Brining the turkey

People love the taste of a brined turkey.  Since I don't eat turkey (long unpleasant story), I can only tell you that what people tell me: brined turkey is extremely juicy and flavourful. This year we were organized enough to brine the bird in advance, and the results were as wonderful as anticipated.

My friend Jim, whom I think of as the BBQ-meister, also brined this year. His method is more refined than mine: He puts turkey and brine into a plastic bag which he places in a large container filled with ice. He does this the night before. Then at 4 in the morning, he removes the turkey from the brine, gives it a pat-down and lets it air-dry in the fridge until it's time to put it in the oven. Getting up at 4 a.m. to pat down a turkey is real dedication.

I'm a little paranoid about cooking turkeys and keeping everything super clean. On the other hand,  my grandmas and mom did not have this level of paranoia and no one died from turkey poisoning. Nonetheless, I keep the turkey super cold during brining, and bleach everything when I'm done.

The pictures aren't great because when I get into the thick of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner prep, I forget.

Here we go with the instructions:

2 lb/ 1 kg salt
2 cups brown sugar
4 gallons/16 litres ice cold water
a few bay leaves, miscellaneous spices if you want
one thawed turkey, innards removed.

1. Use a very large vessel, like a cooler or an oversized soup pot, or food-safe plastic bucket.
2. Mix the sugar and salt in the water until it’s dissolved.
3. Submerge the turkey in the salt water so it is completely covered. Keep it submerged by placing some weighted food-safe object on top.  I used a heavy pot to hold it down.
4. Cover and keep cold for 4 - 24 hours. We usually brine it the night before and keep it in the fridge, coldroom or garage if it’s cold enough.
5. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Dump the brine.

Pat the bird dry and place in roasting pan.
Rub with butter, if desired.
 
Set in 450ºF oven for 30 minutes then turn heat down to 350º and cook until internal temperature reaches 175º. It takes about 13 minutes per pound - but check the temperature to make sure you don’t overcook.
 
When you take the bird out, let it rest covered with foil for 20 to 30 minutes before carving then serve immediately.
 
The government of Canada has some poultry tips here and recommends cooking to 185ºF. 
The US government says to cook it to 165ºF.
I split the difference at 175ºF.

Pouring the brine over the turkey(s).  (I had requests for leftovers, so I cooked two smallish birds this year.)

Lovely and golden. And, apparently, delicious.