Apple Cider Turkey Brine with Citrus, Ginger, & Herbs

Start your Thanksgiving turkey in this fragrant orange, rosemary, and ginger Apple Cider Brine for a moist, tender, flavorful turkey every time.

Jump to:

• What's the Story on this Turkey Brine?
• What Goes into this Brine Recipe
• How to Brine a Turkey for Thanksgiving
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip
• More Thanksgiving Recipes
• Apple Cider Turkey Brine with Citrus, Ginger, & Herbs

What's the Story on this Turkey Brine?

We've been brining our Thanksgiving turkey for many years now, and this gingery apple cider mixture has become our favorite holiday brine recipe. We love how it infuses the meat with citrus and rosemary, and the subtle, spiced notes of ginger, pepper, and bay. As for texture, we've never eaten such a moist, tender turkey before! Brining adds an extra step to your holiday prep list, but it is well worth the time.

Basically, brining is the process of soaking meat in a saltwater solution before cooking. The salt in the brine dissolves some of the protein in the muscle fibers, which in turn imparts additional flavor to the meat, and allows it to retain more moisture during cooking. Our brine recipe is a loose adaptation of Ree Drummond's favorite turkey brine, with a few noteworthy substitutions and additions (like candied ginger!).

What kind of turkey works best for brining?

When selecting a turkey (or any kind of poultry) for brining, look for a fresh bird that is labeled "natural" or "organic." These turkeys will take on the flavors of the brine much more readily.

Avoid using turkeys labeled “basted”, “kosher”, “enhanced,” or “self-basting.” These turkeys have been injected with flavoring additives and saline solutions, which can prevent the bird from absorbing flavor from any home brining, and lead to overly salted meat in the process.

Can I brine a pre-brined turkey?

There are times when it can be difficult (if not impossible) to find a fresh, natural turkey. You can brine a prebrined bird (we call this "rebrining"), but if you do so, you must cut the salt level in this brine recipe by half or the meat may end up tasting too salty.

We weren't sure how much of the brine's flavor a prebrined bird would absorb, so we cooked five different turkeys (not all at the same time!) to test it. All of the turkeys were cooked using the same Hi-Lo roasting method.

In our experience, the meat from the rebrined turkeys definitely tasted more tender and flavorful than the control turkey in our experiment, which was cooked with only factory prebrining and no home brining.

The fresh, natural birds, however - those that were only brined at home - won hands-down over the rebrined turkeys. The fresh turkeys absorbed far more of the brine's citrusy, spicy, sweet flavors, and their meat was notably more moist and tender. Surprisingly, they cooked up more evenly as well.

What Goes into this Brine Recipe

• Apple cider: Apple cider is a little less processed than apple juice; we like that. You can definitely use apple juice for this recipe though.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar brings. a sweet, caramelly element to the brine.
• Kosher salt: We recommend that you use Kosher salt. Do not use table salt. It is commonly fortified with iodine, which will cause your turkey to take on a metallic taste.
• Peppercorns: Use any peppercorns. Plain black peppercorns work just fine.
• Bay leaves
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic. Peel it and coarsely chop it.
• Rosemary: Use fresh rosemary. Rosemary is easy to grow, and remains evergreen so you can harvest it year-round.
• Candied ginger: You can buy crystalized ginger chips in most grocery stores, Asian specialty stores, and online.
• Orange peel: Cut the peel off the orange, taking only as much of the spongy yellow pith as is necessary.
• Cold water
• Ice: If you live near a Sonic, go get a bag of ice from them. It's the best!

How to Brine a Turkey for Thanksgiving

Make the Brine

Start the brining process no later than the evening before the day you intend to cook the turkey. (i.e., for a Thanksgiving Day turkey, start no later than Wednesday evening.)

Combine all the brine ingredients except water and ice in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve.

IMPORTANT: If you are using a prebrined turkey, cut the amount of salt in this brine recipe by half (i.e., use ¾ cup instead of 1½ cups).

Turn off heat, stir in a gallon of cold water. Allow the brine to cool completely. (You can speed up the process by placing the cooling brine in the fridge or freezer for a short time.)

Hint: This aromatic brine base can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.

