If you haven’t brined a turkey for Thanksgiving, you’re missing out! Brining gives you the juiciest, most flavorful turkey ever—and once you try it, there’s no going back. This is hands-down The Best Brined Turkey Recipe!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Adds Incredible Flavor: Brining infuses the turkey with seasonings that go straight into the meat. The salt in the brine also tenderizes, giving you super juicy, melt-in-your-mouth turkey!
- Low Effort: Just place the turkey in a large container with the seasoned brine, and let it work its magic—no constant monitoring needed!
- Feeds a Crowd: This brined turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving and is the best centerpiece for your Thanksgiving sides! It’s economical, stretches for days, and I’ve got delicious ideas for leftovers, like Turkey Potato Croquettes, Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Shepherd’s Pot Pie or a simple Turkey Cranberry Bagel Sandwich.
The Ingredients
- Turkey: Watch for those deep sales at the grocery store. I try and have enough room in my freezer to purchase a second turkey for a few months later.
- Salt: Kosher salt dissolves beautifully in water, and makes a lovely clear brine. This is the perfect brining liquid!
- Sugar: Keep the ratio to salt as listed below. This helps balance out any saltiness you might taste, but the turkey won’t taste sweet.
- Seasoning: I love the simple taste of bay leaves and cloves. Make sure your spices are fresh (potent!) and I prefer using their whole form.
Substitutions and Variations
- Seasonings: You could also toss in some onion (peeled and quartered), cinnamon stick, apple (quartered, but not peeled), celery, or basically any flavors you love.
- Different cuts: If I’m going to the trouble of roasting a turkey, I love to use the entire bird. However, you can also do this with a bone-in breast simple and try a simple Roast Turkey Breast for a smaller meal. Whichever route you go, don’t forget to make Turkey Gravy from the drippings!
How to Make Brined Turkey
Step 1: Place the sugar and salt in hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Step 2: Place the brine in a large stock pot with a gallon of cold water, the cloves, bay leaves and a handful of ice to make sure the water is cold. Stir to combine.
Step 3: Place the turkey breast side down in the stockpot with brine. You want the water to just cover the turkey.
Step 4: Refrigerate 18-48 hours (or set it in a cool safe place outside as long as it’s below 55 degrees outside).
Step 5: When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 450°F. Take the turkey out of the brine, discarding the brining liquid.
Step 6: Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide low pan and blot the turkey dry with a paper towel. Tuck back the wings and rub the skin of the turkey with the oil.
Step 7: Roast on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan.
Step 8: Cover the breast with foil so it doesn’t dry out. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to roast for 1 hour.
Step 9: Remove the foil from the breast and cook another 15-30 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer and cook until the turkey reaches 160-165 degrees. The total cooking time in the oven will be 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours total depending on the size of your turkey.
Step 10: Allow the turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
How to Brine a Turkey Video
Tips and Tricks
- Get outside: After making the brine and placing it in a large pot with the turkey, I cover it and leave it outside overnight. It’s usually 55 degrees or lower in most of the U.S. this time of year, so it’s the perfect temperature to brine.
- Always use a thermometer: Dark and white meat like to cook at different rates, so taking the temperature in a few spots ensures your turkey is safely cooked.
FAQs
165°F is the standard for cooking poultry. However, remove your turkey from the oven once it is at an internal temp of 160°F. The temperature will continue to rise from residual cooking as it rests. Resting is essential as it allows the juices to redistribute in the meat. If you cut into it immediately, the juice will all run out onto your cutting board.
I highly recommend checking out some YouTube videos for this. Essentially you want to start with removing anything sticking off – meaning the legs and thighs, plus the wings. This then gives you a stable base of the breast to make beautiful slices from. It’s also a great idea to cut in the kitchen where you can focus, and bring out a tray of ready-to-serve meat.
Gravy is a kitchen essential you need to teach yourself today! It’s really very simple, and once you master it you can make a pan gravy from any sort of meat that you roast, whether it is chicken, turkey, or beef. You can easily make a roux and use pan drippings plus broth, or if your turkey had the giblets in a packet, I can walk you through Turkey Gravy using those.
More Ways to Cook Turkey
Brining your Thanksgiving turkey is the best way to guarantee juicy, tender and flavorful turkey every time. Plus, it’s a fun activity that kid’s can help with! Let me know if you brine your turkey this year, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
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The Best Brined Turkey
Ingredients
- water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 10-12 pound turkey, defrosted
- 4 cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- Place the sugar and salt in 4 cups of hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
- Place the brine in a large stock pot with a gallon of cold water, the cloves, bay leaves and a handful of ice to make sure the water is cold. Stir to combine.
- Place the turkey breast side down in the stockpot with brine. You want the water to just cover the turkey.
- Refrigerate 18-48 hours (or set it in a cool safe place outside as long as it’s below 55 degrees outside).
- When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Take the turkey out of the brine, discarding the brining liquid.
- Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide low pan and blot the turkey dry with a paper towel.
- Tuck back the wings and rub the skin of the turkey with the oil.
- Roast on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes and then place a piece of foil just over the breast of the turkey to cover. The breast cooks faster then the legs and wings so this process helps it to cook more evenly.
- Pour 1 cup of water in the pan, reduce temperature to 350°F and continue to roast 1 hour.
- Remove the foil from the breast and cook another 15-30 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh (avoiding the bone) to reach a temperature of 160-165 degrees. The turkey will continue to cook a little even after you take it out of the oven (the total cooking time in the oven will be 1 hour 45 minutes-2 hours total).
- Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes (this is an essential step to allow the juices to redistribute and settle).
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Get outside: After making the brine and placing it in a large pot with the turkey, I cover it and leave it outside overnight. It’s usually 55 degrees or lower in most of the U.S. this time of year, so it’s the perfect temperature to brine.
- Always use a thermometer: Dark and white meat like to cook at different rates, so taking the temperature in a few spots ensures your turkey is safely cooked.
- Internal Temperature: 165°F is the standard for cooking poultry. However, remove your turkey from the oven once it is at an internal temp of 160°F. The temperature will continue to rise from residual cooking as it rests. Resting is essential as it allows the juices to redistribute in the meat. If you cut into it immediately, the juice will all run out onto your cutting board.
Not sure if I missed this or not but I just found out if your turkey says “basted” on the package it is basically brined already. I just put mine in this brine solution a couple hours ago so I guess I better rinse it and make it as usual. Would be helpful to clarify this in recipe if it isn’t already in there. Thanks!!
We tried this yesterday and both my husband and I think it was the best turkey we have ever had!! VERY GOOD!!
Guys, Please be careful with the cook times listed here, they seem really off. I usually roast a six pound chicken for 1.5 hours and my 15-pound turkey gets about 3.5 hours. Google it, allrecipes and epicurious both have more accurate guides. I just don’t want anyone to get sick.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was hoping to make gravy with the drippings- Karen below said you can’t with a brined turkey- Do you make gravy with yours?