By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern
Every Thanksgiving, my mom always has to grill steaks along with baking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Why? Because my dad absolutely despised turkey because it’s so dry. Some of you can probably relate. It can be tricky to bake a turkey in the oven and still keep the meat moist. Typically, people inject their turkeys with butter to try to get more moisture in there. But my mom has since found a better trick to curing turkey dryness!
(photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com)
The solution is to soak your turkey in a brine for about 12-24 hours before cooking. The turkey absorbs the liquid and the flavoring and retains it better than just a butter injection. The following recipe is just a general guide for making a brine. The main goal is to just flavor the brine how you’d like and make enough of it to cover your specific turkey, as they come in all sizes.
Buttermilk Salt Brine Recipe:
- 1-2 Half gallon jugs of buttermilk, depending on the size of your turkey.
- 3-6 Tbs. Kosher salt
- Water to cover the turkey.
- Whatever seasoning you’d normally add to your turkey.
Combine all ingredients and pour over the turkey, either in a meat bag or a brining bucket if you have one. Then, keep it in the fridge until the brining is done.
After you’ve brined it and are ready to bake your turkey, remove it from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Sprinkle and pat it with some more of the seasonings you added to your brine. Place it in a turkey bag and on top of a baking sheet and toss it in the oven.
And there you have it, a simple solution to keeping your turkey moist for Thanksgiving dinner! Even my dad approves and will now have some turkey with the rest of us!
For more holiday articles or recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!