Chef Jarrett Stieber's Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

Friday, November 20, 2015

photo credit: Christiann Koepke via Unsplash

If you've been to Chef Jarrett Stieber's pop ups, you'd be aware that he knows his way around poultry! It's always perfectly cooked with crispy skin and tender meat. So naturally we turned to him to talk turkey for Thanksgiving. Here are a few great tips when prepping your bird.

Jarrett recommends seprating the legs & breast of your turkey (here is a YouTube video that will show you how). Legs are dark meat, and breasts are light meat, so they tend to cook differently. By separating them, you can make sure all your meat is perfectly cooked.

If you just can't resist the picturesque turkey on your Thanksgiving table, Jarrett recommends a 2 day brine (recipe below). When you cook the whole turkey, cook it breast side down so that the legs cook faster (hot air rises) and their drippings keep the breast moist. 

Chef Jarrett Stieber's Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

Ingredients:

• 1 qt of ice water
• 1 qt of apple cider
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 sprig rosemary (fresh)
• 1 sprig of sage (fresh)
• 3 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• zest of one lemon

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except for the ice water together in a large pot

2. Bring to a simmer, stirring long enough to dissolve the sugar and salt

3. Combine brine mixture with the ice water to cool down quickly 

4. Immerse your turkey in the liquid and brine for 2 days (in the refrigerator or in a very cold space)

Note from Jarrett: "This same ratio of liquids to salt/sugar makes a great buttermilk brine, too! Replace the cider with iced buttermilk and the quart of iced water with just water. Use the same process except heat everything in the water and cool off with the iced buttermilk. Enjoy!"