Easy Citrus Turkey Brine Recipes

PERFECT CITRUS TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Take the turkey out of the refrigerator and leave it to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes prior to preparing and cooking. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, add the 1/2 cup softened butter, lemon zest and chopped chives. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon half into the butter. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
• Prepare the turkey: Remove the inner packet of giblets from the cavity and set aside.
• Run your fingers underneath the skin of the breast to make a little pocket between the skin and the flesh. Using your fingers, scoop up some of the lemon-chive butter and push the butter under the skin, filling up the pockets. Do the same thing on the legs. Once each pocket has been filled, take the rest of the butter and rub it all over the outside of the bird. Sprinkle about a tablespoon and a half of coarse salt on top.
• Insert the halved lemons, orange and grapefruit into the cavity of the turkey. Insert as much of the citrus as you can. Give each piece a little squeeze as you insert them to get the juices distributed. (You may have to leave some out depending on the size of the cavity. Use any extra citrus for garnish later.)
• Remove the giblets from the packet, rinse and pat dry. Place the giblets on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the turkey on top of the giblets. Tuck the wings under the turkey.
• Place the turkey in a preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350 degrees F and roast for about another 2 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 to 180 degrees F. (The general rule is to cook a turkey about 15 minutes per pound.)
• Remove the bird from the pan onto a carving board or platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
• Place the roasting pan over low heat on the stovetop. Add white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the chicken stock. Whisk the cornstarch into it. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the Dijon mustard. Whisk well to combine. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until thick and smooth, about 8 minutes.
• Bring your turkey to room temperature to ensure that the bird will cook evenly.
• Stuffing a turkey with fruit keep the bird moist and acts as a secondary cooking agent. As the juice of the fruit steams inside the cavity, it helps cook the bird from the inside. The juices also help to flavor the pan juices used for making the gravy.
• Stuffing butter between the skin and the flesh, keep the meat moist and flavorful. The butter and salt on the outside help create a tasty, crispy skin.
• I like to use the giblets as a platform for the bird. It stops the bottom of the bird from burning and adds flavor to the pan juices.
• A good rule for roasting times is to plan on roasting a turkey for about 15 minutes per pound.
• A meat thermometer is the best tool for figuring out if your turkey is fully cooked.

CITRUS TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Rub salt onto your turkey, and place remaining salt, lemons, oranges, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper into a large pot. Place the turkey in the pot, and fill with water. Refrigerate overnight. Discard brine after removing turkey.

CITRUS TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Bring 4 cups of water to a low boil in a large saucepan. Add the salt and sugar and stir until they are completely dissolved.
• Cut the lemon, lime, and orange into 8 pieces each.
• Add the lemon, lime, orange, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme to the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Pour this mixture into a large pot. Add the remaining water (cold) and refrigerate the brine until it is completely cooled.
• If using a frozen turkey, it must be completely defrosted before brining. Place the poultry and brine in a large plastic container. The poultry should be fully surrounded by the brine. Keep the turkey refrigerated throughout the brining time. Brine for 1 hour per pound. Do not brine for more than 24 hours. Thoroughly rinse all the brine from the turkey before cooking. Otherwise, there will be a salty flavor to the turkey.

EASY CITRUS TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine water, broth, oranges, onion, limeade concentrate, orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, rum, salt, garlic, black pepper, thyme, parsley, juniper berries, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover pot. Allow to cool completely, at least 1 hour.

CITRUS-SCENTED BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• Mince five garlic cloves; halve the remaining garlic cloves and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the apple juice, salt, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, bay leaves and minced garlic. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Remove giblets from turkey and discard. Place a turkey-size oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add turkey. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for 18-24 hours, turning several times., Drain and discard brine. Rinse turkey under cold water; pat dry. Place the lemon, orange, onion, thyme and reserved garlic in both cavities. Rub oil over skin. Skewer turkey openings; tie drumsticks together. , Place turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 160° (cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly). Let stand for 15 minutes before removing contents from cavities and carving the turkey.

EASY TURKEY BRINING RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat one gallon of water with the salt, onion, and garlic then stir thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved.
• Remove from heat and add in the remaining ingredients.
• Refrigerate or leave outside for 20 minutes if you live in a cold climate or Alaska like me, until the brine is cold.
• In the largest stock pot that you have or a clean ice chest, add your turkey directly in or you can put your turkey in a large plastic bag and then place it into the pot or cooler.
• Then add in the brine mixture. Ensure that the entire turkey is submerged for the full brining period.
• Refrigerate the bird for a minimum of 8-12 hours and no longer than 72. The sweet spot is around 24 hours. Last year, I left it in there for 48 hours and it was superb.
• I also typically thaw out the turkey in the brine - brilliant idea as I have a small kitchen and this saves on space!
• Once the turkey has brined overnight, remove it from the brine solution, rinse it off, and pat it dry.
• You are now ready to prep your turkey for the oven. Luckily, I have My Famous Drunken Turkey Recipe for you. It is simply the best turkey recipe out there. I might be biased, but the amount of people that ask me to make this every year is quite high!

CITRUS & HERB ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, combine the first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add cold juices to brine; cool to room temperature., Place 1 oven roasting bag inside the other. Place turkey breast inside both bags; pour in cooled brine. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible, and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally., In a small bowl, beat herb butter ingredients until blended. Remove turkey from brine; rinse and pat dry. Discard brine. Place turkey on a rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub herb butter under the skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Refrigerate, covered, 18-24 hours., Preheat oven to 425°. In a small bowl, mix butter and seasoned salt; brush over outside of turkey. Roast 15 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 325°. Roast 1-3/4-2-1/4 hours longer or until a thermometer reads 170°. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.) Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

ROSEMARY AND CITRUS TURKEY FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• Remove giblets from inside the turkey; reserve for stock or gravy. Pat meat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, allspice, garlic and citrus zests. Pat mixture all over turkey and turkey parts (including inside the whole turkey cavity). Stuff one bunch of rosemary in cavity of whole turkey. Strew remaining rosemary and the thyme all over turkey and turkey parts. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
• Remove whole turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to cook it so it can come to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange oven racks so the pan with the whole turkey will fit on top rack, and the two pans with parts will fit underneath.
• Place whole turkey (with herb branches clinging to it) on a rack in a roasting pan. Take parts out of the fridge and place the breasts in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan. Place the legs and wings in a separate 9-by-13 roasting pan.
• Distribute onions, carrots, celery and apples into all three pans, scattering them on the bottom of the large roasting pan under the whole turkey, and tucking them in among turkey pieces. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons wine over each pan of turkey parts and pour 1/2 cup wine in the bottom of the whole turkey pan.
• Transfer whole turkey to the oven and roast for 1 hour (let the parts come to room temperature while the turkey starts roasting).
• Add parts to the oven underneath the rack with the whole turkey on it, and roast for an additional 30 minutes.
• Squeeze the juice from the 2 zested oranges. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and sprinkle about a third of the orange juice into the bottom of each of the three pans.
• Drizzle the butter or oil all over the whole turkey and the pieces. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat registers 165 degrees, about 20 to 30 minutes more for the whole turkey, and 15 to 45 minutes longer for the parts. (Note: The turkey breasts may cook faster than the dark meat, so keep your eye on them.) If the breast of the whole turkey starts to look too brown before the bird is cooked through, cover it loosely with foil.
• When the whole turkey is cooked through, remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 20 minutes while the parts finish cooking.
• When all the turkey parts are cooked through, adjust oven temperature to broil. Broil turkey parts until skin turns golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let parts rest for 5 minutes before carving and serving. If you want to use the drippings for gravy or stock, strain or use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables first.