Easiest Turkey Brine
Total Time
12 hrs 5 mins
Prep Time
5 mins
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
(46)
Ingredients
24 cups brine
- 16 cups lukewarm water
- 1 cup fine sea salt or 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp whole peppercorns, coarsely crushed
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme, or 2 tsp dried thyme
- 8 cups cold water
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
Turkey Sizes – We used a 13 lb turkey, but this will work for just about any turkey 10-20 lbs.
Brining Bag Note – For a turkey that is larger than 15 lbs, a brining bag is recommended. If you don’t have a brining bag, you will need to add quite a bit more water, so you’ll need to increase the recipe by 50% to keep the salt-to-water ratio balanced.
Use non-iodized salt – select a salt without added preservatives and avoid iodized salt.
Safety Tip – Thoroughly clean your sink and surrounding work surfaces after rinsing your turkey.