World Spice Merchants : Recipes : Turkey Brine

Some folks are wondering, what's up with the brining thing? One of our favorite customers, Mark Gralnick, shows us in his awesome food blog Caution: Caveman Cooking just how easy it is to add divine brine to your turkey tradition. So easy, even a ... well, you know.

Prep time 15 min.
Marination time 24 hrs.
Marinates one turkey.

3/4 to 1 bottle white wine
(If you use the whole bottle for marinade,
have a spare ready for basting purposes. See
note* below.)

1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium bunch seedless red grapes, rinsed and halved

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, or substitute dried rosemary
(fresh or dried sage and/or fresh or dried thyme can be substituted, according to taste)

2 tablespoons Biscayne Citrus Rub

2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon seasoned pepper

Combine all ingredients except grapes in large mixing bowl.
Add grapes, crushing slightly, in your hands.
Mix thoroughly.
Place bird in large trash bag (or extra-large brining bag).
Cover with brine, being sure to get some of the mixture into the body cavity.
Loosely knot bag (or zipper brining bag).
Place bagged bird in roasting pan (in case the bag leaks) and refrigerate overnight.
Turn bird several times for even marinating.
Remove bird from refrigerator at least 20 min. before cooking.
Remove bird from brine, with option of reserving extra brine per note* below.
Prepare and cook bird as you prefer.

*NOTE: Turkeys done this way usually don’t have much in the way of drippings. So, as noted above, have some spare wine handy for basting purposes. You can also use some of the leftover brine during the first 1-2 hours of cooking. (Be sure to allow at least an hour and a half of cooking time after last use of brine for basting). Also, I like to leave a bunch of the grapes outside the bird, and a few inside, while cooking – it adds to the flavor.

Turkey will be moist and full of flavor.

Enjoy!

Recipe and photo used with permission.
©2009 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman.