Miscellaneous: Betty Thompson's Beer Brined Turkey

By JoFClark

Ingredients

• 4 quarts smuttynose old brown dog beer
• 4 quarts ice or water
• 2 cups salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 each bay leaves
• 3 bunch thyme, fresh
• 3 each yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 each carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 each lemon, quartered
• 4 each garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

Preparation

Step 1

Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Add the ice or cold water, helping the brine to cool. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until brine is well chilled.

Use either a large 3-4 gallon container or a cleaned ice cooler and add the turkey, then top off with the brine (for the ice cooler, add a few zip lock bags full of ice). Place in the frig or ice cooler for 24-48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the turkey from the brine and dry well. This will help the browning of the skin. Use a temperature probe to make sure the turkey is cooked to 165 degrees vs a length of time. A 16-20 lb turkey should take between 3.5-4 hours to fully cook at this temperature. Let the turkey feet 20-30 minutes before carving.