| Too often, roasted turkey meat is dry and tasteless, | | | | cold enough, you can leave it outside the house, but |
| rendering leftovers unattractive. Fortunately, more | | | | beware of scavengers! |
| people now are aware that brining a turkey before | | | | Cold temperatures aside, time is your ally when you |
| cooking it yields great results. | | | | brine a turkey. Most advocates recommend brining a |
| Brining increases moisture content in the meat. This | | | | turkey overnight or 12 hours before cooking it. |
| ensures that the bird stays moist throughout cooking. | | | | Spending 24 hours in brine is more than adequate for |
| Most people roast their turkeys, and it is this long | | | | any turkey. Subsequently, rinse the brine solution off |
| exposure to dry heat that causes non-brined turkey | | | | your turkey in cool running water, inside and out. Rub |
| meat to dry out while it cooks. Brining also serves to | | | | the turkey to ensure all salt comes off and pat it dry |
| lock in natural moisture in meat. | | | | before cooking. This ensures the end result isn't too |
| A basic brine solution is 1 cup of salt dissolved in 1 | | | | salty. |
| gallon of water. Variants include sugar, garlic or herbs | | | | Finally, the last thing you would want to happen after |
| and spices. Your turkey should be completely thawed | | | | taking all that trouble to brine your turkey is to cook it in |
| and cleaned. Don't use self-basting or kosher turkeys! | | | | a slapdash manner. Cover the breast of the bird with |
| Place the turkey in a large, covered stock pot or clean | | | | foil during the first half of roasting to ensure it doesn't |
| bucket and fill it up with the brine solution. Completely | | | | dry out. After that, remove the foil and baste it every |
| submerge the bird with an inch or two of liquid above it. | | | | half hour till the bird is done. |
| One of the tips for brining a turkey is to ensure the | | | | Cooking turkey is a real event because it's not done |
| whole thing is kept cold. Brining is basically a flavoring | | | | very often. The size of the bird and work involved |
| process and does not preserve the meat at all. | | | | tend to discourage novices from trying it out, but the |
| Therefore, be sure to keep the turkey and its brine | | | | effort pays off in the end. |
| solution in a cool place such as your refrigerator. If it's | | | | |