Turkey brine recipes can sometimes be scary even to think to attempt. Fear not learning how to cook a turkey can be rewarding. The secret to knowing how to cook a turkey in the oven to be moist starts with an easy recipe to brine a turkey.

Brining turkey can seem like extra work, but it is well worth the time investment. For some reason, brined turkey always tastes better. Once you eat turkey recipes that are prepared this way, you will always be able to tell the difference.

I am a little bias I will admit, but I feel this is the best turkey brine recipe out of all the brine recipes I have tried. So give it a shot and let me know what you think. I don’t think you will be disappointed, it’s guaranteed to result in a moist and flavorful meal every time!

Why Brine A Turkey?

Turkey meat has a reputation for being dry and unsavory, and every cook fears that their turkey will end up this way. Enter, BRINE to the rescue. A good brined turkey will enhance the flavor of the turkey but also help to prevent it from drying out while it is roasting (as will butter). BUT!? How does it work?

Turkey meat is considered lean, which means it is prone to drying out. So having the turkey marinade in a salty solution causes two things to occur: the meat absorbs the extra moisture = juicy tenderness, and the meat absorbs the salt and seasoning= mouthwatering flavor.

To go one step further in this explanation, the salt breakdowns the muscle of the turkey meat, allowing it to absorb the moisture and flavor.

Now that we got that out of the way let’s talk about the real reason you are here.

How Do You Make A Turkey Brine?

A basic turkey brine involves salt and water, but let’s be real that sounds just about as exciting as dry and unsavory. You are in luck as I happen to be one of those cooks that like to color outside the box.

So we will use water and salt but why not substitute some of the water for a stock or broth to really kick it up a couple notches.

This recipe calls for vegetable stock, salt, water, and some basic herbs and spices. We combine everything but the water and bring to a simmer to dissolve the salt. Always cool the brine before pouring it on the turkey. Then add in the water to the brine and turkey, and Bada boom you have a turkey brine. EASY!

Salt, Bay Leaves, Rosemary, Thyme, Italian Seasoning, & Sage

How Do You Brine A Turkey?

There are a couple methods out there, from using coolers to pots to large basins.

What I like to do is get a large roasting pan that I know the turkey fits in, put a turkey roasting oven bag in it, and then place the turkey in the bag. I then pour the COOLED brine solution over the turkey and add the water. Tie the bag, and we are done, but make sure the turkey is positioned so that it is submerged.

How long should you brine a turkey?

Most recipes recommend at least 18 hours up to 24 hours. It really depends on the size of your turkey and how salty you like your meat. I usually purchase a 15 to 20-pound turkey, and I brine for at least 20 hours (or overnight until it’s time to cook the turkey).

My thoughts on this are at least brine overnight, and you should be good.

Tips and Tricks for Turkey Brining

Check out my video below to see how I put this together.
Make sure to cool the simmered brine before pouring it over the turkey. You don’t want to start cooking the turkey accidentally.
Experiment! Change up the type of broth/stock flavors and add or swap the herbs and spices. This is what makes cooking fun, new, and different.
Save some brine for the turkey marinade, thank me later (but also check out my oven-roasted turkey recipe to see how I incorporate this to produce a savory oven-roasted turkey).

I hope you enjoy this easy turkey brine recipe. Definitely, check out the video on how to make the turkey brine, its quick and to the point.

Please like, share, and comment below. I would love to hear what your favorite herbs/ spices to use are and how your turkey comes out if you use this recipe.