from the neck and add it to your stuffing or discard it if you don't wish to use it. You can skip the turkey stock step and use canned chicken stock if desired. You will need 5 cups).
• After the first 45 minutes of roast time, pour half of the stock over the turkey; roast another 45 minutes and pour the remaining stock over the turkey.
• Continue to roast your turkey; basting with the juices from the bottom of the pan until the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 165 to 175°F (74 to 80°C).
• Remove from the oven and tent with foil; allow to rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving.
• Strain and use the liquid in the bottom of your roasting pan to make gravy and to moisten your stuffing if desired.
• Simple gravy:.
• Discard herbs from the bottom of the roasting pan and measure out 1 cup of the vegetables and 3 cups of the juices; puree in a blender. To thicken, add more vegetables, to thin, add more pan juice. Pour through a mesh strainer to make a smooth gravy.

CRANBERRY TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Place all dry ingredients, wine, and 1 bottle of juice to a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into 5 gal Bucket. Add remaining juice and ice, stirring to ensure even mixing. Slowly place turkey into brine ensuring turkey is fully immersed in brine. (If not just add water until the turkey is covered.) Put the lid on and place in fridge for 24 hours. I also added about 1 cup smashed pomegranate arils for fun. You could use one bottle of cran/pom for the added flavor instead of the arils though.

FRIED TURKEY BREASTS WITH CRANBERRY MAYO

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, add 1/2 cup salt, brown sugar, water, thyme, sage, bay leaves, peppercorns and lemon peel. Bring to a simmer just to dissolve the sugar and salt. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cold buttermilk and lemon juice. Add the turkey breasts. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you're ready to cook and allow to come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pour enough neutral oil into a large Dutch oven to fill 1/3 of the way up the sides of the pot. Heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt and poultry seasoning in a large bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup of the buttermilk brine a little at a time to make small clumps.
• When the oil is at 350 degrees F, remove the turkey breasts from the brine and dredge well in the flour mixture. Carefully add to the oil. (The oil temperature will drop initially, you want it to settle at about 330 degrees, so adjust the heat accordingly.) Cook, turning occasionally, until the coating is crisp and deeply browned and the internal temperature of the turkey is about 160 degrees F, 15 to 18 minutes depending on the size. (If you have larger size turkey breasts and they are brown before they are cooked through, you can finish for a few minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F .)
• Remove the fried turkey to a cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Let the turkey cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
• While still hot, sprinkle with the sumac, flaky salt and lemon zest.
• Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
• To serve, slice the turkey into thick slices against the grain. Serve with the cranberry mayo on the side.
• In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, cranberry sauce, lemon juice and a healthy grinding of black pepper.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Combine garlic powder, salt and pepper. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; spread half of the seasoning mixture under the skin. Sprinkle skin with remaining mixture. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Juice the orange, reserving the rind. In a large bowl, mix cranberry sauce, teriyaki sauce, honey, marmalade, soy sauce and orange juice. Remove 3-1/2 cups mixture for sauce; refrigerate, covered, until serving., Rub remaining cranberry mixture under turkey skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Place herb sprigs and reserved orange rind in turkey cavity., Arrange onions in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Place turkey over onions. Roast 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.), Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes before carving. Discard herb sprigs and orange rind. Place reserved sauce in a small saucepan; heat through. Serve with turkey.