Overnight Turkey Brine (2024)

If this is your first time brining, awesome! Go for it – this recipe is a great place to start. Because it’s proven and will have your family and friends coming back for seconds. So, no more dry turkey at your place! Woohoo!

How to Know if Your Turkey is Pre-Brined

Pre-brined turkeys are usually labeled clearly on its packaging. So, look out for words such as: “basted”, “self-basted”, “kosher”, or “Enhanced. Typically pre-brined turkeys do not need to be brined at home. Otherwise, you risk having a very salty turkey.

How to Brine a 10 lb Turkey Overnight

Before all else, make sure you’ve thawed your turkey completely. Because a frozen turkey will be hard to brine and cook successfully.

Use a large stockpot to brine your turkey in. You’ll want to make sure the stockpot is bigger than your turkey. That way you can fully submerge the turkey in it.

In your large stockpot, pour 2 gallons of cold water. While the water is cold, combine the 1 cup coarse Kosher salt and 1 cup sugar.

Then, make sure the salt and sugar completely dissolves in the cold water.

Next, submerge the whole turkey into the cold water brine. Make sure the entire turkey is in the brine.

Finally, cover the turkey and brine solution.

How Long Do I Brine a Turkey?

You’re probably wondering—How long do I brine a turkey?

Well, you’ll want to brine the turkey overnight, or up to 14 hours, in your fridge.

If you don’t have a big enough stockpot to submerge your turkey in a brine solution, you can also use a cooler. Just make sure to add a bag of ice to the mix to brine the turkey.

It’s important to place the cooler in a cold area of your home too. Because you want to keep the turkey as cold as possible, without freezing it, to prevent any bacteria growth.

Prepare to Cook the Turkey

After a night in the brine, it’s time to prep the turkey for the oven!

Remove the turkey from the brine. Then, rinse it inside and out under cool running water.

You’ll want to do this for several minutes to remove all traces of the salt.

Finally, pat the turkey dry with a paper towel and get ready to cook this bird!

If you’re looking for a unique way to cook your turkey, check out my How to Grill a Turkey!

How long do I cook a turkey?

The general rule is to cook your turkey for 13 minutes per pound (if it has no stuffing). That means you’ll want to cook a 10 lb turkey for approximately 130 minutes (2 hours and 10 minutes).

Another way to check if your turkey is ready is to check its temperature. Your ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener sponsored”>meat thermometer will want to read 165 degrees on the breast meat and 185 degrees on the dark leg meat.

How Long to Let Turkey Rest

To get the juiciest version of your bird, let the turkey rest for 10-15 minutes after taking it out of the oven. Because this will allow the juices to redistribute before slicing and serving.

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