I have used this recipe for many years. It makes a turkey fall-apart moist every time.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts apple juice
- 1 gallon cold water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 5 pounds ice cubes
Directions
Step 1
Line a cooler with a large food safe bag. Combine the apple juice, water, and salt in the bag; stir until the salt is dissolved; add the garlic.
Step 2
To use: Lie your turkey into the brine with the breast-side down; add more water to submerge turkey completely if needed. Pour the ice over the turkey. Seal the bag and close the cooler; allow to sit overnight.
source by allrecipe
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- by: Amanda J.
- 16 years ago
Well after reading Godiva Goddess’s review and finding out that it is not supposed to be apple-y, I have to change my rating and give it a 5. After all, my hubby did say it was the best turkey he’s ever had! The turkey turned out moist and delicious. Rinse the turkey before you roast it and careful with the seasonings, it doesn’t need much more salt! Thanks for the great recipe Godiva!
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- by: Godiva Goddess
- 16 years ago
I love using this recipe! It never fails to make my turkeys moist. The Apple Juice is not meant to add apple flavor, no. (Perhaps using a few more quarts of apple juice (no water), and slicing some tart apples and adding them in would help if that is what you are aiming for.) ;)Hope you all enjoy, remember to gobble ’til you wobble.
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- by: Zanysue
- 16 years ago
This is the only way I will cook a turkey – I have made this for the past few years, and my entire extended family loves it. I do not use the garlic, I DO use a garbage bag, and I just put it in a container in the fridge long enough to hold it overnight. It somehow causes the turkey to cook an hour or so less, as well. The gravy is the best!
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- by: Darbie Esther
- 16 years ago
I have no idea how this will make my turkey taste, but for those of you about to do this for your Thanksgiving, please learn from our mistakes! We used a Reynold’s oven bag big enough for a turkey and learned a lot from our first experience.
1. Heat up the measured water, pour in the salt to dilute it then fridge the water to cool it off.
2. Place the bag in the cooler, add the ingredients, then the turkey. THE BAGS ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND A TRANSFER, TRUST ME! (We just got done cleaning up apple juice, garlic brine from our floor and surrounding cabinets!
3. And do NOT follow the advice of the person who suggested a garbage bag. As someone else pointed out, it’s not food grade.
Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!
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- by: Wiser1
- 16 years ago
THIS WORKED AWESOME FOR ME!! NO, YOUR TURKEY DOESN’T TASTE SWEET, NO YOUR TURKEY DOESN’T TASTE LIKE APPLES!! BUT YOUR TURKEY IS VERY JUICY!! I USED THIS RECIPE ALONG WITH “HOMESTYLE TURKEY, THE MICHIGANDER WAY” RECIPE, AND MY TURKEY WAS SO TENDER THAT HE COULD NOT BE MOVED- HIS WINGS FELL OFF IMMEDIATELY!! TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT!!!!
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- by: TRUEBOO
- 16 years ago
This was my first time doing the brine thing.. I used this recipe with the addition of a little over a cup of brown sugar, and two bottles of beer, and left the garlic out.. oh, and a tablespoon each of dried sage, thyme and rosemary. So this is less about this exact recipe and more about the whole bringing thing.. IT WAS THE BEST TURKEY I HAVE EVER MADE!! MOIST, TASTY MEAT, YUMMY GRAVY WITH THE DRIPPINGS. I used a big enamel pot I have for canning to brine in. It was delicious!
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- by: MOMMYOCOOLTWINS
- 16 years ago
This was a great first experience with brining, thank you. I did have a few “challenges” that newbies might learn from. First, we tried using an oven bag, but we noticed it was getting smaller. Yup…a leak. It was too thin for a large turkey (22 pounds), so we started over in a heavy-duty garbage bag (unscented) and took the risk on the “not food grade” suggestion.
We tied the corners in knots first, which I suggest. It kept us from wasting space with the brine. I also think it should be noted that the ice does not go in the bag with the turkey. It goes in the cooler on the outside of the bag, right? The directions aren’t clear about that, but it just made more sense to us.
One rater noted that it cooks faster. That would explain it. I know mine was ready WAY ahead of time, but I thought it was because I was using a new electric roaster oven for the first time. I think this time I’ll roast it at a lower temperature…maybe 300 then kick it up for the last 30 minutes to make sure we’re getting hot enough.
