Quick Turkey Brine

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Short on time amid all the holiday hoopla? This quick turkey brine is ridiculously easy to throw together and gives you a juicy, flavorful turkey in a fraction of the time needed for a traditional brine. With fragrant aromatics like fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and whole peppercorns, and plenty of salt to really lock in those flavors and juices.

Overhead view of a rectangular container, sitting at an angle, filled with a brine, aromatics, and an uncooked turkey.

If you’ve never brined a turkey before and find yourself responsible for the star of your family’s Thanksgiving dinner, don’t panic. We’ve broken down how to brine a whole turkey step-by-step below. Be sure to read through the blog post before diving in so you know all the tricks and tips you’ll need for a perfect holiday turkey!

What is “Brining”, and Why Should You Do It?

Brining is a totally optional, but totally worth it, step that can be used for a variety of proteins. There are actually two different methods for brining meat – wet brining, which we do here, and dry brining, which is similar but essentially eliminates the liquid component. Wet brining is the most common method for things like whole turkeys, pork loins, and chickens.

Sort of like marinating, wet brining is the process of infusing meat with a saturated salt water solution to impart flavor while moisturizing and tenderizing the meat at the same time. Of course, the water can be combined with almost any liquid – apple cider, wine, beer – and you can add any extra seasonings you like, but at the most basic level you only need salt and water.

The process is simple – prepare your solution, then submerge the protein and let it soak for several hours. The protein absorbs the brine, making it infinitely more delicious.

🧂 What Makes This Recipe So Good

This quick turkey brine uses a higher salt-to-liquid ratio to fast-forward the brining process. Traditional brines typically require 8, 12, sometimes even 36 hours of brining before you can start cooking the turkey, but not everyone has that kind of time – or fridge space. With a few simple tweaks, like adjusting the amount of salt and liquid used, you can speed up the entire brining process, bringing it down to just 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.
Turkey brines are incredibly easy, and this one’s no exception. You don’t even even need a ton of ingredients for it! Before you know it, you’ll have a giant, naked, goofy-looking headless bird floating in a bath of salt, brown sugar, and fresh green sprigs.
Feel free to get creative with your brine recipe. Add apple cider and thin slices of oranges. Change the herbs, throw in red pepper flakes or Cajun seasoning, replace part of the water with a turkey stock or vegetable broth. Just be very aware of any alterations that may add extra salt beyond what’s listed in the ingredients below – you don’t want to overdo it.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved in the boiling water before you bring the temperature down with the cold water and ice. You likely won’t be able to dissolve the salt completely, which is just fine – this quick turkey brine works because it’s a super-saturated salt solution!
The turkey absolutely must be fully submerged in the brine. If yours floats, put a heavy plate on top of it to weigh it down. If that’s not enough, you can add cans or jars of food on top of the plate until the turkey’s completely underwater. Just be sure you can still cover the brine container with a lid!
Brined turkeys cook faster than unbrined turkeys, so once you’re finally cooking your bird, keep an eye on it to avoid drying it out or burning it. It would be awful to go through all of this prep and end up with a turkey you can’t enjoy!

If you’re not sure what size bird you should get, we’ve got a really simple formula to help you gauge just how much turkey you’ll need per person.

💬 Frequently Asked Questions

What should I brine my turkey in?

That’ll depend on the size of the turkey you’re brining. Any container that will hold the entire turkey + 3 gallons of water will work just fine. Don’t use a garbage bag or anything that’s not intended for food prep, though.

Will this speed brine work for any type of turkey?

Yes, BUT! You don’t want to use it for a turkey that’s already been brined, or for a kosher turkey. Kosher turkeys are heavily salted before they even go to the grocery store. They don’t need the extra salt water bath.

Does the turkey have to be refrigerated while brining?

Yes, IF you’re using a traditional brine that requires the turkey be submerged 6 hours or longer. You’d definitely need to refrigerate it the whole time. With this easy speed brine, though? The turkey can sit in the cold brine at room temperature for 3-4 hours with no problem. Your brine absolutely MUST be cold, though!

Do I still need to salt my brined turkey right before cooking it?

No! In fact, you should NOT salt a turkey again after it’s been brined. If you do a butter rub or anything like that when you cook the turkey, omit any added salt from your mixture.

Can I still get a crispy skin with a brined turkey?

Of course! Just dry the skin of the turkey really well with paper towels once you take it out of the brine. For the crispiest skin possible, I highly recommend air-drying the turkey by refrigerating it in a roasting pan overnight.