What To Do With Turkey Brine – Tips For Using Up Leftover Brine

As Thanksgiving approaches, many home cooks opt to brine their turkeys for added moisture and flavor. While brining has its benefits, it often leaves cooks wondering what to do with the leftover brine solution. With a few creative ideas, that turkey brine doesn’t have to go to waste.

Why Brine Your Turkey?

Brining helps prevent the turkey breast meat from drying out and becoming stringy during roasting. The process involves soaking the raw turkey in a saltwater solution, usually for 8 to 24 hours. The salt allows the turkey to retain more moisture, resulting in a juicier final product. Many cooks also add aromatics like onions, carrots, celery, garlic, citrus, herbs, and spices to infuse more flavor.

According to sources like Martha Stewart and Serious Eats, brining makes the turkey meat up to 30-40% more moist. However, it also dilutes flavor by absorbing plain water. The solution itself doesn’t contain much flavor since larger aromatic molecules can’t permeate the turkey meat.

What To Do With Leftover Turkey Brine

Once the turkey is removed from the brine, cooks are often left with gallons of leftover flavored saltwater. This liquid gold doesn’t have to go to waste! Here are some clever ways to use up that leftover turkey brine:

Cook Rice or Potatoes

Instead of cooking rice or potatoes in plain water use the turkey brine as the cooking liquid. This infuses them with extra flavor and seasoning. The starch will also absorb any excess saltiness from the brine.

Make a Soup Base

Turkey brine can form an ultra-flavorful base for soups like turkey noodle soup or turkey vegetable soup, made using the leftover turkey meat Dilute the brine with additional water or stock if needed

Boil Vegetables

For the ultimate flavor-packed side dishes on Thanksgiving, boil vegetables like green beans, Brussels sprouts, or carrots in the turkey brine instead of regular water. They’ll soak up all that delicious seasoned flavor.

Bake Bread

When making bread, replace 1/4 cup of the water with turkey brine for an extra savory loaf. The saltiness enhances the flavor while the moisture keeps the bread tender.

Flavor Stuffing

Simply replace half the liquid in your favorite stuffing recipe with turkey brine to ratchet up the flavor. The seasoned liquid delivers moisture and flavor right into the stuffing as it bakes inside the turkey.

Make Gravy

One of the best uses for turkey brine is to form the base of an amazing gravy. Cook diced aromatics like onion and celery in butter or oil until soft. Add a bit of flour to make a roux then whisk in the brine. Cook and reduce to desired thickness.

Marinate Meat

Letting beef, pork, chicken or other meats soak in the seasoned turkey brine imparts moisture and big flavor. It’s especially good with leaner cuts like pork tenderloin.

Pickle Vegetables

For quick refrigerator pickles, pour leftover brine over raw vegetables like bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, cauliflower, carrots, etc. Leave for 1-3 days before eating for tangy pickled flavors.

Make a Broth

Simmer turkey wings, bones and vegetable scraps in the brine to make an ultra-savory turkey broth, great for drinking on its own or using in soups, stews or gravies. Let it simmer for 4+ hours to extract maximum flavor.

Brine Eggs

Soak hard boiled eggs in the brine overnight, similar to pickling. The brine will yield eggs with great texture and big turkey flavor – delicious for making deviled eggs.

Store for Later

Simply pour the leftover brine into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days. Use it to brine a chicken, infuse a soup or marinate meats for even more mileage. The flavors will continue developing over time.

With a little creativity, turkey brine can be repurposed into a myriad of tasty dishes. It provides amazing bursts of flavor and saltiness without needing to add extra sodium or seasonings. This Thanksgiving, don’t discard that leftover bird bath – take your cooking to the next level by making the most of your turkey brine.