Beer Necessities - DIY Beer Brine for Holiday Turkeys

In this episode of Beer Necessities - a show about using beer in your every day cooking - Chef Jill shows us how to create an easy beer brine for your holiday turkey and explains why a brine is so important to get the most flavorful turkey for your holiday gathering.

Stay tuned next week for instructions on how to properly roast your turkey!

TOOLS -
1 5-gallon bucket (never used to store chemicals) with a lid OR 1 5-gallon insulated construction cooler
1 pair of kitchen shears
1 Large, sharp chef's knife
1 regular Stock Pot
Butchers Twine
1 16lb bag of ice

INGREDIENTS

1 15-16lb turkey, completely defrosted
1 Gallon of liquid (We used 2 6-packs of the Good Neighbor Brews Blue Jean Blonde)
2 cups of salt (we used kosher salt)
1 cup of any sweetener (we used brown sugar)
1 standard sachet of herbs (bay leaves, thyme, and parsley)
Any Additional Aromatics of your choice (we used 2 tablespoons black peppercorn, 3 quartered lemons, 5 quartered green apples, 2 quartered white onions, a handful of whole ginger)

Steps

1. Completely defrost your turkey
2. Remove all of the pieces from inside the turkey
3. Tie herbs from the sachet together using butchers twine. Leave enough twine to be able to tie an end to a handle of your pot.
4. Combine salt, sweetener, and liquid, herbs, and aromatics into stock pot.
5. Bring contents of pot into a boil.
6. Once brine has reached a rolling boil, remove from heat and let it cool completely.
7. Add cooled brine to your bucket or construction cooler.
8. Add half your bag of ice.
9. Put the turkey into bucket with the feet pointed up.
10. Seal the bucket and place into fridge for 24 hours.
- if you're using a construction cooler, place in a cool, dry part of your house that is out of the way where it won't drip onto any other food or get knocked over. If you're using the cooler that won't be in refrigerated, monitor the brine to make sure that there is ALWAYS visible ice within the mixture.
11. Allow turkey to brine for 24 hours before roasting.

[asaphazais]

Wow you guys are so knowledgeable and experienced!

[Cello.]

Just followed this recipe this year. I used the same amounts on a 12.3lbs turkey. It definitely came out a little salty. Next time I think I’ll do one cup only. The flavor was great. I’ll definitely try it again.

Edit: I just found out that the difference was probably that I used regular salt not kosher. Apparently there’s a difference. Oh well.

[andiballecter]

First of all, props for not suggesting people chop up the giblets and put them in the stuffing - especially without telling anyone until the meal’s over (MY GREAT-GRANDMA GAVE ME PTSD WHEN I WAS 8!). As with the associated GNB turkey-prep video, this was highly informative with an excellent presentation.

[KnowItsTrue]

I would like to use Blue Moon beer for my brine, but my wife is sensitive to gluten. Do you think it would be safe to use Blue Moon since it will be boiled and baked in the oven with the turkey?