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Dry and Wet Brine Recipe

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Brining Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 10 minutes
Yield 12 –14 pound turkey
Category Brine
Cuisine American

Description

Our go-to recipes for dry brining and wet brining. Feel free to play around with the flavors you add!

Ingredients

Dry Brine

  • ⅓ cup Morton kosher salt
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons minced herbs such as rosemary, thyme or sage

Wet Brine

  • 2 gallons cold water
  • 1 cup Morton kosher salt
  • 2 (12 ounce) cans frozen orange juice or apple juice concentrate
  • 2 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 2 dried bay leaves

Instructions

Dry Brine

  • Combine salt, sugar, pepper, 2 tablespoons thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary .
  • Rub dry rub all over turkey skin. Place on wire rack. Transfer to refrigerator for 18–24 hours.

Wet Brine

  • In a large container whisk together water, salt, orange juice concentrate, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
  • Submerge turkey in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 8–24 hours.

Equipment

large kitchen bucket
baking sheet
wire rack

Notes

We do not recommend brining a turkey for more than 24 hours. Another over 24 hours and the salt water solution will actually change the texture of the meat and make it either tough or mealy. 

Nutrition

Keywords Dry brine vs wet brine
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