Mean Chef's Maple Brine

"I adopted this recipe from Mean Chef. "Great brine for turkey or chicken.""
 
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photo by 2Bleu photo by 2Bleu
photo by 2Bleu
photo by 2Bleu photo by 2Bleu
photo by 2Bleu photo by 2Bleu
photo by Daymented photo by Daymented
Ready In:
55mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
1 gallon
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ingredients

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directions

  • Combine all ingredients in large stainless steel pot.
  • Bring to simmer, remove from heat and cool completely Remove turkey neck and giblets.
  • Rinse turkey well.
  • Put turkey in cold brine.
  • Use a stainless, plastic or other non-reactive container.
  • Add water if brine doesn't cover bird.
  • Refrigerate 2- 4 days, turning bird twice a day.
  • To cook: remove turkey from brine, pat dry, brush with olive oil.
  • Either grill or cook in oven.
  • It is also advantageous to leave the dry turkey in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour or overnight, uncovered.
  • This completely dries out the skin to insure a crisp finish.
  • DO NOT stuff turkey.

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Reviews

  1. Wow.. Mean Chef.. This was awesome! I used an oven stuffer roaster chicken. I put the brine and the chicken in a 2-gallon Zip Lock bag and then set it all in a soup pot to hold it in the refrigerator. I halved the recipe for the brine since I used a chicken instead of a turkey. This was the most moist chicken I've ever had. It didn't taste like I thought it would. I expected it to taste like teriyaki because of the ingredients in the marinade.. but IT DIDN'T! It was just so beautifully browned and delicious. I left it in the brine for 2 1/2 days and then let it sit in the refrigerator to dry for 1/2 day. I am certainly going to do this again. I think I'll even do my chicken pieces this way too. Thanks Mean Chef. :)
     
  2. There just isn't a better way to prepare a turkey than to "brine it" prior to cooking. This is an excellent brine - one I'll likely use for my Thanksgiving turkey this year. I tried it on a turkey breast and the results were terrific.
     
  3. This made a fabulous turkey. I had a 15-pounder in the freezer so I thawed it in the fridge for a couple days first. Then I made the brine exactly as posted and dropped the turkey in, brined for 3 days, turning as instructed. I roasted the brined bird in my large Nesco (with an onion, carrot, celery stalk inside - ala Joy of Cooking). It was falling-apart moist and tender and the flavor imparted by the brine makes a plain ol' turkey something very special. Oh, btw, MC - I did end up making soup with the remains - thumbs up!! Probably will never prepare a turkey any other way again! Thanks, Meanie!
     
  4. You don't have to let the bird dry in the refrigerator to get a nicely browned skin. Get out your hair dryer and dry the bird in jig time!
     
  5. This was our first time ever brining. We normally have a stuffed turkey for the holidays, but this year it was just 3 of us so we purchased a whole bone-in turkey breast and made Recipe #267637 on the side. The brine is very easy to do, and we placed it with the turkey breast into a 2.5 gallon ziploc bag and then into a pot to marinade for 2 days, then dried as directed for about 8 hours. While the brine made for a nice, moist turkey, it was too sweet for us, and the left overs were a bit firm and rubbery. Thank you for sharing Mean's recipe, but we feel we will revert to the old fashioned 'stuffed and roasted' bird for the holidays.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I used this brine recipe for a contest at my school. Instead of an entire chicken, I used cutlets. Many of the judges commented that they were flavorful and very tender. It's a winner!
     
  2. Wow.. Mean Chef.. This was awesome! I used an oven stuffer roaster chicken. I put the brine and the chicken in a 2-gallon Zip Lock bag and then set it all in a soup pot to hold it in the refrigerator. I halved the recipe for the brine since I used a chicken instead of a turkey. This was the most moist chicken I've ever had. It didn't taste like I thought it would. I expected it to taste like teriyaki because of the ingredients in the marinade.. but IT DIDN'T! It was just so beautifully browned and delicious. I left it in the brine for 2 1/2 days and then let it sit in the refrigerator to dry for 1/2 day. I am certainly going to do this again. I think I'll even do my chicken pieces this way too. Thanks Mean Chef. :)
     

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