Thanks for a great brine recipe.
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- by: Teresa
- 16 years ago
Use a Ziploc XL bag!! It fit my 23 lb turkey this Thanksgiving. I also placed the bag in the cooler first, dissolved the salt, then added all ingredients to the bag inside the cooler. I put the turkey in last along with the ice. I sealed the bag and it worked well. However, for the amount of work I put into this brining thing (which was new to me), my turkey was no different than what I would normally make. My guests thought the same. I usually roast my turkey in my Nesco roaster oven. I put melted butter on top, and season with just salt and pepper. I roast it breast side down and wait until it “caves in”. Then I know that it is falling apart and done well. This is not good though if you want the picture perfect turkey to put on the table and carve. I do my “carving” ahead of time and put the platter of meat on the table.
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- by: Jenniffer R Teal
- 16 years ago
This was the best turkey I have ever made! I made 2 turkeys one the way I normally make it and the other with this brine every one ate this one more and loved it! Ive never brined a turkey before and was a little nervous about the apple but I will forever make my turkey’s like this from now on! thanks for the recipe!!
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- by: Jennifer Hunsinger Adkisson
- 16 years ago
We eat turkey frequently since it is inexpensive for our large family, so I wanted something a little different for the holidays. This did make a difference, not so much in the flavor, which was good, but the turkey was much more moist and it seemed to have a more intense taste. The leftovers were great in turkey and dumplings! One warning though, it makes a BIG diffrence in cooking time! My turkey was done a full hour before normal! I will use this recipe again and again. Just the cut in cooking time made it worth it to me!
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- by: Nodak
- 15 years ago
I thought this was a fabulous way to use some of the 7 GALLONS of apple juice I inherited this fall. I used home pressed apple juice and it had a little bit of apple taste… I actually wish it would have been more. I wouldn’t go out and buy apple juice just to make it. A regular brine is just as good. One day is not enough though… let it sit at least 2 if not 3 days.
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- by: Dylan
- 15 years ago
While garbage bags are large and strong enough, they are unfit for food because acids and fats in food leech out extremely harmful chemicals out of the plastic into the food. Just make sure the plastic is “food-grade” or “pharmaceutical-grade”. These don’t contain the harmful additives and are safe.
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- by: Nette
- 15 years ago
While this made the turkey very nice and moist (plus I used an oven bag), I wasn’t crazy about the subtle apple flavor. Since other reviewers said that they couldn’t taste the apple, I went ahead and tried it. Actually, the flavor almost felt like apples that had been sitting too long. I was hoping the apple juice would add tenderization and moistness, and no flavor, but I was wrong.
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- by: Tantricdragon13
- 15 years ago
This brine turned out great! The turkey had great flavor and was oh-so moist. I didn’t find any brining bags in time, so I used a turkey baking bag. This worked, but be careful if you choose this route! We set the turkey (bagged) in a large tub before putting in the brine to avoid moving the delicate bag. This worked, but next time I’m looking harder for a brine bag!
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- by: Darmstro67
- 14 years ago
Perfect! I don’t use that much apple juice, just few cups. Hubby said the turkey looked like something from a magazine and didn’t need gravy, it was so moist. I reduced the salt to 3/4 cup depending on the size of the turkey. I’ve made this 4 or 5 times now and it’s always good.
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- by: FUN2EAT
- 14 years ago
This was the best recipe for turkey that I have ever had. It was juicy, tender and down-right yummy. My husband and I were amazed that an XL-Zip lock bag could hold so much! One thing that I wish I had done was completely dissolve the kosher salt (not doing so resulted a slightly more salt flavor than we were use to). I used apple cider instead of apple juice and a whole head of garlic roughly chopped.
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- by: Elizabeth Yonkman
- 13 years ago
This is good. Very good actually. The only difference between this and my usual brine is that I put fresh rosemary, sage, and a couple bay leaves into the brine. I also use apple cider instead of apple juice and you can tell a huge difference. The cider has a more acidic nature. Its very good!
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- by: Brownie1
- 13 years ago
Tried this on chicken leg quarters. Delicious!!! Threw in some bay leaves & peppercorns. No ice cubes just cold water and cut the salt to less than 1/4 cup and put in the refrig overnite. Grilled a few & some in the oven uncovered. I liked it grilled but LOVED it baked. Everyone was raving about the best chicken they ever had.
