Did anyone else brine their Thanksgiving turkey?

[1987alum]

Gotta say, the second year was better than the first - we'll never go through Thanksgiving without brining again!

I haven't brined anything else, though I'm thinking I'd do something with boneless pork chops. They are so lean that they can dry out very fast. I suspect that the brining process will help that.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

I brined last year for my first ever turkey. It was fantastic, and I'll brine every year from here on out. I went to the in-laws for Thanksgiving this year, and I was actually kind of sad I didn't get the chance to experiment with a different brine and aromatics. I'll probably do a turkey for fun in the next couple weeks and try a new brine recipe.

[1987alum]

I'll admit I've used a lazy man's brine - salt, brown sugar, citrus fruits and some herbs thrown in.

I saw Alton Brown brine some pork chops using apple cider vinegar and I think that's what I'm going to try next.

[hammb]

I did not cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving this year.

We had Thanksgiving at the larger side of the family's place so we had two. My grandmother did one in the traditional manner. No brine, filled with stuffing, etc. My brother did his turkey brined, stuffed with aromatics, and he injected it with herb butter as it cooked.

The one my grandmother cooked, was eh. Same old same old, little dry (of course the stuffing is freaking gold). The turkey my brother cooked, OTOH, was probably the best turkey I've ever had in my life. He let it rest for about 2 hours before carving and juice was still just oozing out of it as he cut it. The herbs & butter gave it just an amazing flavor...it was awesome.

I smoked one last year and the breasts came out dry, but I didn't brine it first. I may come up with a reason to smoke another one this fall, but I'll definitely brine it this time. That's definitely the way to go.

[MajorFalcon92]

We bought two turkeys for the holidays, and did one in the roaster, and the other in the fryer.

We did the brine method.

turned out perfect, and from here on out, will only go that way.

[Rightupinthere]

Always, always, always, brine!

Your kitchen becomes just a big chemistry set!