This flavorful homemade turkey brine is made with garlic and rosemary – simple, affordable ingredients to make the most moist, tender turkey for any occasion!
Hey Cousins! Turkey time is right around the corner, and everyone and their mama has their own turkey recipe they make for the holidays. I, personally, like to keep my Thanksgiving turkey simple. I don’t want anything too confusing or time-consuming because I have a million other things to cook and bake!
So, to get the most flavorful turkey on my Thanksgiving table, I like to start off with a simple brine. Don’t believe the hype – you don’t have to use buttermilk, a thousand herbs and spices, or expensive ingredients for a good brine. You just need a couple of key ingredients, and Sweetie, you are good to go!
What Does Brining a Turkey Do?
The brining process infuses so much extra flavor into the meat of a turkey (or even chicken or pork!), giving you a perfectly moist, juicy turkey to serve for Thanksgiving dinner. There are two types of brine: dry brine and wet brine.
- Dry brining involves rubbing a salt solution all over the outside of the turkey. You can mix the salt with herbs and spices for flavor. A dry brine draws out the moisture in the meat, which the turkey soaks back up during and after the cooking process. Dry brines give a turkey a more intense flavor.
- Wet brining means you soak the whole turkey in a salty water mixture. The meat absorbs the saltwater solution, plumping it up and keeping it extra moist while cooking. Wet brines leave you with an incredibly juicy turkey, but you have to let it brine for a while for the best results!
In this recipe, we’re going to make an easy wet brine recipe made with simple ingredients. If you want to avoid a tasteless, dry turkey on Turkey Day, this is the recipe to use!
Equipment and Ingredients for a Homemade Turkey Brine
You only need a handful of ingredients for a basic brine recipe. The real trick is the equipment needed to properly brine a turkey. What you need depends on the size of your turkey. In this recipe, we’re brining a smaller turkey breast, but a large turkey will need additional equipment.
Equipment:
- Brining Bag: for smaller turkeys, turkey breasts, or chickens, you need a brine bag to hold the meat and brine together. For this recipe, I use (clean) double bagged shopping bags placed in a large container.
- Large Pot or Bucket: to brine a large turkey, you’ll need a larger vessel like a stock pot or a 5-gallon bucket. (Careful though, you will need to make sure you have room in a fridge or cooler to store the brined turkey!)
- Paper Towels: you’ll need plenty of paper towels to pat dry the turkey before cooking to achieve that extra-crispy turkey skin.
Homemade Turkey Brine Ingredients:
- Kosher Salt: you don’t want to use regular table salt for this brine recipe. Instead, you want fine kosher salt.
- Sugar: plain granulated white sugar is a key ingredient. It balances with the salt for even more flavor.
- Rosemary: I use dried herbs, which rehydrate in the brine while it sits. If you want to use fresh rosemary, it will have a more intense flavor.
- Black Pepper: I use ground black pepper, but you can use whole peppercorns or fresh cracked black peppercorns in your brine.
- Garlic: feel free to use fresh minced garlic or jarred garlic if it’s all you have on hand!
- Onion: one whole onion, chopped into large pieces.
- Cold Water: you want the water to be as cold as possible for the brine solution.
That’s it – that’s all you need! Now, don’t get me wrong, there are a whole ton of additional ingredients you can add to your brine solution, depending on what you want for the flavor of the turkey. However, I find this easy turkey brine recipe to be my favorite because it’s simple, cheap, and perfect if it’s your first time brining a turkey.
Making a Homemade Turkey Brine (Steps + Video Tutorial)
Okay, fam, let me tell y’all how to make the best turkey brine recipe! Now, keep in mind that this recipe is made for a turkey breast, which is significantly smaller than a whole turkey. A typical 8-12 pound turkey needs closer to 1.5-2 gallons of water (24-32 cups) to be fully submerged, so all the ingredients will have to increase as well. You always want to make enough brine to completely cover the turkey, or the flavor will be uneven.
Now, with that said, here are the steps to make an easy brine for your holiday turkey:
- Combine the salt, sugar, rosemary, black pepper, onion, and garlic in a large container or stainless steel bowl.
- Add the ice water and stir the brine solution until the salt and sugar is completely dissolved.
- Place the raw turkey into the (clean) brining bag or container, then pour the brine over the turkey. I start by filling up the cavity of the turkey, letting the brine spill out and fill up the bag.
- Seal the bag or container and place the brined turkey in the fridge for at least 8 hours. You can brine a turkey for up to 24 hours.
By the time you’re ready to cook up that turkey on Thanksgiving day, you’ll have a perfectly moist turkey that’s packed with flavor.
Watch how I make this easy homemade rosemary turkey brine in my video tutorial below! Be sure to subscribe to I Heart Recipes on YouTube, where I share a whole bunch of holiday recipes, including plenty of ways to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey.
Tips for Safely Brining a Flavorful Thanksgiving Turkey
Now, as we all know, ain’t no one want to get food poisoning from a poorly cooked turkey. So, if we’re going to keep our guests alive and kicking for the holidays, I gotta share some Cousin Rosie safety tips for brining a turkey.
- Never brine a frozen turkey – it’s not safe. You should only brine a fully or partially thawed turkey.
- Never store the brining turkey at room temperature – always in the fridge! This means you’ll probably have to make room for the container in your fridge.
- Take a look at the label of your turkey – does it say it’s been pre-treated or enhanced? If it does, it already has a salt solution added and brining it will make an over-salted turkey.
- Carefully dump the brine solution down the drain when you’re done brining the turkey, then sanitize the sink and surfaces around the skin. No one wants turkey water all over the place!
- To get that golden-brown, crispy skin, pat the turkey dry before baking. Do not rinse the turkey!
How to Cook a Brined Turkey
This simple, inexpensive homemade turkey brine is totally comparable to other more “complicated” brines with fancy ingredients. You don’t need all that for a simple, delicious, moist turkey! All you have to do is brine your turkey overnight, season it in the morning, and cook away! I’ve shared several recipes for preparing a turkey, so be sure to check them out and pick your favorite:
- Baked Turkey Wings
- Slow Cooker Whole Turkey
- Simple Whole Roast Turkey
- Easy Smoked Turkey Recipe
- Juicy Whole Roast Turkey
- The Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Loved this homemade turkey brine recipe? Leave a comment below! Share a photo of your Thanksgiving spread by tagging me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget to check out I Heart Soulfood, Super Soul Food with Cousin Rosie, and A Cousin Rosie Holiday with many recipes you can’t find anywhere else.
Rosemary Turkey Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup kosher salt
- ⅓ cup dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 cups ice cold water
- 1 white onion chopped
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk ingredients together.½ cup kosher salt, ⅓ cup dried rosemary, 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 3 cups ice cold water, 1 white onion
- Put the turkey in a large plastic bag (or plastic container with a lid) and pour the brine over the turkey. Start by filling up the turkey cavity, making sure all the ingredients get into the bowl or bag.
- Tie up the bag securely (or cover the container with the lid or plastic wrap) and let the turkey brine in the refrigerator overnight (at least 8 hours).
Was your turkey breast injected with the 15% or 10% solution?
I don’t remember. Sorry.
It’s ok. I appreciate your honesty. I picked one up with the solution already injected and was in limbo whether to brine or not. Thank you for replying back to me. Take care and love your channel and website! I visit weekly. God bless you!!!
Yeah, I did that recipe so long ago. I probably should have kept note. Sorry, hun.
It’s ok I did it the brine anyway minus the amount of salt. I only used around a teaspoon of salt and added other personal seasonings that did not include salt to it. The turkey was extremely moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing again and all that you do.