Here is my secret recipe for a super juicy roast turkey that doesn’t need to be brined. It will make you the star of Thanksgiving dinner. With a bottle of champagne and some melted butter, of course! You don’t have to brine your bird anymore unless you want to.
Brining turkey before roasting is a common practice for many home cooks. It helps keep the meat moist, tender and flavorful. However, things happen and you may find yourself realizing the night before Thanksgiving that you forgot to brine the bird! Don’t panic, all is not lost. Here are some tips on what you can do if you forgot to brine your turkey.
Why Brine Turkey In The First Place?
Brining involves soaking the raw turkey in a saltwater solution (brine) before cooking. This allows the turkey to absorb moisture, which counteracts the drying effect of roasting The salt also helps season the meat and alters its structure so it can retain more moisture when cooked.
Some benefits of brining turkey
- Keeps meat moist and juicy
- Makes it more flavorful
- Helps it retain moisture during roasting
- Allows seasoning to penetrate deep into meat
A properly brined turkey turns out tender and succulent. So it’s easy to see why brining has become so popular.
What If You Forgot To Brine?
Okay, you stuck the turkey in the fridge to thaw but forgot to brine it Now it’s the day before Thanksgiving and too late to brine. Don’t lose hope, you have options!
Quick Brine
If you have at least 4-6 hours, do a quick brine. Make a saltwater solution of 1 cup salt dissolved in 2 gallons of water. Submerge the turkey, breast side down, and let soak for 4-6 hours. This short brine time will still make a difference.
Skip The Brine, Add Moisture Other Ways
If you don’t have time to brine at all, don’t fret. You can still roast a tasty, moist turkey without brining. Here are some tips:
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Coat with butter or oil: Slather the skin liberally with butter or oil. This bastes the meat from the outside.
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Stuff aromatics in the cavity: Stuff the cavity with onions, carrots, celery, apples, orange slices. This adds moisture and flavor.
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Baste frequently: Baste every 30 minutes with pan drippings. The basting adds external moisture.
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Cook to proper temperature: Don’t overcook! Cook until the thickest part of the breast reaches 160°F and thighs reach 175°F. Let rest 30 minutes before carving.
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Make flavorful gravy: Use the drippings to make a flavorful gravy or sauce which will add moisture when serving.
With these techniques you can still achieve a tender, juicy turkey without brining!
Tips To Prevent Forgetting To Brine
Brining does make a difference for turkey, so here are some tips to remember this important step next time:
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Write it on your shopping list: Jot down “turkey to brine” on your grocery list so it’s on your mind when purchasing.
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Prep brine when thawing: Make the brine when you take the turkey out to thaw. It’ll be ready to go once thawed.
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Set phone reminder: Set a reminder on your phone to go off the day before brining needs to start.
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Post visual reminder: Put a note on the fridge or calendar as a visual cue.
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Involve others: Tell family members to remind you about brining the turkey.
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Review your timeline: Review your full Thanksgiving timeline and make brining part of it.
With some planning, brining can become a foolproof part of your turkey prep. But if you ever find yourself having forgotten to brine, don’t stress – just get creative with adding moisture in other ways. Your Thanksgiving turkey will still be a hit!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to brine a turkey?
Most turkeys need to brine for 12-24 hours. Small turkeys can brine for 8-12 hours.
What is the best brine recipe?
A basic brine is 1 cup salt dissolved per gallon of water. You can add herbs, spices, sugar, citrus etc. for more flavor.
Can you brine a turkey the day before?
Yes, brining the day before and refrigerating overnight works well. Rinse off brine before cooking.
Should you rinse turkey after brining?
Rinsing removes excess surface salt and impurities. Pat turkey dry before roasting.
What’s the best roasting temp for an unbrined turkey?
Roast at 325°F, until breast reaches 160°F and thighs 175°F. Check temps in thickest part with a meat thermometer.
Conclusion
While brining turkey is ideal, don’t lose heart if you’ve found yourself having forgotten to brine the bird. With some quick tricks like coating in oil, basting frequently and not overcooking, you can still put a tasty turkey on the table! Use this as a lesson for remembering this key step next time. Here’s to a happy Thanksgiving with or without turkey brining!
The Best Moist Turkey Recipe
You read that right, my friend. Not brining the turkey this year.
Year after year, my husband was in charge of our Thanksgiving turkey. Every year, he brought out a large bucket and made his brining solution to brine the bird. We always enjoyed the juicy turkey.
But I was curious if we could get that succulent turkey without hassle of brining. So this year, I started the testing early. You know, typical extreme type A over here. .
What really made me do it was reading about this brine injecting method in the November 2016 issue of Real Simple magazine. I wanted to try it so badly. It said to inject a brining solution, or melted butter into the breast and legs before roasting.
Okay, I tried this method and I’m happy to say it works! I used melted butter because the outside has a lot of herbs, but I think next time herb-infused melted butter or even brown butter would be great!!!
For this method, you’ll need a marinade injector, that you’ll fill with melted butter and inject into the meat before roasting. You don’t want to poke too many times into the bird though, or you may damage the skin. I showed you exactly how to do this in the video below, but here’s a quick visual. (And yes, I have 4 hands that multitask pretty good. Jealous?)
And that’s not the only magic trick I used for this Thanksgiving turkey recipe. This roast turkey is special one, because it’s also roasted in champagne!.
I know, fancy, huh?
- Turkey – Estimate 1. 5lbs of turkey per person. For this recipe, you don’t have to brine the turkey. It’s okay if your turkey is kosher or has already been given saline solution.
- Spices for butter: Any spice can be used to make compound butter.
- Lemon juice – is mixed into the butter mixture. Touch of acid brightens the flavor and tenderizes the meat.
- Apples, carrots and fresh herbs – are for the cavity. They infuse the turkey with delicious aromatics. You may use oranges, lemons, onions, etc.
- Champagne is what makes this recipe work! You don’t need anything fancy. I use Korbel Brut champagne. The champagne gets stronger while it’s roasting, and it makes the most amazing drip!
- Chicken broth or stock – either one works!
Champagne not only adds an amazing tang to the drippings, but it keeps the bird nice and moist!
I have to give credit to this recipe on Allrecipes.com though. It has so many rave reviews, and rightly so!
What to put inside a Turkey to make it moist
Putting melted butter into the breast and thighs helps keep the meat extra juicy and tasty.