With just days to go before the Thanksgiving holiday, today is an ideal time to start preparing your turkey for brining to give it some extra flavor and a nice, moist punch.  Brining a turkey requires a few simple ingredients, a bit of salt water, a few herbs and spices, a fully thawed turkey.  It’s an easy, quick way to ensure yourself the best turkey meat of the season because the salted brine solution not only seeps into the turkey meat, giving it great flavor, but it also softens up the muscle fibers, lending a tenderness to the turkey.  Before you choose from our list of favorite brines, make sure you know the basics of brining safety.  Keep mind these five basic steps for truly incredible turkey: The Simplest Turkey Brine Ever It’s easy, but it’s good. Don’t let the small list of ingredients fool you. Your turkey will cook up flavorful and tender with this basic, Amish brine. 2/3 cup coarse kosher salt 8 cups hot water 4 cups ice water Dissolve salt and sugar in the hot water.

Add ice water and chill completely before brining turkey.red wine dry scale 3/4 cup coarse kosher saltred wine case iphone 5 3/4 cup granulated sugarbest budget italian red wine 1 cup boiling water 1 gallon cold water 1 tablespoon black pepper Combine salt, sugar, and boiling water until dissolved. Stir in remaining ingredients. Chill brine completely before soaking turkey. 1 gallon vegetable broth 1 cup sea salt 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary 1 tablespoon dried sage 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon dried savory 1 gallon ice water In a large pot, heat vegetable broth to boiling. Add salt and herbs. Remove from the stove and add the ice water. Chill the brine completely before adding your turket.

Cranberry Apple Turkey Brine Slightly sweet, with the subtle flavors of fresh herbs. 1 quart cranberry juice 1 quart of apple juice 1 cup salt (1 1/2 cups Kosher or coarse salt) 1/2 cup orange juice 8-12 cloves garlic, crushed Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Citrus Kissed Turkey Brine 3 cups Apple Cider 1/4 cup Fresh Rosemary 5 cloves Garlic, Minced 1½ cup Kosher Salt 2 cups Brown Sugar 5 whole Bay Leaves Peel Of Three Large Orange, zested 2 gallons ice water In a large pot, bring apple cider to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and allow all the of the flavors to sit and soak for 30 minutes. Add ice water to mixture, chilling completely before adding turkey. 1 cup coarse kosher salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 gallon vegetable stock 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger 1 gallon heavily iced water

In a large pot, comvine salt, sugar, stock and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add water. Chill completely before brining turkey. adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine 7 quarts (28 cups) water 1 1/2 cups coarse salt 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds In a large pot, heat water and salt together until the salt is fully dissolved.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Remove from heat and chill completely before brining. Emeril Lagasse’s Turkey Brine 2 gallons cold water 1 cup brown sugar Dissolve the salt and sugar in water. Add remaining ingredients before adding turkey to the brine. Paula Deen’s Poultry Brine 1 cup kosher salt 2 tablespoons fresh thyme 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups boiling water 5 cups ice cold water Add all ingredients to the boiling water, remove from heat and allow mixture to steep for 30 minutes.

Stir in 5 cups ice cold water and bring chill mixture completely before adding turkey. Tea Time Turkey Brine 3 cups dry white wine 3/4 cups brown sugar 2 tbsp peppercorns whatever color you prefer or have on hand 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1 large onion thinly sliced 6 cloves garlic sliced 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 1/2 tsp dill seeds Heat 5 cups of water to a boil. Add all salt, sugar, and spices. Remove from heat and pour in white wine and remaining water. Chill completely before soaking turkey in brine.These manage to be light, healthy and impossibly tender and delicious — all at once. Tasty on their own and skewered with toothpicks, or serve over pasta with additional grated Parmesan. Recipe: Tender Turkey Meatballs Makes about 20 meatballs 3 tablespoons chopped, sauteed onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs 1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, Asiago or Fontina cheese (or a blend of some/all)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 pound ground turkey breast 3 tablespoons olive oil 14 ounces homemade or store-bought marinara sauce In a small bowl, mix the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix in the turkey, combining all ingredients with your hands. Shape the mixture into 1 1/4-inch diameter meatballs; place on a baking sheet as you go. Mixture will be quite soft and rather sticky! Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, making sure they do not touch each other  — work in batches, if necessary. Saute until browned on all sides, about 5 or 6 minutes total. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the marinara sauce and shake the pan to thoroughly coat the meatballs in the sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Check for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary. Wine Pairing:This works with a variety of wines, red and white actually — but my preference would be a Sangiovese-based red like a Chianti.