Turkey Brine Recipe

1 cup Kosher Salt
½ cup Brown Sugar
2 Oranges, quartered
1/8 cup peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
4 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
6 sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 gallon water plus 1 gallon of ice water

The day before you roast the turkey make the brine. Bring 1 gallon (16 cups) water, Kosher Salt and Brown Sugar to a boil. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Get out 2 tall kitchen unscented trash bags. (Note the unscented part- turkey that tastes like dryer sheets isn’t what we are trying to achieve!) Put one bag inside the other. Add cooled 1 gallon of brine (the salt, sugar, water mixture), 1 gallon ice water, squeezed orange quarters and rind, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, rosemary, thyme and turkey. Press air out of both trash bags. Secure with twist tie or knot bags.

Line cooler with a large 30 gallon black trash bag, (the kind you use for yard work). Place Ice in bottom of cooler inside trash bag. Put turkey and brine sealed kitchen trash bags on top of ice in cooler and add more ice on top. Soak turkey in brine for at least 8 hours, but no more than 24, turning the turkey once, half way through brining adding more ice if needed.