Community Pick
Mean Chef's Maple Brine
photo by 2Bleu
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
1 gallon
ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 3⁄4 cup kosher salt
- 3 heads garlic, cloves separated, not peeled
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 1⁄2 cups fresh ginger, unpeeled, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried chili pepper flakes
- 1 1⁄2 cups soy sauce
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 quarts water
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.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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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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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!
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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
-
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. :)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Bekah
United States