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 bird and helps to prevent it from drying out during the roasting process. I have the best turkey brine recipe for you. Serve your turkey with sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and Southern 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 wet brine recipe, I can produce a juicy and delicious turkey every time with no stress.
When you select your Thanksgiving recipes, make sure you have plenty of fantastic side dishes like slow cooker mac and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry salad and turkey gravy. If you end up with turkey leftovers check out my favorite leftover turkey recipes.
Turkey Brine Ingredients
To make this turkey brine recipe you will need kosher salt, brown sugar, water, apple cider, garlic, whole peppercorns, lemon slices, orange slices, fresh rosemary and bay leaves. It is very important to use apple cider the drink, not apple cider vinegar.
How Do You Make Turkey Brine?
To make turkey brine first place all the ingredients in a large pot and bring them to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until all of the salt and sugar have dissolved. Let the brine cool completely. Place the turkey in the liquid. Add cool water until you cover the turkey. Leave the turkey in the fridge for 18-24 hours. When it is done, remove the bird from the brine. Rince it with cool water and pat it dry. Finally, cook your bird as desired.
Tips For Turkey Brine
- Make sure you use kosher salt. This recipe is written for kosher salt. Table salt is denser than kosher salt and doesn’t measure the same way. If you have to use table salt, use 1 1/4 cups table salt and make sure your salt dissolves in the brine.
- Make sure your stock pot is large enough to hold a turkey. If not, you can buy brining bags. These are giant resealable bags that are made for turkey brining. The bags are easy to fit into a standard sized refrigerator.
- Feel free to stir your brine so that all your salt dissolves in the liquid.
- You want to make sure you put your turkey into a cool brine; never put a turkey in a hot or warm brine.
- To cool your brine quickly you can add some cold water or a few ice cubes.
- Need less turkey? Brine a turkey breast with 1/2 of the recipe and 1/2 the amount of time.
- Pat your turkey dry before you roast it to ensure crispy skin.
Quick Tip
Be sure to use apple cider the drink, do NOT use apple cider vinegar! If you can’t find apple cider, apple juice will work fine.
Pick The Perfect Salt For Your Brine
When you want the perfect salt for your turkey brine, the three main options are kosher salt, sea salt and table salt. I wrote this brine recipe to use kosher salt and I recommend that you use kosher salt for this brine.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt has large salt grains. With the larger grains, you need less kosher salt by weight to fill up a measuring cup. It dissolves well in water and it is perfect for seasoning food because the big salt crystals are easy to taste.
- Sea Salt: Sea salt is salt made from evaporating ocean water. It comes in a lot of sizes and varieties depending on the water used and the evaporation process. I don’t recommend sea salt because of the variety of sea salts. You will have more consistently great results using kosher salt.
- Table Salt: Table salt has smaller grains than kosher salt and is more dense. It often has iodine and anti-caking agents. Kosher salt tends to dissolve in water better than table salt, which is why I don’t recommend table salt. If you need to use table salt you will need to stir your brine to make sure the salt dissolves. You will also want to reduce the salt down to 1 1/4 cups of table salt instead of 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt.
Recipe FAQs
A turkey is a naturally lean type of meat which mean it’s prone to drying out. When you place a turkey in brine, it absorbs some of the liquid 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!
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.
People typically make gravy 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.
A turkey needs to cook in the oven for approximately 15 minutes per pound. Roast your turkey 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.
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Flavor Variations
This turkey brine will give you a juicy and delicious turkey as written. However, you can change the flavors to suit your taste.
- Veggies: Add to your wet brine chopped up celery, carrots and onion.
- Citrus: Boost the citrus flavor by adding an orange peel or lemon peel.
- Herbs: Add fresh sage leaves, fresh thyme sprigs or allspice berries.
Recommended Turkey Recipes
These recipes pair perfectly with this brine. There are plenty of options including roasted turkey, smoked turkey and turkey breast. If you’re making a smoked turkey, try using my smoked turkey brine recipe.
Use this brine to seal in the moisture for a juicy and delicious bird. If you have extra time and don’t want a wet brine, you can also try my fantastic dry brined turkey. Regardless, of what method you choose, your guests will thank you for serving a succulent turkey.
More Recipes For Your Thanksgivng
Turkey Brine Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Turkey Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider DO NOT use apple cider vinegar
- 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. If your turkey does not fit into the pot, place the turkey and the brine into a brining bag.
- 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
- Make sure you use kosher 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.
- Be sure to use apple cider the drink, do NOT use apple cider vinegar! If you can’t find apple cider, apple juice will work fine.
I do not have kosher salt nor do I want to go buy it just for this recipe. Can I just use my sea salt? How much sea salt would I use if i am able to substitute?
I would do 1 cup of sea salt!
I have a 6 pound turkey breast. Would I just cut this brine recipe in half?
Cut it in half and brine for 12 hours!
I am loving this savory, sweet and fruity brine. It sounds divine and the turkey looks marvelous.
This brine looks so good and I love that it’ll keep our turkey moist and delicious! Definitely adding this to our Thanksgiving menu!
Love this Turkey Brine Recipe, will come handy for the holidays. Looks so juicy and delicious. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m so glad I found this! We’re deep frying our turkey this year, and I’ve been looking for a really good brine for it. This is perfect!
The best turkey brine for the holiday season!
I tried this brine recipe 5 years ago and it’s been great. My turkey is moist and VERY flavorful!
How long would I brine a turkey breast for?
12 hours!
I’m still on the fence with brining my turkey. All the turkeys I’ve seen in the grocery store have added salt in them. What are your thoughts on this?
If the turkey contains salt, I wouldn’t brine it. But most stores do sell turkeys that do not contain added salt, I’d ask at the butcher counter!
Does if matter if the kosher salt is course? Will the amount used change?
Thank you!
Coarse salt is fine!
My son is allergic to apples. What could be a substitute for the cider? Chicken broth or maybe white grape juice?
Pear juice or white grape juice would both be fine!
I highly recommend this! Made it last year and it was a hit. Mine is cooling right now as I type! Thank you!
I forgot to rinse before adding the rub for frying. Will that be a problem??? I’m cooking it tonight 🙁
It should be fine without the rinse!
How much water do I need to use to brine the turkey?
Do I need to use 2 gallons of water?
Yes it’s the 2 gallons in the recipe.
Do you bring the 2 falcons of water to a boil as well?
Gotta love auto correct *gallons
Yes everything comes to a boil.
Hi! Do you use Morton’s kosher salt? I’ve read that it’s saltier than diamond crystals. I’m just wondering if I need to adjust it or keep it the same. Very excited to try this! Thank you so much!
I typically use diamond crystal but I have made this recipe before with Morton’s and it works fine!
I made this last year and it was a HIT!!! I’m making it again this year. Thanks so much for the recipe and for those of you on the fence, do it! This is the brine recipe you never knew you needed.
Would you recommend using this brine on a frozen turkey breast? I believe the breast already has some sort of salt solution.
If your turkey breast has added salt, you could make it overly salty by brining it. I’d skip the brine and use a turkey rub instead: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/turkey-rub-recipe/
I’m not under standing the amount of brine to make for a 22 pnd turkey? Should I double? Thankyou.
Yes I’d double this recipe, as it’s designed for a 12-14 pound bird.
Can this particular brine be used pn other types of meat?
You can use it for chicken! I do also have separate chicken and pork chop recipes on the site.
Is the recipe the same for a 20lb turkey?
I’d do 1.5 times the recipe, you can change the number of servings in the recipe card and the amounts will automatically recalculate.