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How to Brine a Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 orange, halved
- 3 thyme (fresh)
- 2 rosemary (fresh)
In our It's Isabel column this month, 11-year-old Isabel talked about her favorite recipes from Thanksgiving. Well, the requests started pouring in, so she talked her mom into sharing how she brines the turkey.
Foodie Byte: The recipe is for one gallon of water for a small turkey; we suggest doubling the recipe for anything more than 6-7 lbs.
Preparation
- NOTE: Defrost turkey prior to brining
- The day before, clean the fresh or defrosted turkey and put it in a container or plastic bag used for baking the turkey
- Boil water, add salt and brown sugar
- When the solution is cold, add lemon, orange, thyme and rosemary
- Put the solution and all ingredients in the bag; tie it and put it in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, turning the turkey once about half way through to make sure it is fully marinated
- Two hours before baking, take the turkey out of the refrigerator, put it on a tray, and use a paper towel to dry the turkey, discarding the brine solution
- Season the turkey with butter or olive oil, salt, pepper (inside and out)
- Can stuff the turkey with onion, lemon, carrot, celery, thyme, rosemary and sage
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