Pre-Thanksgiving prep: Brining the Turkey

There really is no question when it comes to brining a turkey for Thanksgiving; if you don’t want a dry turkey you brine it the day before. I’m sure we have all had dry turkey on Thanksgiving, and know how it can really take away from Thanksgiving. A moist, juicy turkey just makes everyone’s Thanksgiving a more memorable one. Here is a step-by-step process from the guys at Serious Eats on how to not over cook your turkey.

• “Under 120°F (48.9°C): The meat is still considered raw. Muscle cells are bundled up and aligned in long, straight cable-like fibrils wrapped in a sheath of elastic connective tissues, which is what gives meat it's "grain."

• At 120°F: The protein myosin, begins to coagulate, forcing some liquid out of the muscle cells, which then collects within the protein sheath.

• At 140°F (60°C): The remaining proteins within the muscle cells coagulate, forcing all of the liquid out of the cells, and into the protein sheath. The coagulated proteins turn the meat firm and opaque.

• At 150°F (65.6 °C): The proteins in the sheath itself (mainly collagen) rapidly coagulate and contract. Like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, all the water what was forced out of the cells and has collected within the sheath, is now squeezed out of the meat completely. Congratulations, your turkey is overcooked.

Thanks to all those who pointed out that I should include temperature conversions in the future

Although the government will have you believe that 165°F is the minimum temperature to cook your turkey to, clearly you need your turkey to be within the 140 to 150°F range to ensure juiciness.”

So brining is soaking the bird overnight in a salt-water solution with other herbs and spices added in according to your liking.

Brine for Thanksgiving Turkey

2/3-cup kosher salt

2/3-cup sugar

6 whole cloves

1 tsp juniper berries, crushed

1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed

1 tsp allspice

5 fresh sage leaves

4 springs thyme

2 bay leaves

16 cups water, divided

1 10-15 pound turkey

Directions

1. Pour 4 cups of water into a big pot
2. Add first 6 ingredients to water.
3. Then add sage, thyme and bay leaves, bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 3 minutes, then let cool to room temperature
5. Rinse turkey and pour brine over it in a big bag. Let turkey brine for 24 hours.