# Alton Brown's Turkey Brine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061 "2011-11-15T23:11:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/21 "2011-11-16T01:23:25Z")
I saw Alton do a demo of his deep-fried “turkey derrick” technique, and he used a brine that was just water, salt, and brown sugar. Someone asked him where the veggie stock and candied ginger were; he said that his cooking had changed over the years from “what can I do to this?” to “how can I not screw this up?”. He said that his previous brine reflected the earlier philosophy and these days he’s far more likely to keep it simple. I think there’s something to be said for both approaches, but I lean toward the latter philosophy these days myself so when I brine it’s usually just salt and sugar. Never made a bad bird with Alton’s original brine, though. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/22 "2011-11-16T01:26:25Z")
How much salt would you use for 2 gallons of water in a water-salt-sugar brine? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/23 "2011-11-16T01:38:53Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > How much salt would you use for 2 gallons of water in a water-salt-sugar brine? A cup of Kosher salt more or less. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/24 "2011-11-16T01:41:21Z")
I use a cup of salt per half-gallon of water, and half as much sugar. And for those worried, all of the salt does **not** end up in the turkey. **SaintCad** , I’ve never seen an enhanced turkey, but I have never really looked. Thinking it through, I suspect any kosher bird is already brined. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/25 "2011-11-16T01:48:53Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > **SaintCad** , I’ve never seen an enhanced turkey, but I have never really looked. Thinking it through, I suspect any kosher bird is already brined. You’ve never had a [butterball](http://www.butterball.com/product/frozen-whole-turkey)? Ingredients: Turkey, Water, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Natural Flavorings. Most frozen birds are sort of packed in a brine. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/26 "2011-11-16T01:57:34Z")
I buy turkeys fresh from a butcher (I don’t want to have to defrost one, as I don’t have the refrigerator room). I didn’t know that Butterballs were also enhanced. I think the last time I cooked a butterball was before I was turned on to brining. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/27 "2011-11-16T02:37:21Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > How much salt would you use for 2 gallons of water in a water-salt-sugar brine? I would imagine that a good tactile rule of thumb would be, that the mixed salt and water solution should taste about like the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/28 "2011-11-16T02:54:34Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I buy turkeys fresh from a butcher (I don’t want to have to defrost one, as I don’t have the refrigerator room). I didn’t know that Butterballs were also enhanced. I think the last time I cooked a butterball was before I was turned on to brining. Refrigerator room for a frozen turkey? I don’t understand? Last time I got a turkey the day before thanksgiving and it immediately went in a sink full of water to thaw. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/29 "2011-11-16T02:57:42Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > I would imagine that a good tactile rule of thumb would be, that the mixed salt and water solution should taste about like the ocean. That’d be useful if I knew what the ocean tasted like. 🙂 One cup of table salt to one gallon of water is about right. (You generally want your brines between 5 and 10% salinity. This should get you right about in the middle of that range.) If you’re using kosher salt, you’re going to want to use anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times that amount. If you’re doing it by weight, about 10 ounces of salt per gallon will do you good. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/30 "2011-11-16T03:02:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’d be useful if I knew what the ocean tasted like. :). Why it tastes like Whale Tears, my dear friend, Whale Tears and Dolphin Farts. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/31 "2011-11-16T03:06:49Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > A cup of Kosher salt more or less. As our figures were so far apart, I checked with America’s Test Kitchen (ATK), concerned I may have been over-salting the water. I learned two things. The ratio I posted was high (and thinking back on the pork loin I roasted, it was actually half the amount I posted, so mea culpa all, I mis-typed)\*. The ratio of 1 cup of _table_ salt for each **gallon** or water works well for smaller cuts of meat that will not sit for too long in the brine, whereas for a long soak such as a turkey, ATK suggests one cup of table salt per gallon. Note that if using kosher salt, you would have to adjust for volume (and even that depends on which brand, as the two major brands are significantly different in weight per volume). ETA: \* The reason I was thinking 1 cup to 1/2 gallon is that I dissolve the sugar and salt in one half gallon of hot water (which helps the solution to dissolve quicker and easier), and then add cold water so I can use the brine right away. Just dumbness on my part for forgetting that second part. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/32 "2011-11-16T03:10:11Z")
