I picked up on this brine recipe awhile back. It's lower in salt and more on the sweet side so you can brine for longer periods of time without any worries.
I had to order the juniper berries online but this is the key ingrediet here along with the apple cider.The first time i tried it I substituted a couple of glugs out of the gin bottle for the juniper as juniper berries are used in making gin.
Worked ok but the second time I actually had the berries and I thought it was much better.
I have used this on turkey breasts and it makes for some fine tasting turkey. The turkey browns up nicely too due to the sugars in the apple cider.
Give it a try!
2 qt apple cider (or liters)
1/2 cup brown sugar - can substitute with maple syrup or honey
1 1/2 cups Kosher Salt - can substitute with 3/4 cup table salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns
20 juniper berries
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 heads fresh garlic
5 qt cold water (or liters)
2 qt ice (or liters)
To make this flavorful brine, add the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, juniper berries, and fresh thyme to a large pot. Slice the heads of garlic crosswise, and add to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and set aside to steep and cool.
Before brining, add 5 quarts of cold water and 2 quarts of ice to the mixture, and you'll be ready to brine up to 15 pounds of turkey, chicken or pork.
I had to order the juniper berries online but this is the key ingrediet here along with the apple cider.The first time i tried it I substituted a couple of glugs out of the gin bottle for the juniper as juniper berries are used in making gin.
Worked ok but the second time I actually had the berries and I thought it was much better.
I have used this on turkey breasts and it makes for some fine tasting turkey. The turkey browns up nicely too due to the sugars in the apple cider.
Give it a try!
2 qt apple cider (or liters)
1/2 cup brown sugar - can substitute with maple syrup or honey
1 1/2 cups Kosher Salt - can substitute with 3/4 cup table salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns
20 juniper berries
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 heads fresh garlic
5 qt cold water (or liters)
2 qt ice (or liters)
To make this flavorful brine, add the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, juniper berries, and fresh thyme to a large pot. Slice the heads of garlic crosswise, and add to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and set aside to steep and cool.
Before brining, add 5 quarts of cold water and 2 quarts of ice to the mixture, and you'll be ready to brine up to 15 pounds of turkey, chicken or pork.
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