This turkey brine recipe is flavored with apple, citrus, brown sugar, rosemary and spices. It’s the perfect way to guarantee a moist and flavorful turkey every time!
Every cook’s biggest fear on Thanksgiving day is a dry turkey. A good brine does wonders for the flavor and consistency of the turkey and helps to prevent it from drying out during the roasting process. Serve your brined turkey with sweet potato casserole and cornbread dressing for the ultimate holiday meal.
Every year around the holidays, cooking a turkey was such a source of stress for me. I was worried about the turkey either being bone dry or completely raw in the middle! Now that I’ve discovered the wonders of a good turkey brine recipe, I can produce a juicy and delicious turkey every time with no stress.
How do you make turkey brine?
This brine is a combination of salt, sugar, liquid, herbs and spices. In this case, we’re using kosher salt, brown sugar, apple cider, citrus fruits, rosemary, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Simmer the brine briefly to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add your turkey and you’re ready to go!
How do you brine a turkey?
You’ll want to make sure your turkey is fully submerged in the liquid. It can be tricky to find a pot large enough for this task, so you can also use a cooler or they make special turkey brining bags for this exact purpose.
Why do you brine a turkey?
A turkey is a naturally lean type of meat which mean it’s prone to drying out. When a turkey is placed into brine, it absorbs some of the brine which helps to both keep it moist and also to season it all the way through. When you’re working with a brined turkey, even if you overcook it a bit, it should still come out tender and juicy. I always brine my whole chickens for the same reason!
How long should you brine a turkey?
A turkey needs to brine for at least 18 hours, but you can go up to 24 hours if you have a larger bird. Do not go past 24 hours or your turkey could be overly salty. Also, you need to make sure that the turkey you buy from the store is not already pre-brined or treated with salt.
Tips for turkey brine
- Make sure you use kosher salt and do not substitute any other type of salt. Table salt is denser than kosher salt and doesn’t measure the same way.
- You want to make sure you put your turkey into a cool brine; never put a turkey in a hot or warm brine.
- Feel free to change up the flavors by using different herbs – thyme, parsley and marjoram are all great bets.
- Pat your turkey dry before you roast it to ensure crispy skin.
Can you make gravy from a brined turkey?
Typically gravy is made with turkey drippings, but in the case of a brined turkey, sometimes the drippings can be overly salty. You should taste the drippings before you proceed with your gravy. If you think the drippings are on the saltier side, you can always use unsalted chicken or turkey broth to keep the seasoning of your gravy at the proper level.
How long do you cook a turkey?
A turkey needs to cook in the oven for approximately 15 minutes per pound. After your turkey comes out of the brining liquid, dry it with paper towels, then roast it for the appropriate amount of time based on the size of your bird. A turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F.
Recommended turkey recipes
These turkey recipes pair perfectly with this brine, there are plenty of options including roasted turkey, smoked turkey and turkey breast.
More recipes for your Thanksgiving table
- Cranberry Jello Salad
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
- Corn Pudding
- Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Turkey Brine Video
Turkey Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 gallons cold water
- 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 5 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 tablespoons peppercorns
- 2 oranges thinly sliced
- 2 lemons thinly sliced
- 5 rosemary sprigs
- 3 bay leaves
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until salt and sugar have dissolved.
- Turn off the heat. Let the brine mixture cool.
- Place a whole turkey in the brine solution to fully submerge it, then refrigerate for 18-24 hours.
- When you're ready to cook your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse with cool water; pat dry with paper towels.
- Proceed with your normal turkey roasting method, or I've listed my favorite turkey recipes below in the notes section.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on October 23, 2018 and was updated on October 28, 2020 with new content.
Danny says
Hi, do you still coat it with butter or other recipes after you rinse it with the cool water. Dose it mean after that you just put it in the oven right, can you clarify it for me. Thank you.
Sara says
Yes you can coat it with butter and add any other seasonings you like, just go easy on the salt!
Gloria says
Thanks for sharing, was thinking of how to try the brine recipe for Christmas turkey. A friend told me just to use brown sugar solution but now that I have come across yours, I trust am good. Will do it for Christmas. Thank you.
Ayshia says
Probably a silly question, but do you strain the lemons and oranges out or leave them in while brining?
Jacqueline Foster says
You will likely keep the lemons and oranges in the brine with the turkey; as I have seen it that way on all other brine recipes.
Jacob says
Are you supposed to leave the herbs/citrus/etc. ingredients in the brine while the turkey is in it? I wasn’t sure if you were supposed to place the turkey in just the liquid or not.
Sara says
Yes leave everything in the brine!
Denay DeGuzman says
I just shared this flavorful recipe with my niece who is in charge of her family’s Thanksgiving turkey this year. This recipe’s a keeper!
Andrea says
What a full flavored brine. Makes the Turkey just perfect! Can’t wait to try this .
Lucy says
I love the range of flavours and spices in this turkey. It’s perfect for the holidays. So moist and tender.
Caroline says
You know, I have never tried brining a turkey but I do love the sound of the flavors in this so I think it’s time to give it a try! The end turkey looks os tasty.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I am sure this will be super useful to a lot of people in the run up to Christmas.
Reyna Hernandez says
Is it apple cider vinegar?
Sara says
No it is apple cider the juice, do not use vinegar.
Shane says
Lol I almost made the same mistake, but remember the grating taste of apple cider vinegar and concluded it had to mean something else.
Nunung says
I did use apple cider vinegar, but I reduce the vinegar abit and turned out the taste delicious 🤣🤣 for deep fry turkey
Shane says
The recipe automatically calculates the ingredients based on a serving of 30. Is that the correct “serving size” for a smaller 12lb. turkey?
Sara says
Yes this will work for a 12 pound turkey exactly as written!
Kathy says
I made this tonight as an early Thanksgiving with my family and it was a big hit! Even my daughter who doesn’t are much for turkey thought it was really good! It’s the first time that I ever brined a turkey as well and I thought that it was very easy to do! Thanks for sharing!
Melanie says
Hi… first time brining. I have a 21 lb turkey…. How should I adjust the recipe? Is 24 hours long enough to brine?
Thanks
Sara says
24 hours should be fine. I would do 1 1/2 times the recipe. You can adjust the number of servings in the recipe card and the ingredient amounts will automatically recalculate.
Karen Reisz says
Is this brine for a fresh turkey? Frozen are already injected with salt, so should I eliminate the salt? Not wanting to ruin the bird with too much salt? Thanks!
Sara says
The brine is for any turkey where salt has not already been applied. I’d look at the ingredient list to see if there has been salt added. A brine is salt solution by nature, if you removed the salt it would not be a brine anymore and unfortunately would not add much to the flavor of the turkey. You may want to consider my turkey marinade recipe instead which is not salt based. https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/turkey-marinade-recipe/