Soak the Turkey

Start with a fresh or fully thawed turkey.

Prepare the turkey by removing all wrapping and any parts (neck, heart, liver, etc.) found in the cavity. (They can be used to make giblet gravy if you're into that.)

Use kitchen shears to remove that weird plastic leg holder thing (fyi: it’s called a hock lock). It’s oven safe, but it will get in the way later.

Place the prepared turkey in a stockpot or turkey brining bag.

• Stockpot Method: (Recommended) Place a cold, uncooked turkey inside a tall stockpot. The height of the pot must be at least a few inches below the top of the turkey as it sits in the pot to prevent sloshing.
• Bucket Method: (Use this method if you don't have a large enough stockpot.) Place the uncooked turkey in a large brining bag inside a bucket.
• Cooler Method: Place the uncooked turkey in a large brining bag inside a cooler. (We recently bought a plugin electric cooler for road trips. It works great for this purpose!)

Pour the cold brine solution over the turkey. Add the ice.

Cover the stockpot or tie the top of the brining bag to seal in the turkey. If you are brining directly in the stockpot, you may want to weigh down the turkey so it is fully submerged.

Ideally, the turkey should soak in the brine for at least one hour per pound. Sixteen hours seems to be the sweet spot for turkey brining, with eight hours being the minimum brining time. Do not brine a turkey for more than 36 hours.

When the soaking time has elapsed, remove the turkey from the brine.

Optional rinse:

Fill the bucket or pot that you used to brine the turkey with fresh, cold water. Place the turkey in the cold water and let it soak for a few minutes to remove the salt from the skin.

Hint: We only rinse the turkey when brining a fresh turkey using brine with full-strength salt. You can skip the rinse when brining a prebrined turkey (like a Butterball) with the salt at half-strength, as it doesn't seem to affect the flavor at all.

Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. For extra-crispy turkey skin, let the turkey chill uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before roasting.

For simple, no-fuss directions on how to roast a turkey, visit Perfect Oven Roasted Turkey.

Be sure to sanitize your sink and counters with bleach to prevent cross-contamination and food poisoning.

A few years ago, we had an enormous turkey, and didn't have a pot or cooler wide enough to accommodate it. That year, we ended up using a blue Lowe’s bucket with double kitchen trash bags as a brining bag. We put the bird in the bag, poured in the ice and brine, and then gathered and tied the garbage bag ties at the top to keep out any curious critters. We didn’t have enough room in the fridge, but luckily, the temperature outside was hovering just above freezing, so we just left the whole thing outside overnight.

Substitutions

• Apple cider: Apple juice will also work, as will white grape juice. You can use water, but you'll lose a lot of flavor if you do, both in the brine and in any gravy made from the drippings.
• Kosher salt: You can use an equivalent weight of pickling salt. (These two salts measure differently.) Do not use iodized salt.
• Rosemary: Substitute fresh sage.
• Candied ginger: You can use sliced fresh ginger instead.

Equipment

You need a vessel large enough to accommodate your turkey, with a little room to spare. It needs to fit in your fridge, or you must have an alternate plan for keeping it cold while the turkey soaks.

A large stock pot is handy for this purpose, as you can make the brine and brine the turkey in the same pot. You can also use a food-safe bucket or cooler lined with turkey brining bag.

Hack: If you don't have a brining bag, you can use a clean kitchen garbage bag. In this case, it is best to double them. (Do not use scented garbage bags!)

Storage

Apple cider brine can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Once the turkey has been brined, the leftover brine should be immediately disposed of.

Top Tip

Brining isn't just for turkeys! Use this apple cider brine to add flavor and moisture to any lean cut of meat, especially those that lack intermuscular fat and tend to dry out during cooking (e.g., whole chickens, chicken breasts, Cornish hens, pork chops, pork tenderloin, etc.).

• Whole chicken: 4 hours; up to 24 hours
• Chicken breasts: 2 hours (boneless), 4 hrs (bone-in)
• Cornish hens: 6-12 hours
• Pork chops: 2-2½ hours (bone-in), 1½-2 hours (boneless)
• Pork tenderloin: 1-2 hours

Do not over-brine, or the meat tissues brine will start to break down, resulting in a mushy texture and overly-salted flavor.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

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