How to Brine a Turkey
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyA week ago I cooked a turkey for the first time. I’d never really had a reason to make one before. For Thanksgiving, my mom, grandma, or some other family member has always had turkey duty. I was just in charge of eating duty.
You might be wondering what prompted me to finally cook a turkey. Although I love to bake, I’m trying to hone my cooking skills as well. So when Wish-Bone asked me to be one of their Chief Turkey Officers this year, I jumped at the chance.
You also might be asking yourself what Wish-bone salad dressing has to do with turkey. Well, you can use their Italian (or Robusto Italian) dressing as a brine to get a really moist and juicy turkey. I mean, it makes a great marinade, so why not a brine? Plus, the flavor is fabulous! Who knew?
Well, apparently a lot of people. Since lots of folks seem to be using Wish-bone as a brine, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and give it a try too! The process is simple. The night before you plan to cook it, place your thawed turkey in a large plastic bag. Add in chicken broth and your Wish-Bone dressing and tightly close the bag. Then, pop it in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. That’s it.
Let the turkey sit in the brine in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight, and you are set for a delicious, juicy bird.
I wasn’t making stuffing with my turkey, so I put a quartered orange and quartered onion inside. This added a wonderful savory, citrus flavor to the meat.
After my turkey had been in the oven for a few hours, my house smelled ah-mazing and my turkey was ready. I gave it a quick basting and let it set for about 15 minutes before slicing.
The flavor was so wonderful, and the brine really kept the turkey moist. I was immensely pleased with the success of my first turkey cooking venture. (Thanks, Wish-Bone!)
If you want to give this a try, check out the full recipe below. Enjoy and Happy Turkey Day!
How to Brine A Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 turkey 12 – 16 lbs.
- 2 bottle Wish-bone Robusto Italian Dressing
- 1 can 14.5 oz chicken broth
- Large food-safe plastic bag
Instructions
- Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities; refrigerate for another use or discard. Place turkey breast side down in bag or container. Pour dressing and broth over turkey. Close bag or cover pan. Marinate in refrigerator 12 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove turkey from bag or pan; discard brine.
- Place turkey on a flat rack in a roasting pan; add 1 cup of water to bottom of pan. (I also placed a quartered onion and orange inside the turkey for a citrusy, savory flavor.)
- Cook 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reaches 180°F. Cover turkey loosely with aluminum foil after the first 30 minutes to prevent turkey from getting to dark. Let turkey stand 15 minutes before carving.
This added such great flavor! So good and really easy too!
What size WB dressing did you use? Thanks
Can you inject the turkey while using the Italian dressing?
Want to know what spice for on top of Turkey
I just used the Wishbone Dressing for this recipe. So that’s just the spices in the bottle.
xo Michael
What are the spices you used for outside of Turkey ??
That Turkey looks delicious. I’m getting hungry all over again. lol!
Sounds like a wonderfully tasty idea!!! I am going to have to try this on our Thanksgiving turkey this year. Thanks Michael.
I wanna eat ALL the skin off that turkey, Michael. You can have the meat, ok?
P.S. I love you googooplex!!
It sounds more like a marinade than a brine, which traditionally uses lots of salt.
A brine traditionally has an acid and salt. The wishbone salad dressing has both 🙂
Sounds yummy, Michael. Turkey cooking tip: to keep the top and wings from browning too much, put a foil tent over the turkey once it reaches a golden brown. (Though a little caramelization from the sugar in the dressing is bound to taste good.)