Ingredients
- How to Wet Brine Turkey
- Start by clearing out some space in the refrigerator or packing a cooler full of ice (frozen bottles of water work really well, too). Then, make sure your turkey isn’t already seasoned. If it’s labeled as kosher, enhanced or self-basting, it will become t
- Create the brine by dissolving 1-1/2 cups of kosher salt (or 1 cup of table salt) into 6 quarts of water. The salt should dissolve naturally when stirred with a whisk.
- If you’re adding additional ingredients to brine, like sugar, herbs and other aromatics, mix the salt and additional ingredients with 2 quarts of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer to infuse the flavors into the brine. Remove the mixture from the heat a
- Remove the turkey from the packaging and set aside the neck and giblets for making gravy. Place the turkey in an oven bag or your brining container.
- Pour the cooled brine over the turkey, adding additional cold water as needed to ensure the turkey is completely submerged. Weigh the turkey down with a plate or bowl if it floats.
- Brine the turkey in the refrigerator or an ice-filled cooler for 12 to 24 hours. If you’re brining outside the refrigerator, use a probe thermometer to ensure the brine’s temperature doesn’t exceed 40°F.
- Remove the turkey from the brine. If you brined for 12 hours or fewer, you shouldn’t need to rinse the turkey. Brined turkeys that sit for 12 hours or more can be rinsed briefly in cool water to remove excess salt. Either way, pat the turkey dry with pape
- For crispier skin, let the turkey sit in the refrigerator on a roasting rack for an additional 24 hours to dry out the skin.
- Roast, grill or smoke the turkey using your favorite recipe.