If you want a juicy, flavorful turkey every time, this Good Eats turkey brine recipe is a great place to start. Brining helps the turkey absorb moisture and seasoning before roasting, which leads to more tender meat and better flavor throughout.
This guide walks you through how to make the brine, how long to soak the turkey, and the science behind why brining works so well for holiday meals.
Alton Brown is one of my favorite Food Network chef’s and I just love trying out his recipes. I always learn something new from watching his show.
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Why You Will Like This Recipe
If you want the juiciest roasted turkey for Thanksgiving you must try brining your bird. If you’ve never brined a turkey before don’t worry! It’s really simple and requires a couple of spices, salt, sugar, liquid, and salt. After you brine the bird it is up to you to decide how you want to cook it. I’ve tried smoked turkey, air fryer turkey breast, and oven roasted for the results. Smoked turkey is great if you have a smoker.
There’s a lot of crazy spices this recipe calls for like candied ginger, whole black peppercorns, and whole allspice. My grocery store has bulk bin items you can buy so if you’re only looking to purchase a certain amount of spices you can only buy just what you need to make the recipe! To give the brine even more flavor I added in some fresh rosemary and sage leaves on top of the turkey brine.
The Science Behind Each Ingredient in Turkey Brine
- Salt is the most important ingredient in any brine. It changes the structure of muscle proteins through a process called denaturation, which allows the turkey to absorb and retain more moisture during cooking. This helps prevent the meat from drying out in the oven. Salt also seasons the turkey all the way through rather than just on the surface.
- Sugar balances the saltiness of the brine and enhances browning during roasting. It helps promote caramelization and Maillard reactions, which contribute to a deeper golden color and more complex flavor.
- 2 containers of vegetable stock or chicken stock will be fine
- Spices: black peppercorns, allspice berries, chopped candied ginger - These have to be whole and can not be ground.
- Water acts as the main carrier that allows salt and other flavor compounds to move into the turkey through diffusion. Using broth instead of plain water adds additional savory depth and umami.
- For the aromatics: adds fragrance and surface flavor to the turkey. While most large flavor molecules cannot deeply penetrate the meat, they infuse the skin and outer layers during the brining process.
How to make Good Eats Turkey Brine Recipe
2 or 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 ½ hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Tips for Turkey Brine
Chicken broth or chicken stock works as a good substitute for vegetable broth.
The trick to turkey brine is to have a vessel large enough to hold your turkey and brine in. Coolers work well for this. I used my dutch oven pot since I was roasting a smaller turkey breast.
Other Alton Brown Recipes
- Alton Brown Guacamole Recipe
- Alton Brown's Smoked Meatloaf
- Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Candy Corn Recipe
- Alton Brown’s City Ham
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Good Eats Turkey Brine
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min
- Total Time: 9 hr 45 min
- Yield: 10 to 12 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Alton Brown is one of my favorite Food Network chef’s and I just love trying out his recipes. I always learn something new from watching his show.
Ingredients
1 14-16 pound frozen young turkey
Brine
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup light brown sugar
1 gallon of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 ½ teaspoons allspice berries
1 ½ teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
½ onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
Instructions
- 2 or 3 days before roasting:
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
- Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
- Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
- Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 ½ hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Notes
Recipe tips: add more aromatics on top of the turkey to bring out even more flavor! I did this to make the turkey look a little be more aesthetically pleasing in the picture. It is not part of the recipe steps.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
*If you make this recipe please comment and rate the recipe below to let everyone know how it is, or tag me on Instagram! If you want to upload a photo you can do that on Pinterest. Just find the post for it.
Anna says
I've made this several years! So good! Thank you!
Jenna says
Yep! I would do that after the brining process!
Patty says
Can you stuff a brined bird
Jenna says
Yes it is 1 gallon for the size turkey he recommends. I've used 2 32 oz containers before and that was plenty needed. It also depends on the size of your bird. If you have a smaller turkey you wouldn't need that much.
Ming says
I use this one every year as well. However isn't his recipe 1 gal of vegetable broth? Two 32 oz containers would be half a gallon.