Brined Turkey with Apple Maple Brine

The roast turkey is the centerpiece of any Thanksgiving but often one of the most stressful dishes to prepare. To us, the most important thing is that the turkey is juicy and flavorful, because there is nothing worse than a dry turkey on Thanksgiving. To make the brined turkey as flavorful as possible, we add three types of flavor boosters in our turkey recipe:

1. Apple cider brine
2. Aromatics in the cavity 
3. Herb butter

The apple maple brine:

The apple maple brine adds so much flavor throughout the turkey. We like this method because it not only adds flavor but also keeps the turkey nice and juicy. If you are short on time and want a true “no-fuss” turkey, you can skip this step, but we love the sweet rosemary notes it adds. 

This brine is the best. The apple juice and maple add sweetness, dijon and red pepper flakes add a kick, and rosemary and salt provide flavor. The brine adds subtle notes that make the turkey even more delicious! 

Aromatics in the cavity: 

To add even more flavor while the bird is cooking, we add fennel, apple, lemon, garlic, and onion. These flavors complement the sweet brine and herb butter.

Since we add aromatics into the cavity of the bird, this means we do not stuff the bird with stuffing. Stuffing inside the bird gets mushy, doesn’t add flavor, and you cannot control the cooking process. Instead of placing stuffing inside, place it into a baking dish. If it’s cooked in a baking dish, it has the chance to get crispy on the top while remaining moist at the bottom. It’s much better for the turkey and the stuffing to bake them separately! 

Herb butter:

After brining and stuffing the turkey, we spread an herb butter across the outside. This adds classic Thanksgiving flavors like sage and thyme while simultaneously getting the skin of the turkey golden brown. 

How to make the brined turkey:

To make the turkey start by making the brine. Then prepare your turkey by removing anything that is inside the cavity. Place the bird inside the brine and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.

Once the turkey has brined for 24 hours, remove it from the brine and pat it dry with a few paper towels. Place it on a roasting pan or in a large pan that will fit your bird. Fill the bird with the fennel, apple, lemon, onion and garlic. 

To make the herb butter, combine a stick of softened butter with thyme leaves, chopped sage, salt, and pepper. Stir the ingredients together until just combined. Using your hands or a brush, brush the outside of the bird with the herb butter. 

To cook the bird, place it in the oven at 350 degrees F until the internal temperature reads 160 degrees F (between the breast and the thigh). Check the bird about halfway through cooking and if becoming too brown, tent with tin foil. Halfway through cooking, you can also baste the turkey with the juices. When the turkey reaches 160, remove the turkey and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. As it rests, it will reach the desired end temperature of 165 degrees. 

Notes:

1. Defrost the turkey: If the turkey is frozen, remember to defrost your bird before brining. This will take about a day for every 5 pounds in the refrigerator! So give yourself some time. The
2. Washing the turkey: Don’t wash the turkey. Once you remove it from the brine, just pat it dry with paper towels 
3. Browning: If the bird is getting too brown in the oven, simply place a piece of tin foil over the top to prevent the top from burning
4. Resting: It’s so important to let the turkey rest after it has been removed from the oven. It will result in a much juicer turkey
5. Turkey Drippings: Make sure to keep the turkey drippings to make a delicious gravy

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Apple Cider Brined Turkey

Keyword turkey

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Brining Time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 turkey

Ingredients

Brine

• 2 quarts water
• 2 quarts apple cider not spiced
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
• 10 rosemary sprigs about 4 inches long

Butter for the outside:

• 8 branches of thyme leaves removed from stem
• 6 sage leaves chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 stick butter

Aromatics for Inside the turkey:

• 1 fennel bulb and fronds halved
• 1 apple halved
• 1 lemon halved
• 1 yellow onion halved
• 1 garlic bulb halved
• Extra sage and thyme branches

1 turkey 10-15 pounds, defrosted

Instructions

Brine:

• Place the water and apple juice into a large bucket. The bucket must be large enough to fit the turkey until entirely submerged. It also must be large enough to fit in your fridge over night!
• Mix the maple syrup with the water and apple juice until evenly combined
• Add the salt, mustard, pepper flakes, and rosemary. Stir until evenly combined. The salt should become mainly dissolved
• Place the turkey in the brine. (The turkey should already be defrosted and have anything inside the cavity removed). Ensure the turkey is entirely submerged under the brine. Set in the fridge overnight (or for at least 12 hours, ideally 24 hours)

Herb butter:

• Make the herb butter by combining softened butter with the herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir until just combined

Assembling and baking the turkey

• Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry
• Place the aromatics inside the cavity
• Rub the outside with herb butter
• Bake at 350 until golden brown and the thermometer reads 160 degrees (between thigh and breast). This will take around 13-15 minutes per pound. Once it hits 160, remove it from the oven and tent with foil. This process will allow the bird to reach 165 degrees (the desired end temperature)
• *check the turkey halfway through, if the turkey is getting golden brown, top with tin foil. When you check it, you can also baste the turkey with the drippings
• Allow the turkey to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving and serving
• Once it has rested, carve and remove any drippings for gravy

Notes

brine adapted from Nancy Oakes

Entertainer’s Note:

Prepare the brine, butter, and prep the aromatics the night before. This will allow for an easy preparation of the turkey on Thanksgiving day! 

Serve with:

Serve with Cranberry Sauce, Rolls and other delicious Thanksgiving sides!