Brining

According to Wikipedia, brining is- a process similar to marination in which meat is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking. You might have heard a lot about brining a turkey, and you might be wondering what the big deal is all about. Well, basically, brining will help to flavor your bird, as well as keep it moist.

The process is very simple. You need something big enough to hold a lot of water and your turkey. Some people use 5 gallon buckets, coolers, or very large Ziploc-type bags. The bird needs to be fully submerged in the brine. You can weigh it down if you have to. This year, I will be using a very large Ziploc bag (near all the other bags), and once that is full, I will close it and place it in a cooler and surround the bag with ice. After 24 hours, I'll remove the bird, rinse it well, and cook just as I normally would.

The brine consists of 1/2 cup salt (I always use Kosher) & 1/2 cup sugar for every gallon of water. Then add whatever type of herbs or flavoring aides you want (citrus always works well with poultry).

A quick search on Google will get you lots of recipes. Here are a few that can help get you started.

Brined, Herb Roasted Turkey

Honey-Brined Turkey

Turkey Brine

One thing to need to remember: If you are making gravy with the drippings, you probably won't need salt.