Yeah, [Page 2 here](http://www.finecooking.com/articles/why-brining-keeps-meat-moist.aspx) has a list of times and salt amounts. Those amounts are for kosher salt, so it has two cups per gallon for a whole turkey. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/33 "2011-11-16T03:53:59Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > As our figures were so far apart, I checked with America’s Test Kitchen (ATK), concerned I may have been over-salting the water. > > I learned two things. The ratio I posted was high (and thinking back on the pork loin I roasted, it was actually half the amount I posted, so mea culpa all, I mis-typed)\*. The ratio of 1 cup of _table_ salt for each **gallon** or water works well for smaller cuts of meat that will not sit for too long in the brine, whereas for a long soak such as a turkey, ATK suggests one cup of table salt per gallon. > > Note that if using kosher salt, you would have to adjust for volume (and even that depends on which brand, as the two major brands are significantly different in weight per volume). > > ETA: \* The reason I was thinking 1 cup to 1/2 gallon is that I dissolve the sugar and salt in one half gallon of hot water (which helps the solution to dissolve quicker and easier), and then add cold water so I can use the brine right away. Just dumbness on my part for forgetting that second part. Unless I am dumb or missing something, the OP linked Alton Brown Brine of topic uses 1 cup of salt for two gallons of liquid. That’s what I am going by. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/34 "2011-11-16T03:54:22Z")
The last few times we’ve done a turkey, we’ve done the [Williams-Sonoma Buttermilk Brine](http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/buttermilk-brined-turkey.html)version and it was absolutely FANTASTIC. We used to do Alton’s, but not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/35 "2011-11-16T04:05:57Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Unless I am dumb or missing something, the OP linked Alton Brown Brine of topic uses 1 cup of salt for two gallons of liquid. That’s what I am going by. Yeah, Alton’s uses less salt than I’m used to. By a good margin. ETA: But I see he is using 1 cup of salt for water, and the other gallon is vegetable stock, so that’s another big source of salt (I would think.) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/36 "2011-11-16T04:15:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, Alton’s uses less salt than I’m used to. By a good margin. ETA: But I see he is using 1 cup of salt for water, and the other gallon is vegetable stock, so that’s another big source of salt (I would think.) Sure, but nowhere near 2 cups per gallon even if it were “full sodium” stock. And it also beggars the question, if he is talking about a gallon of stock, he is probably talking about homemade stock, which is invariably much less salty than manufactured. But the real OP question is kind of negligible and pointless… full sodium or low sodium broth?..it doesn’t matter. Kind of stupid really, if you are adding a cup of salt to the brine why would you worry about low sodium broth? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/37 "2011-11-16T04:29:50Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Sure, but nowhere near 2 cups per gallon even if it were “full sodium” stock. Yeah, I’m not going to do the math, but I can’t imagine a gallon of commercial vegetable stock having more than, say, 1/4 cup of salt in it, so I guess it’s not that much difference. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/38 "2011-11-16T04:54:45Z")
Brine, shmine! What I want is a regular dead turkey that has had NO, ZERO, ZILCH sodium added to it. Unsalted turkey has 50-80 mg Na/serving. Every one I see in stores has at least triple that, and my cardiologist says to avoid anything with 100 mg Na per serving. Keeping to a 2000 mg/day low sodium diet is hard, and Butterball _et al_ are no help at all. I have some hunter friends- when’s turkey season start? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/39 "2011-11-16T05:44:09Z")
I never brine a thanksgiving turkey. I get a Butterball and overcook it rightside up and enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving turkey of great tenderness, delicacy, and perfection every year, without trying to tamper with Family and culinary tradition. We’ve had some game for the Holidays, but ain’t one o my rightchere relatives can cook it, A fresh and game turkey might be best brined. I might cook it long just like the Butterball. I do like that A-Frame technique and might help those who wish to cook their Turkey ahead of time AND SERVE TRANSPORTED. Brine your Turkey Peruvian beercan for 24 HOURS, Rotisserie in that George Forman rotisserie, refrigerate indefinitely, Season with a spicy dry rub and Deep Fry in that turkey deepfryer by cut at serving time ala minute… Turekey breast with skin, leg and thigh with skin, turkey wings that I would fight over. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061/40 "2011-11-16T07:13:01Z")
> [@GythaOgg](#): > > The last few times we’ve done a turkey, we’ve done the [Williams-Sonoma Buttermilk Brine](http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/buttermilk-brined-turkey.html)version and it was absolutely FANTASTIC. We used to do Alton’s, but not anymore. From that recipe: Ingredients: ``` 1 1/2 cups turkey brine 1 quart water 4 quarts buttermilk 1 fresh turkey, 16 to 18 lb., neck, heart and gizzard removed (reserved, if desired) 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature ``` WTF is “turkey brine”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-browns-turkey-brine/603061.md?page=3)