The Ultimate Brined Turkey
Rated 4 stars by 6 users
While you can keep it super simple and brine your Thanksgiving turkey with FOND’s poultry brine and fresh water… we’ve also got you covered if you want to get a little gourmet.
This recipe, from our founder and gourmet guru Alysa, makes an absolutely scrumptious turkey and is worth every minute of care. Your guests won’t be able to stop talking about this succulent and flavorful turkey!
Ingredients
-
1 cup FOND’s Poultry Brine + 2 Tbsp
- 1 10-lb turkey
- 1 gallon of water
- 1 brine bag or equivalent glass container
- Olive oil
- 2 lemons, sliced in half
- Optional - whole bunches of sage, rosemary and thyme
Directions
Before you begin: This recipe takes two days to complete, largely unattended time. It can take up to three if you have a lot going on and you cannot get to the large bird marinating in your refrigerator.
- Prepare the brine mix according to the instructions - 1 cup per every 10 lbs of turkey. Rinse the turkey removing the giblets and neck. Add the prepared brine and water mix to the remaining gallon of water into the vessel (bag or jar). Add the turkey and refrigerate immediately - up to 48 hours but for no less than 12. This process infuses flavor throughout the turkey.
When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 350F. You will want to roast the turkey for 12 minutes per pound. Drain, rise and dry the turkey. Separate the skin from the turkey starting with the breast side up. Be careful not to rip the skin. With freshly washed hands, take the 1 tbsp of brine and spread it underneath the skin directly on the meat coating the breast and legs. Flip and repeat with the remaining tbsp of dry brine getting the back and thighs. Insert the fresh herbs and sliced lemon into the center of the turkey.
- Coat with olive oil, or butter if you prefer that.
- Get your jar of bone broth ready.
- Every ½ hour you will want to baste the turkey with 2 - 3 oz of bone broth. This will help the turkey develop a nice brown color. You may need to tent certain sections of your turkey with foil if you notice one section is browning more quickly than another.
- After roasting, allow the turkey to rest for at least 20 minutes so the juices are retained.
