To Brine Or Not To Brine A Turkey?

For tender juicy turkey at Thanksgiving many Americans recommend brining a turkey before cooking it.

Brining a turkey is a new concept for this Irish girl. I never heard of anyone in Ireland marinating their Christmas turkey. When I first heard about brining, I confess I was a little skeptical, never believing claims the extra work really paid off.

Yesterday I cooked a brined turkey for the first time ever, and all my doubts faded away. I am now a brining believer.

I can safely say I will be brining every turkey I cook in the future. Our meat was so succelent and juicy, everyone licked their lips, and asked for seconds and thirds. A good friend announced:

“After fifty Thanksgivings, I can say this is the best turkey I ever tasted!”

High compliments indeed. My turkey success is completely owed to the brining process.

I chose The Pioneer Woman’s Favorite Turkey Brine Recipe. Hats off to her, for a wonderfully aromatic mixture that truly did the trick.

Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution for a minimum of 16 hours, preferably longer. During this time the nifty salt soaks into the turkey meat, and by a scientific process I will not even attempt to explain, it changes the molecular structure of the meat.

I can assure you, as does The Pioneer Woman, the meat doesn’t turn into a salty mess, just juicy, tasty turkey. It works wonders on the breast meat. One guest told me, she never before ate breast meat, always opting for the juicier leg. Yesterday, she changed her mind and had both white and dark meat.

I must apologize for not having taken any photos of my brining process or the resulting turkey. As a new blogger, I sometimes forget to record life’s little steps in images. In fact, I had no plans to post about turkey brining, but I was so pleased with my results I just had to share.

And so I confess, I am now a briner. I have joined the growing legions of those who have discovered its magical powers. I never again shall ask myself if I should brine or not. Brining is now officially part of my pre-Thanksgiving “to do” list.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.