Yikes! It’s almost time to cook the holiday turkey!
Do you have turkey-phobia?
It can seem like a daunting task to make the perfect turkey, but I promise you, it isn’t. Try my turkey recipe and follow my instructions, and you’ll have a table full of guests licking their fingers and begging for more. But beware, this turkey is so good, there may not be any leftovers for turkey sandwiches.

Kathi's Brined Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water - cold
- 1 cup sea salt
- 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 bottle dry white wine
- 3 oranges cut in half
Instructions
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In a large garbage bag, combine the all the ingredients.
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Wash and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bag in a roasting pan and in the refrigerator overnight, turning once.
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Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine.
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Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.
Kathi,
Thanks for the recipe!
For how long should one cook the turkey? and at what temperature?
ACK – how is that not on there Pam? 425 until an internal meat thermometer reads 165.
Ok kathi.. First year and will run to Costco tomorrow night right before closing to get all ingredients.
Wish me luck!
You can do it Becky! Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for this article!! Last year our turkey was brined in a 5 gallon bucket and it was a pain! Never thought of doing it in a garbage bag in the roaster…Duh! so much easier lol.
Garbage bags ROCK! Let me know how it turns out Bonnie!!!