Apple Brine

This is the ultimate turkey brine for flavor. The apple juice in this brine gives a sweet flavor to poultry and is perfect for turkey. Buy the cheapest apple juice you can find because it won't matter how much you spend and you are going to need a lot.

Prep Time: 20?minutes

Cook Time: 10?minutes

Total Time: 30?minutes

Yield: Makes 1 gallon of brine

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts water
• 2 quarts apple juice
• 1 cup of table salt or 1 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• zest of one orange

Preparation:

In a large pot combine salt, sugar and one quart of water. Bring to a light boil stirring until salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add cloves, peppercorns and orange zest. Allow to cool. Add remaining water (cold) and apple juice. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Place poultry in a large plastic container. Pour brine over top. Brine poultry for 1 hour per pound in the refrigerator.

Thoroughly rinse all the brine from the turkey before cooking. Otherwise there will be a salty flavor to the turkey. For a more detailed explanation, see my article on brining turkey.

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