Turkey Or Chicken Brine Recipes

BASIC BRINE FOR JUICY, TENDER CHICKEN OR TURKEY

Steps:

• Mix brine together well with a whisk.
• Place 1 whole chicken (thawed or frozen- you may also use chicken parts.) in brine for 2 hours up to over night. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
• Remove chicken from brine and rinse chicken well. You are now ready to make a tender juicy chicken dish of your choosing.
• NOTES: You can do this with turkey, as well. Also, you will notice that your leftovers, even after refrigerated overnight, are so tender and juicy whether eaten cold or reheated. The moisture retention really helps to make a chicken meal morph into a second meal when it holds its moisture. If doing a whole turkey, use the recipe servings changer to up the servings to 6-10. Put your turkey in an insulated cooler with enough water to cover and add in a 5 pound bag of ice. Brine overnight.

BRINE FOR CHICKEN AND TURKEY

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine the water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and allspice in a large stockpot. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
• Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Allow the brine to cool completely.
• Add the ice and then immerse the turkey breast or whatever item being brined. Weigh it down if necessary.
• Transfer to a refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove the turkey breast and rinse it thoroughly, when ready to roast. Pour out the brine solution at this point. Cook turkey, per recipe instructions.

BASIC ALL PURPOSE BRINE FOR MEATS, CHICKEN, AND TURKEY

Steps:

• Makes 1 quart- make up additional amounts of brine if needed until meat is submerged.
• Stir ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Continue stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Allow to cool.
• Place meat or poultry in a food safe plastic bag inside another container for support and leakage control (oven roasting bags are a fine choice- NOT garbage bags).
• Pour cooled brine into bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible and seal with a twistie tie.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours for 3 pounds meat (such as pork ribs), 5-6 hours for a nice roasting hen, or 12-24 hours for a turkey, 12 hours being for a small one and the longer time for those turkeys around 20+ pounds.
• Discard brine before using and pat meat dry.
• If using poultry, you may want to add citrus fruit such as oranges or lemons, additional fresh herbs, or cloves of garlic into the cavity.
• Prepare meat as desired- roast, bbq, etc.

BRINED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Stir chicken broth, apple juice, brown sugar, salt, dried sage, and peppercorns together in a large stock pot; add apple halves and crushed garlic cloves. Bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat immediately.
• Pour enough ice into a large food-safe container to be about half full. Pour chicken broth mixture over the ice; stir to cool liquid completely and evenly.
• Gently lower turkey into the liquid with the breast facing down.
• Brine turkey 24 to 36 hours, adding ice as needed to keep the brine and turkey cold.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Remove turkey from the brine and rinse well with cold water. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.
• Mix apple quarters, onion wedges, whole garlic cloves, and fresh sage leaves in a bowl; loosely stuff into cavity of turkey. Move the turkey to a shallow roasting pan. Lightly coat the turkey's skin with olive oil.
• Bake the turkey in the preheated oven until the skin on the breast of the turkey is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), cover turkey with aluminum foil, and continue roasting the turkey until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.