Brine Tutorial

For any of you out there that need some help on cooking your turkey this year, I happen to have a few pointers.
I did a brine on my turkey last year and it turned out so scrumptious and moist. For those of you who are going "What the freakin crap is a brine?" That's what I said too.
A brine is a salt water mixture that you leave your turkey in overnight. It is usually 1 cup salt to 1 gallon water and let it dissolve. Then you add 1 cup of sweet substance such as sugar, brown sugar, or honey. After you've dissolved these you then add spices, whole peppercorns, garlic cloves or whatever you want. Then add your thawed, rinsed, and cleaned out turkey. Don't forget there are 2 cavities!! I only emptied out one my first year making a turkey:)
I put my mixture in a stock pot in the fridge or you can put it in an oven bag in your cooler and for all you Idaho folks just set it in the garage.
after you've brined overnight MAKE SURE YOU RINSE THE TURKEY OFF COMPLETELY before putting it in the oven. You will have a very moist and delicious turkey. You can check out a delicious brine recipe under my Thanksgiving category on the right hand side of my blog.

Give Your Stuffing Some Spunk

When you make your stuffing, a great way to give it some pizazz is to add some Craisins( dried cranberries) to it. It gives it some great flavor.

Thankful Jar

Here's a fun little idea for the Thanksgiving table~

Find some type of jar and decorate it cute with ribbon scrapbook paper or whatever you like. Then as your guests arrive have them fill out a little piece of paper with what they're thankful for. As you sit around after dinner you can pass the jar around and have each person take out a piece of paper and read what others are thankful for.

Maple Brown Sugar Brine

4 quarts water
2c. brown sugar
1c. soy sauce
1c. maple syrup
3/4c. sea salt
8-10 whole garlic cloves
6-8 whole bay leaves
3 large sprigs thyme
2tsp. whole peppercorns

*Place all ingredients in large pot and bring to boil. Dissolving sugar and syrup. Remove from heat and allow brine to cool completely before using.