Wild Turkey Brine

[Sagecreek]

Try this on domestic and wild turkey, you wont be disappointed!

Domestic or Wild Turkey Brine

This recipe was given to us from Sam and Jae Harper from Santa Clara, California. Here's their way to keep your turkey moist with a brine for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. They use a 20qt cooler or bigger, but you can use any container that can hold your turkey and enough brine solution to cover your bird.

18-20 lbs turkey
½ gallon hot water
2/3 cup sugar
1 pound of kosher salt
8 lbs of ice
16 cups of vegetable broth

Place hot water, sugar, and salt into the cooler making sure the salt is completely dissolved. Then stir in your ice and vegetable broth. Place the turkey in breast side up. Make sure the turkey is completely covered. Keep the lid of the cooler closed for 8 to 12 hours in a cool place. Be sure to turn the turkey over at least once. Maintain the brine temperature at 40°F or just below.

Rinse turkey with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey on V-rack in preheated 500°F oven. Cook until the turkey's breast reaches 161°F and the thigh meat reaches 180°F. Remove bird and cover with aluminum foil or lid and let it rest for about a half hour.

Because the brine is so salty, the pan drippings are also salty. Dilute the drippings with a cup of water before preparing the gravy.

Thanks, Scott

[Levergun]

I've not heard of doing that with a turkey but I'd imagine that is one juicy bird. I've seen that done with a striper bass before and that seemed like the way to go. The meat just fell off the bones!

[huntm]

We do just about the same thing with a hind quarter of fall bear. Then we throw the bear to the dogs and eat the cooler!! -- Just kidding - this works with almost any wild game - just add a couple pounds of carrots while soaking - they seem to absorb some of the wild taste when cooking.

[Sagecreek]

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