Recipe: Delicious Dad's Turkey Brine

Dad's Turkey Brine.

You can cook Dad's Turkey Brine using 11 ingredients and 12 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Dad's Turkey Brine

1. Prepare 1 cup of Kosher Salt.
2. It's 4 quarts of water.
3. You need 1 sprig of fresh Rosemary (8 inch stalk).
4. You need 1 sprig of fresh Oregano (8 inch stalk).
5. You need 1 tablespoon of Everyday seasoning.
6. Prepare 1 tablespoon of Peppercorns.
7. You need 1 tablespoon of Cloves.
8. You need 1 tablespoon of Thyme.
9. Prepare 6 of Bay leaves.
10. It's of Peel of 1 lemon.
11. It's of Peel of 1 orange.

Dad's Turkey Brine instructions

1. Prepare a large pot or food-safe storage bin that will fit your turkey and completely submerge it in the brine. We had to use a 22 quart storage container for ours, which was too big. Something between 14 and 20 quarts would probably be fine, depending on the size of your turkey. You can also use a large food-safe storage bag, but be careful to get a bag that won't leak..
2. Clear out enough room in your fridge to fit the pot, storage bin or bag..
3. Put 2 quarts of water in a big pot and bring to a boil. Add the salt and stir in until it is completely dissolved..
4. Lower heat to medium high, add in the other ingredients and stir periodically for 10 minutes..
5. Use a potato peeler to remove the outer skin of the orange and the lemon. Add the peels to the brine mixture. (Don't use the whole peel, because the white part of the peel is bitter.).
6. Lower heat to simmering for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally..
7. Take the brine mixture off the heat and add the other 2 quarts of water and stir in..
8. Allow the brine mixture to cool to room temperature. (Don't put hot or warm brine on the turkey, because you will start to cook it prematurely.).
9. Remove the turkey from the bag it came in, rinse it off, remove the giblets, put the turkey in your brine-ing container and place it in the refrigerator..
10. Once cooled, pour the brine over the turkey. Make sure the turkey is completely submerged. If needed, add more brine mixture at 1 quart of water to a 1/4 cup of Kosher salt..
11. Cover the the container (or close the bag) and let sit in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours..
12. Rinse off the turkey with cool water, pat dry and cook as usual. Brined turkeys tend to cook a bit faster (20 to 30 minutes), so check your bird early..