Next time you’re cooking a turkey or chicken, consider the additional step of brining the bird. Brine packs powerful flavor into poultry and prevents white meat from drying out while cooking. After trying numerous recipes — from Italy’s Silver Spoon Bible to Martha Stewart’s famous recipe — we have perfected a combination that is tasty yet simple enough for everyday cooking.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of salt (yes a full half cup)
4 cups of water
1 cup of white wine
1/4 cup black peppercorn
1/4 cup whole allspice
1/4 cup coriander seeds or powder
4 to 6 whole bay leaves
1 tablespoon of cloves (whole or ground)
1 tablespoon of mustard seed
1 tablespoon of ground thyme
Steps
Note portions are for a bone-in turkey breast or 4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts. Double for a whole turkey.
Step 1
Combine the 4 cups of water and all the spices into a large stock pot, bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes. This step ‘awakens’ the spices and infuses them in the brine solution.
Remove from stove, add ice and cold water to cool the brine. When cool, add the wine.
Step 2
Add the poultry to the solution and fill with cold water until poultry is submerged.
Refrigerate overnight (minimum) to 24 hours (recommended).
This is the perfect first step when making the Italian classic, Turkey Gremolata.
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