Brown Sugar & Spice Turkey Brine
This sweetly spiced brine is for more than just turkey! Try it with pork chops or roasts, chicken, and other poultry.
Ingredients
- 3 quarts water
- ½ lb brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups kosher salt
- ⅓ cup honey
- 3 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 3 tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 8 whole bay leaves (fresh or dried)
- 5 whole garlic heads, halved
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme sprigs (sub half as much dried thyme leaves)
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary leaves (sub 1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary)
- 1 small fresh sage sprig (sub 2 tsp whole or rubbed dried sage)
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 quart ice water or crushed ice (add at end to dilute & chill brine)
Instructions
Prep the garlic
- Discard the outer loose papery skin from the garlic, and any shriveled or darkened cloves.
- Slice the entire heads of garlic in half (carefully, so the knife doesn't slip). Alternately, you can halve the individual cloves.
- Break the heads up just enough to separate and discard the root ends.
Measure brine ingredients
- Measure the salt, sugar, honey, herbs, and spices into a stockpot that holds at least a gallon and a half.
Heat & infuse brine
- Add 3 quarts of water to the pot with the salt, sugar, and seasonings.
- Stir the pot over a medium-high heat, bringing it up to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover the pot, and let cool for 30 minutes.
Chill and strain
- Add the ice water to the pot, stir until well mixed and any ice is melted.
- Strain the brine if you like (you can leave the whole spices in but you will have to pick the spices off after brining, so it's easiest to strain all or most of the solids from the brine). Use a colander or wire strainer.
- Chill the brine completely in the fridge before using it to brine your turkey, chicken, or meat.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
