Apple Cider Turkey Brine

Apple cider turkey brine helps to add extra moisture and flavor to your Thanksgiving main dish. Prepared using traditional apple cider, the cider will infuse your turkey with subtle sweetness and spice without a lot of extra work.

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Do you ever worried about your turkey turning out bland or dry?

Seriously, haven’t you people ever heard of basting- or in this case- brining?! (Did you catch that Santa Clause reference?)

It’s time to meet your new holiday hero: apple cider turkey brine.

This simple yet flavor-packed method infuses your bird with a perfect balance of sweetness, salt, and spice, ensuring every bite is juicy and aromatic.

The natural sugars in apple cider work wonders to tenderize the meat, while a mix of herbs, citrus, and warm spices adds layers of flavor.

This brine guarantees a showstopping centerpiece that smells as incredible as it tastes with very little extra effort.

In fact, if you can add some ingredients to a large stock pot or clean bucket you can brine your turkey in apple cider.

Why Brine a Turkey

Brining a turkey is just letting the bird sit and soak in salty liquid.

You know how when you hurt yourself or have sore muscles soaking in epsom salts can relieve that soreness?

Well, the salt in the brine helps the proteins in the turkey break down, the same way the salt in an epsom salt bath helps tight muscles relax.

When the turkey protein relaxes or breaks down, it will be able to hold more moisture and flavor, which will lead to a tastier Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

To make an apple cider turkey brine, you will need:

• Apple Cider – We used 2 full gallons of apple cider to cover our roughly 20 pound turkey in a new, clean bucket. Smaller birds won’t need as much to cover the bird. The important thing is submerging the majority of your turkey in the brine. You can also use apple juice if you like, but you may want to add some extra brown sugar and some cinnamon to the brine.
• Apples – Two medium to large apples, quartered without worrying about coring or removing the skin. They will float in the brine.
• Orange – Similar to the apples, quarter a medium to large orange. This will also float on top.
• Whole Spices – Whole allspice and cloves. You could also add in cinammon sticks if you like, about one or two full sticks will work well.
• Salt – A main component of a brine, you will want to use a cup of regular table salt. Sure, you can use your fancy salts, but why waste the money on something you will literally be pouring down the drain in about 12 to 24 hours. Save the fancy salt for serving your family or guests.
• Brown Sugar – You’ll want a cup of loosely packed brown sugar. This is not baking. It is not an exact measure, so if you have a little more, a little less, or just get one of those large roughly correct size lumps, you can use that. The only argument to break up large clumps is to make it easier to get it to dissolve.
• Garlic – We use a full clove of garlic with the tops cut off, exposing the garlic cloves. We left them in their peel.
• Roasting Blend – You can often find a roasting blend of herbs at your grocery store. The blend often includes parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

*We stuffed the fruits and other ingredients into the turkey, which you can do if you do not stuff it with classic stuffing.

You’ll also want a 5 gallon bucket or larger.

How to Make Apple Cider Turkey Brine

1. Prep the veggies and fruits.

You do not need to dice or mince the veggies and fruits.

Just quarter the apples, oranges, and onions.

For the garlic, hold it on its side and use a sharp knife to cut off the top, exposing just the tops of the individual cloves.

You can also peel away any excess garlic peel if you like.

Place all the veggies and fruits into a large, food safe bucket.

2. Mix it together.

Once you have the veggies and fruits prepped, add the spices, salt, and herbs to the bucket.

Finally, pour in the apple cider into the bucket and give it a good stir.

3. Add the turkey and let it rest.

Unwrap your turkey and and remove any included gizzards and neck.

Carefully lower the turkey into the bucket with the large cavity hole sticking up.

As you lower it in, the cavity will fill with the brine.

The turkey should mostly stay submerged, unless any air pockets get into it or it is partially frozen still.

It is OK if the tips of the legs partially stick out.

Cover the bucket and let it rest for at least 8 hours, overnight, or for a couple of days.

You will want to place the bucket in the fridge while the turkey soaks.

When you are ready to roast it, remove the turkey from the brine and prepare it with sourdough stuffing or baste you like, such as our garlic butter turkey baste.

How to Cook the Turkey

There are a few different cooking methods for turkey.

For more instructions for a convection oven, you can check out this covection oven cooking guide for turkeys.

For your basic oven, we recommend preheating it to 425.

Prepare your turkey with a baste and stuffing or just cook it as is.

Place your turkey breast side down in a suitably large roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven, carefully flip it, and lower the temperature to 325.

Continue roasting for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until your turkey reaches an internal temperature (including the stuffing) of 165.

Roasting times can vary so getting a meat thermometer can help greatly with figuring out if your turkey is ready and safe to eat.

Serving

On the outside chance you have never had, made, or heard of a turkey dinner, here are some serving suggestions to include in your dinner:

• Stuffing – Sourdough, classic, apple, ciabatta, or other types of stuffing are all fantastic choices.
• Cranberry Sauce – Skip the canned stuff and make your own in your Instant Pot so you can save some stove-top space.
• Fried Apples – Like apple pie without the crust.
• Veggies – You can serve seasonal veggies, like roasted brown sugar butternut squash or spicy butternut squash, or a green. bean casserole.
• Mashed Potatoes – We make lots of varieties of mashed potatoes, like roasted garlic mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes with red skin. Or you could also try our twice baked potato casserole.
• Gravy – Since you are making turkey, you can easily make your own gravy using this gravy recipe.
• Cornbread – Makes an excellent way to pile on the carbs.

Storing

Storing the brine is really a thing.

You could, in theory, mix up the brine a day or so before you want to use it, but generally, it just makes sense to make it when you are ready to brine your turkey.

If you are looking to store your turkey, place cooled meat into air tight containers and store in the fridge for about 5 days or 6 months in the freezer.

To reheat, thaw frozen turkey and heat in the microwave for a few seconds or until warmed through.

Tips and Tricks

• Though you should generally fully thaw your turkey before placing in a brine, we have used it with partially thawed turkey in a pinch, like when you totally forget to get the turkey until about 2 days before the holidays and you have to thaw it as rapidly as possible. Anyway, it won’t work for a fully frozen turkey, but a partially thawed on the brine will help to thaw it.
• If you like, you can gently warm the salt, sugar, and cider before placing the turkey in the brine. This allows the salt and sugar to dissolve fully. In general, we find that the salt and sugar will dissolve fully as it sits.
• Though bucket lids are typically extra, we recommend getting one. Aluminum foil works, but it is much more convenient to use the lids.
• If you need a bit more liquid, you can top off the brine with some more cider or water to fully cover your turkey.
• A 5 gallon bucket should fit turkeys up to about 25 pounds. You may need to find a slightly different solution for a much larger turkey. Make sure to clean the bucket well with dish soap first.
• The brine ingredients will stay mostly the same unless you end up using a lot more or less apple cider. If you use more, you’ll need to add more salt and sugar, but if you use less cider, you can reduce the sugar and salt.

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