How to Brine a Turkey

A flavorful brine for your holiday turkey that will add a lot of moisture and taste to the bird.

Thanksgiving means turkey in our family and not a deep fried one. We are traditional so we are talking an oven roasted bird here. For many years we bought the "American classic" frozen bird that all the stores sell. You know... the "self basting" ones. Thaw it, butter or oil it up and stick it in the oven. That really does work quite well for "challenged" cooks out there. I give it a 4/5 stars in taste but a little dry at times and a 2/10 for skills needed. Add some gravy and sides and you have a very nice holiday feast. (See my "How to Make Gravy" post if needed).

BUT...you want to kick it up a few notches or you wouldn't be reading this. So let's MAN UP and get to it.

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Butter Turkey Tenderloin - Pan Seared Oven Roasted with Gravy

Moist and tender. Pan seared and basted with butter and you have some serious taste.

There seems to be very few instructions for cooking these things. They have no skin and are a triangular piece of breast meat. From the processor, they already have a brine injected so no brining here. I wanted a buttery taste and gravy (the nectar of the gods...). I started with a light salt and peppering (is that a word?), pan seared in some butter and finished in the over with more butter during the roasting.

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Grilled Brown Sugar Rubbed Turkey Breast

Turkey on the grill. This has been on my cooking "bucket list" for several years. But I'm "cooking for two" so a whole turkey is out of the question and even a frozen turkey breast is too big plus they are packed with salt water. So a smile came on my face when I found a half turkey breast at our local market that appeared to be fresh and even more of a smile when the butcher told me it was indeed a fresh breast that had not been injected with anything. It became mine...

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Sausage-Bread Turkey Stuffing

The family staple at turkey times. Usually made in a double or even a triple batch.  For many years it went in the bird. Now it is baked in a pan for safety but still a great treat at holiday gatherings. 

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Cider Brined, Herb Buttered Martha Roasted Turkey - The Full Monte

So you want the full Monte do you? This is it. My obsessive daughter (Christine at 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic) who we sometimes call Little Miss Martha has been doing turkeys for years. She has combined every method of turkey enhancement into one grand method. The Marthe Stewart recipes were The Perfect Turkey, Turkey 101 and the Herb Butter Turkey. The cider brine from epicurious.com and Martha combined.

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