How to Brine Turkey Guidelines and Recipe, Whats Cooking America

How to Brine Turkey Guidelines and Recipe, Whats Cooking America Brining is the secret that chefs use for a perfect juicy chicken and turkey every timeHow to Brine Turkey: It is very easy and economical, and requires no special cookware to end up with the perfect turkey. Why Should You Brine Turkey? Brining is like a marinade - It is a salt water solution that changes the structure of the muscle tissue in the meat which allows it to absorb water, and your choice of spices, flavorings and aromatics, which results in a tender turkey or chicken once cooked. By nature, turkey is a lean meat. Brining gives the turkey the extra moisture during cooking and extra flavor that will make it your best turkey dinner ever. Everyone wants to eat a tender, moist, and flavorful turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner - Give it a try; I will tell you exactly what steps to take and you can experiment with the spices and flavors. How to Brine Turkey in 5 Easy Steps1. Selecting Your Turkey2. Brining Recipe3. Flavoring Options4. How to Brine-Technique5. How Long to Brine Selecting the Turkey for Brining:When purchasing a turkey for brining, choose a natural turkey (not a self-basted bird that has been injected with a solution of salt and other flavorings). Look for the words "natural" or "no additives added." Choose a 12- to 20-pound turkey. If the turkey is frozen, thaw according to the package directions before brining.Remove and discard any leg restraints from the purchased turkey. Remove the giblets from the neck cavity and the neck from the body cavity (save in the refrigerator or freezer for making Perfect Turkey Giblet Gravy). Trim away any large areas of fat or excess skin around the body cavity, and cut off the tail.Rinse the prepared turkey thoroughly, inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.Choose a container large enough to hold your turkey and brine mixture, plus it must be able to fit either in your refrigerator or a large cooler.Your turkey is now ready for brining.Shop for Thanksgiving Kitchen Essentials - Check out What's Cooking America's large selection of brining containers and bags, turkey roasting pans, carving boards with juice wells, kitchen shears, slicing knifes, fat separators, whisks, potato mashers, kitchen twine, Thermoworks Timestick Trio- multi-event kitchen timer, pie dishes, rolling pins, serving platters, and Linda's favorite Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer. Poultry Brine Recipe:[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:13564]// What flavorings to add to brine - You can add flavor in all sorts of forms such as herbs and spices. Flavoring Options:Use brown sugar, honey, or molasses in place of the sugar (some sweetness tends to offset a saltiness the brine might otherwise impart).You can also use apple juice, cider, orange juice, beer, wine, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, stock, tea, or other liquids to replace some or all of the water.You can also put together decidedly Oriental flavorings with soy sauce or the Japanese rice wine mirin. In other words, be creative with the flavorings! How To Brine Turkey:Refrigerate Turkey While Brining - Refrigeration is absolutely required during brining:The main logistical problem with brining is that you need a container that is large enough to submerge your turkey in the brine, but will fit in your refrigerator or cooler. The meat and brine solution must be kept below 40 degrees F. at all times. Since brining does not preserve meat, the turkey and brine must be kept refrigerated at all times.Refrigerator - If storing the poultry in the refrigerator during brining, check to make sure that the container will fit in your refrigerator first! A container large enough to hold a whole turkey might be too big for your refrigerator.Picnic Cooler - First, choose a cooler that is large enough to keep the turkey completely submerged during the brining process. It is important to thoroughly clean and sanitize the cooler before and after use.You must keep the poultry and brine cold without diluting the mixture when using a cooler. Put the meat and brine directly in the cooler, then place Ziploc bags filled with ice or reusable gel packs into the brine solution.Another approach is to put the turkey and brine into a turkey oven roasting bag or brining bags inside the cooler, and then pack ice or gel packs around the bag.Monitor the temperature of the cooler (using a Digital Thermometer) to make sure it stays below 40 degrees F. at all times. Turkey Brining Bags:Use large brining bags. These brining bags are very easy to use and take up less room in your refrigerator or cooler. Bags are sold large enough to hold a 20-pound turkey. Every now and then, turn the bag around and upside down to ensure even brining.For brining chicken, I use either small brining bags or regular resealable plastic bags.How Long To Brine Poultry:It is possible to end up with meat that's too salty for your taste. To avoid this, brine on the low end of the time range on your first attempt. You can always brine longer next time, but there is no way to salvage a piece of meat that hass been brined too long.Whole Chicken (4 pounds) - 4 to 12 hoursChicken Pieces - 1 to 1 1/2 hoursWhole Turkey - 1 to 2 daysTurkey Breast - 5 to 8 hoursCornish Game Hens - 1 to 2 hoursDo not salt brined poultry before cooking. Cook poultry according to your favorite recipe. Do not overcook your brined poultry. Once brined, the poultry cooks faster, so be careful and use a Meat Thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the", "name": "How to Brine Turkey", "authors": []}, "link": {"locale": "en", "title": "How to Brine Turkey Guidelines and Recipe, Whats Cooking America", "site_name": "What's Cooking America", "description": "How to Brine Turkey - Brining is the chef's secret to perfect juicy poultry. Find the easy-to-follow techniques and recipe for a flavorful turkey dinner.

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