Wednesday evening,
I made a brine for Mr. Turkey.
Why brine?
Brining adds more flavor and moisture
to your bird and keeps it from drying out.
Basically what happens in a brine
is that the salt unwinds the meat proteins,
allowing them to form hollow tubes.
The brine solution travels into the protein,
carrying the flavors of the brine solution -
the herbs, apple cider, and whatever else ingredients
you might put in your brine.
(I've added lemons and oranges to my
brines before and I think that was just
a waste of my lemons and oranges.)
The brine solution becomes trapped inside,
creating a delicious and juicy turkey.
One cup Kosher salt.
One half cup brown sugar.
A bunch of fresh bay leaves.
A bunch of fresh sage.
Sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Turkey in.
Then I added a gallon of apple cider to cover.
I also added in a handful of peppercorns.
I put the cooler back in the fridge
and let sit overnight.
Before you cook the turkey,
rinse the brine off.
And my Wednesday prep work is done.
I've always wanted to try brining the turkey. Unfortunately, I don't have enough room in my refrigerator for a cooler large enough for my turkey and all the other food.
ReplyDeleteDarn it!!