[Betty'sMom]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Yes, I agree! I'm a huge believer in brining turkeys too, you can get one of those big paint buckets from Home Depot for a couple of bucks and place a turkey in that, with the salt water. The hardest part if finding room in the refrigerator, but it makes for the best turkey you've ever tasted. Salt allows the tissue to absorb water, so meat does not dry out, even breast meat. My family only will eat white meat, so I usually get a couple of breasts and it's much easier to get in a smaller bucket. There are many recipes out there for brining, and mainly differ in the amount of time you brine. The longer you brine, the less salt that is used. I usually just time this for connivance. I haven't' found that sea salt or kosher is any different than regular old Morton; just don't use salt with iodine added.

Martha Steward has a wonder recipe for turkey or chicken stock, it's very similar to this link, except she sautés all the vegetable, or actually browns them in the stockpot first. This makes a great difference on the flavor of the broth, and I use this for stuffing, and gravy, and this can make it ahead of time. I swear this is so worth the time. It has the best flavor. You could baste with this as well, but if you brine the turkey, basting isn't really important. Basic Chicken Stock and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

A couple of other differences, I noticed she uses whole cut up chicken and browns the chicken in a 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour while she's browning the vegetables, in a little oil.

I brine ours also. Delicious!!! I always get a huge turkey so I put it in a good-sized cooler...add the salt, water and ice. No need to use the fridge!