Go to any food blog or website from the months of October through December and you’ll see one topic on constant repeat: Brining the turkey. People arguing about when you should start brining, how much brine you need, and whether wet or dry brine is the best. I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the most divisive topics in food, and is as unique to someone as their fingerprint. If you’re a newbie briner, welcome, and don’t worry, I’m going to break down everything you need to know about turkey brine. A brine-r, if you will.
What is brining?
Brining is a method of seasoning which is essentially a salt bath for your poultry. A brine can include anything from just salt and water, to sugar, seasonings, spices, and other aromatics—like garlic or herbs. Some brines start two to three days prior to cooking, and some are just overnight. By letting the turkey sit in this flavorful concoction, no matter how long, the skin and meat can absorb those flavors, creating the juicy meat that is prized at the holiday dinner table.
What does brining do?
A brine provides two things in the cooking process: Flavor and moisture, two things that can be lost when something has to roast in the oven for a long time, like a turkey. As a 12-pound turkey takes about three hours in the oven (the general rule is 13 minutes per pound at 350°F), that’s a lot of time in the heat, where the skin and outer layers of the bird can be stripped of their water content, making your holiday turkey dry. Sad. But, other factors come into play too. There’s a LOT of surface area of a bird, and hard-to-reach areas as well. With a brine—where the turkey is fully submerged or coated—you’re ensuring that every part is equally seasoned.
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Additionally, salt is a crucial part of the Maillard reaction; that process that makes your cookies golden brown and creates that crispy skin on the turkey. Without salt, which is hygroscopic (aka sucks the moisture out, the way that one family member sucks the life out of the room) the proteins in the turkey skin wouldn’t denature, or break down, allowing for them to achieve that perfect golden brown result.
Is a wet or dry brine better?
This is where things get murky. A wet brine, since it’s a soak, requires a longer lead time for prep. Some people say having a wet brine is counterproductive, as you always want to start with a dry piece of protein which, again, aids in that Maillard reaction (you’ll see “pat the meat dry” in a lot of recipes because of this).
Others claim a dry brine doesn’t do enough, as it’s harder to get every surface with a salt rub than it is to just cover it in a liquid. However, due to direct contact with seasoning, undiluted by water, some believe dry brine to be superior to the wet brine. It’s also less messy (the leftover wet brine has to go SOMEWHERE) and takes up far less space, as a dry brined turkey can just sit on a rack overnight in the fridge, but a wet brine needs some sort of large vessel, like a pot, that also needs refrigeration. TL;DR: it’s a personal choice and I won’t judge you.
Do I need to brine?
Not if you don’t want to. The beauty of cooking Thanksgiving is that you get to do it your way, and if something isn’t working for you, you don’t have to do it. But, you *do* want to maintain moisture when cooking. Some options for this include:
- Get a meat thermometer. If you know the exact temperature (165°F) of turkey done-ness, you’re less likely to overcook, which could lead to dryness.
- Tent the turkey in foil. Trapping moisture allows it to, well, stay where you want it. A foil tent creates a little microchamber of moisture, in a similar way clouds work, so the released moisture will drip back down from the foil onto the bird.
- Try a butter rub. When in doubt, insulate with fat. Just like you’d cook a steak with butter, adding a buffer of fat allows the meat of the turkey to stay juicy. Also, flavor.
- Leave the center cavity open. Yes yes, every photo op for turkey shows a bouquet of things sprouting from the back of the turkey. But, keeping the inside full impedes cooking time, as the oven air can’t circulate inside the turkey, stretching out your cook time to longer than ideal. It’s also possible whatever’s inside won’t be cooked all the way through, which can lead to a host of issues, including possible food poisoning. You can always add other fully cooked items after the turkey is cooked through.
