Turkey Brine

The Best Holiday Turkey Brine

If you like your poultry tender and succulent, then you need to add this Turkey Brine to your things to do list this holiday season. A good brine will add so much moisture and flavor to your roasted bird, you’ll never again cook it with out one. This recipe adds a light yet fruity bouquet to the pallet that really compliments the Turkey. There’s a few other ingredients that might surprise you but overall, I really think you’ll be pleased with the results.

Does a Turkey Brine Really Help?

A Turkey Brine is more about the salt than anything. All of the flavors help but the salt goes through and through, constantly repeating. This helps the bird retain water and since water has memory, all of those ingredients that season the water also season the bird. So, a brine absolutely makes all of the difference in the world. Unless you don’t like a crispy skin, basting isn’t even necessary. And don’t feel like you have to add all of these ingredients. Technically, the salt is enough but feel free to play with it a bit and find your own ingredients and write your own recipe. You can even refer to my Tin can Chicken Brine recipe if you’d like.

Turkey Brine Ingredients:

1 gal water
2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Table Salt
2 tbsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Clove
5 Garlic Cloves, crushed
5 Bay Leaves, dry or fresh
2 Sprigs Rosemary
Peel from 2 large Oranges
3 to 4 lbs Ice

1 Turkey

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Turkey Brine video tutorial and continue with the Roasted Turkey and Gravy recipe, coming up next.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

The Best Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

If you love Pumpkin Pie and you love Milkshake’s, then this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake is you’re new go to recipe because it’s incredibly easy and delicious. It’s typically a seasonal ice cream shake that is advertised and sold, in restaurants everywhere, based on the ripening of Pumpkins in the Fall. Even Weiner Schnitzel has had it on their Menu for years and they taste great. But, we don’t want to buy their’s, we want to make our own and it’s really easy to do so.

After all, it is a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

To make this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake, I don’t care if you like to cook down your own pumpkin or if you like to buy it in a can. You’re still going to need the other basic Pumpkin Pie ingredients to pull off this shake, if you’re making it from scratch. There is, however, a simple cheat that I introduce in the video. If you already have a premade pie or have some left over from your Thanksgiving holiday this year, you can add that to the Ice Cream, instead of just the pie filling, and it will still turn out great. You’ll even get the added bonus of that Cookie Crust blended in with it. If you think that sounds crazy, just think about a Cookies and Cream Milk Shake for just a moment and let that sink in.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake Ingredients:

1 qt Ice Cream
1 cup Milk
1 cup Pumpkin Pie Filling or 8 to 10 oz pumpkin pie slice

Pumpkin Pie Filling Ingredients:

2 lbs Cooked Pumpkin
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Clove
1 tsp Salt

Eggs are optional. I don’t add them personally, because I’m not baking, but it wouldn’t hurt the milk shake and it would even add more flavor. Just think Egg Nog. So if you want to add them, the recipe calls for 3. Just watch the short video tutorial for this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake and I’ll show you how easy this is to make.

Tin Can Chicken Brine

Using a Chicken Brine is very important if you want a seasoned bird, through and through, and this Tin Can Chicken Brine Recipe is practically Fool proof. The Pic above is exactly what I used in the filming of this video recipe and the pic below is the final product, spruced up with a fancy cut and some Italian Parsley.

It’s critical to understand that a Brine doesn’t just season the meat, it keeps the Chicken very moist and tender. That’s why it’s gaining so much popularity around the holidays. The best turkeys in the world are marinated in Brine for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours before they are baked or fried. The secret really lies in the Salt. I’ve estimated that the proper salt content for a brine is a 1 to 3 ratio, plus additional seasoning. So if you want to try this recipe let me know how it turns out and what you thought in the comments. And if you’re interested in learning How to Carve a Whole Chicken or if you’d like a Cantonese Chicken recipe, check out these underlined and/or highlighted links.

Chicken Brine Ingredients:

1/3 #10 Can of Water (3 to 4 cups)
1/3 cup Crawfish Boil Seasoning
1 tsp Sage
1 tbsp Rosemary

Bring half of the water to a boil with the added ingredients and remove from the heat. Immediately add the rest of the cold water add let it rest for 10 min. before adding to the bird. Marinate for at least 24 hours before roasting.