Turkey Brine

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times of the year.  This is possibly due to the fact that my birthday is usually on the Thanksgiving weekend.  Add to this, my love of turkey dinner, spending time with family, and the desire to foster gratitude (hopefully not in that order!), and you can appreciate why I love thanksgiving so much.

 And because I love turkey so very much, I have been known to make a full turkey dinner "just because".  One year, I did this one too many times and when it came to Christmas, my husband told me he did not really feel like eating turkey dinner (again).

 Last Easter, I decided to try brining a turkey.  I had done this once before with moderate results.  I think I left the bird in the brine a little too long and the result was turkey meat that was too salty.  This time I was up to try it again, using a recipe from Nicole Hunn's book, Gluten-Free On a Shoestring:  125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap.  What worked for me was using a smaller bird, which allowed me to skip the process of using a cooler and making sure the bird was cold enough.  Instead, I was able to fit the bird in the vegetable section of my refrigerator (see photo below) and this gave me peace of mind.  This bird was delicious and I am definitely doing this again for this Thanksgiving.

 

Nicole says this brine works well for a bird that is 12- 15 lbs.

Ingredients:

2 gallons (32 cups) water

1 1/2 cups kosher salt

3 Tb. garlic, minced

1 Tb. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

New 4-5 gallon tub, with tight fitting lid (a big cooler lined with a plastic bag works well)

Method:

1.  Boil 6-8 cups of water.  Once the water boils, dissolve the kosher salt in the hot water.

2.  Pour the salt water into the tub and add the remaining 24 to 36 cups of water, the garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.

3.  Add the turkey to the liquid, and press it down so the cavity fills with liquid.  Cover the tub and place it in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.

4.  To cook the bird, follow the cooking time and temperature as directed on the package for your size turkey.

  The finished brined turkey:  Not especially pretty, but it was tasty!

Here is what Nicole says about this recipe:  "Using it [the brine] makes a moist turkey, speeds up overall cooking time, and results in meat that basically falls off the bone."

 I picked up these extra large bags from Walmart.  I was not sure what size to get and could have easily used a smaller size.  I was happy that these were BPA free.

 Here is my little turkey in vegetable drawer

 Everyone has their own way of preparing a turkey.  I started using the recipe from the Canadian Living Christmas Book, which includes buttering the top of the bird and sprinkling with sage and rosemary.

Happy Thanksgiving!