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- by: Devin Welch
- 13 years ago
i used this with a couple of changes. i added two diced gala apples, 2 naval oranges, 2 jumbo cloves of garlic instead of the 6, added 1/2 pint of whiskey, and stored in the fridge for 12 hours… i have to say i have never been more pleased with the flavor and juiciness of my bird.. A++
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- by: Senoritanita
- 13 years ago
Last Thanksgiving was the first year we tried brining a turkey. It was so good that we decided it was worth the effort & would do it again. This year we tried your apple juice brine recipe and it was fantastic! So moist and tender. My family loved it! {We also added the contents from a can of Mountain Dew to the turkey cavity—don’t know if that did anything “extra” or not but we will do it again next year the same way because his year’s turkey was perfect. Other reviewers stated that the apple juice brine does not give the turkey any apple-ly taste and that is true—but the turkey tasted FANTASTIC! Thanks for the great recipe—I definitely could not have done this without you!
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- by: Lalalina
- 13 years ago
For all of the complaints about your turkey being too salty even after the brining process and being rinsed off: You need to let the turkey rest in the fridge overnight to get the rest of the brining mixture out of your turkey!!! About 2 cups or more of the brine will end up in the bowl. Then rinse the turkey again and pat dry! Most recipes miss this key step. Also don’t use salted butter or chicken broth on your turkey or it will end up being salty.
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- by: Sheri Howard Jolicoeur
- 12 years ago
I have done this for many years now and will NOT make a turkey or breast without brining first. Makes even a store brand taste top of the line. I also use some large pieces of cut up celery and onion as well as apple. I have always used a garbage bag placing the bag in the cooler then the ingredients then the turkey, make sure NOT to use one of the scented bags of course.
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- by: Minaayindra
- 12 years ago
It works, wonderfully, for making your meat moist and tender. I found there were no Ziploc bags that would handle a 20 pound turkey plus brine so I used a garbage bag. I am a germaphobe but I saw no reason to be concerned about the plastic and it worked wonderfully well in a cooler.
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- by: Mimi
- 12 years ago
This was the first time I ‘brined’ the turkey. I read all the reviews and they sounded so wonderful. I followed the recipe and awaited the turkey with great anticipation. I was very disappointed when it turned out to be extremely salty! Luckily I was cooking it for family and not for guests. I don’t think I’ll try that again.
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- by: Katielrose
- 10 years ago
Really good. I had a smaller turkey (12 or 13 lbs) and I was able to use a 12 qt stock pot for brining, still lined it with the oven bag and poured everything straight in and fit it in my fridge. Wouldn’t work for anything much bigger though; it was almost up to the brim as it was.
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- by: Laurie Moss
- 10 years ago
I tried this brine recipe using a 5 gallon bucket and a lid from a stock pot. I also put some sprigs of fresh parsley and thyme in the cavity. It turned out really delicious and moist just like the other comments. Cuts cooking time in half. Once the meat thermometer reached 165 for the stuffing or 185 in the breast or thigh, it’s done.
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- by: Brenda
- 7 years ago
My family and I are not turkey eaters, but this brine was wonderful. I cooked this in a brown paperbag ?325 according to manufacturer suggestion +30 min. The brine made the turkey taste good, LOL. The brown paper bag method worked beautifully. Only change I made was add fresh basil, sage and rosemary to the brine. I used a Reynolds large oven roasting bag inside of a black trash bag just in case the Reynolds bag did not hold the brine. I did not have any problem with the bag breaking. Just did not want my cooler to smell like brine in case my bag leaked.
Wonderful brine! Thanks -
- by: Christopher Gould
- 7 years ago
Note… get really large roasting bags ,double bag and after turkey is plucked of excess items place bird inside bags…add brine and remove air. Then put turkey in color under ice. I also put a sliced apple in bird of left whole or spatchcock them…apples for adding to stuffing.
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- by: Bill Bailey
- 5 years ago
It worked out great. I used a ZipLoc big bag and put it down in the cooler, filled up the bag with the juice and salt and then stirred it to dissolve the salt. Put in the garlic and the bird and then put in enough cold water to cover the bird. Filled the rest with ice and sealed it shut. The ZipLoc bags were strong enough for the transfer and even had a handle. The bird came out of the oven very moist. I will definitely use this brine again.
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