How to brine a turkey (2024)

FAQs

How to brine a turkey? ›

If you don't have room in your refrigerator, you can use a cooler lined with a roasting bag—but you will need to make sure the water temperature remains below 40 degrees throughout the process. If you plan to brine your for 4 to 5 hours, use a brine proportion of 1 cup Morton Coarse Kosher Salt to 1 gallon water.

If you don't have room in your refrigerator, you can use a cooler lined with a roasting bag—but you will need to make sure the water temperature remains below 40 degrees throughout the process. If you plan to brine your for 4 to 5 hours, use a brine proportion of 1 cup Morton Coarse Kosher Salt to 1 gallon water.

Do NOT wash the bird prior to brining. Washing raw poultry can cause cross-contamination — raw juices that can contain harmful bacteria spilling onto other foods or splashing on countertops. Prepare the brine by mixing ingredients until all of the salt is dissolved.

Brining for too long can result in meat that tastes overly-salty and has a spongy texture. If you're not ready to roast the bird after 18 hours, remove it from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate for up to two days.

Dry-brining is our preferred method for seasoning both large and small pieces of meat, poultry, and sometimes even seafood. Along with producing juicy, flavorful results, dry-brining also helps us get better Maillard browning and crispy skin.

Do You Rinse a Turkey After Brining? You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.

One key reason is the taste—whether you wet-brine or dry-brine, using all! that! salt! infuses the bird with flavor, giving it an extra boost before you add any spices or aromatics. It also helps the meat retain its moisture and can help you avoid over-cooking, our associate food editor Kelsey Youngman explains.

With a dry brine for turkey, you can't really overdo it, but you'll probably want to max out the salt-covered rest at three full days before moving your bird to a preheated oven.

Butterball Fresh Whole Turkey is all natural*, never frozen, gluten free, and raised without hormones on American farms. Every fresh turkey is pre-brined before packaging for meat that's always tender and juicy. *All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients.

Does the turkey need to be fully submerged in brine? ›

Be sure that the brine is cold before adding the thawed turkey. Place the turkey and brine in a brining bag or non-corrosive food-safe container, making sure the turkey is fully submerged in the liquid. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for the recommended amount of time.

Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days (the turkey needs ample time to dry off after its long bath).

After brining, remove from liquid and discard remaining brine. Rinse and pat your bird dry. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and generously seasoning the outside and cavity with salt and pepper.

Dry-brining for more than 24 hours will produce even juicier and better-seasoned meat. To brine longer than 24 hours, loosely cover turkey with plastic wrap or cheesecloth before refrigerating, to prevent excess moisture loss through evaporation. Let rest for up to three days.

If you brine it any longer than 24 hours the turkey will be too salty. Do you have to refrigerate a turkey while brining it? Yes!

Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days (the turkey needs ample time to dry off after its long bath). Now, all that's left to do is cook that bird. We promise crispy skin and juicy meat, no basting necessary.

Do you season turkey after brining? Brine is very salt-rich, so there's no reason to add salt to a brined turkey. You can add your favorite dry rub, herbs or spices to the turkey after it brines, or you can add flavor to the turkey later by serving it with a compound butter.

Turkeys that have been wet brined often yield slightly less brown skin due to more water in the skin. Dry brines work by drawing out moisture in the turkey at the beginning of the brining process, but then the moisture will redistribute with the infused flavors towards the end of the process and during cooking.