Does Brining a Turkey Really Make It Cook Faster?

Cooking a whole turkey, especially a large one, takes 2½ to 5 hours. The lean parts of the bird, such as the breasts, often cook within the first hour and end up overcooked before the rest of the bird is ready. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to solve this problem, and that’s brining your turkey before cooking. Brining locks water and salt inside a turkey so that the meat stays moist and tender after it leaves the oven. It also infuses the turkey with loads of flavor, leaving you with juicy, tasty meat.

Please be aware that many of our turkey products come brined or ‘basted’. Check the label to see if your turkey has been brined. If so, we don’t recommend further brining as it may cause your turkey to taste overly salty.

You can wet or dry brine your bird, but before discussing how to brine turkey, let’s look at more reasons why everyone should brine before cooking.

As Thanksgiving approaches, many home cooks are starting to think about how to prepare the star of the meal – the turkey One technique that has become popular over the years is brining the turkey before cooking But does soaking the bird in a saltwater solution really make it cook faster? Let’s examine the evidence.

What is Brining and Why Do People Do It?

Brining involves submerging the raw turkey (or part of it) in a solution of water, salt, sugar and sometimes spices and herbs. The turkey soaks in this mixture, which is often kept cold in the fridge, for hours or even a full day.

The purpose of brining is to make the turkey moister and more flavorful. The salt helps the turkey retain moisture while also enhancing the flavor. The sugar adds sweetness while the herbs and spices infuse the meat with more complex flavors.

Many people swear by brining and wouldn’t cook a turkey without this extra step But the question remains – does it actually make the turkey cook faster?

The Theory Behind Faster Cooking

There are a few reasons why people think brining may reduce total cooking time:

The salt causes the turkey breast meat to become more tender and soft. Since tender meat generally cooks faster than tough meat, the theory is a brined breast would cook faster.
The moisture absorbed into the turkey helps conduct heat more efficiently from the surface to the interior. Better heat conduction could mean faster cooking.
Pre-salting the meat helps denature (or unwind) proteins on the surface and just below. Denatured proteins are thought to then cook faster when exposed to heat.

So in theory, brining should speed up cooking by altering the turkey’s structure and composition. But what does the empirical evidence show?

Scientific Testing of Brined vs Unbrined Turkeys

Several sources have done controlled experiments cooking brined and unbrined turkeys side-by-side to look for differences in cook time. Here are some of the findings:

SeriousEats.com – Found that a 12 lb brined turkey cooked in about the same time (2 hours 40 minutes) as an unbrined turkey of the same size.
CooksIllustrated.com – Their tests showed brined turkeys cooking just 5 to 15 minutes faster on average than non-brined.
TheKitchn.com – No appreciable difference in cook times between smaller brined and unbrined chickens and turkey breasts in their testing.
AmazingRibs.com – Their experiments showed brined turkeys cooking 0-30 minutes faster depending on size. But they cautioned moisture loss could vary.

So the scientific consensus seems to be that brining leads to only marginal reductions in cook time, if any time is saved at all. The increases in tenderness and juiciness were more noticeable benefits.

Other Factors That Impact Cooking Time

While brining may have a subtle effect, there are other factors that can more significantly influence how long your turkey takes to cook:

Turkey size – A large 20 lb turkey will always take longer to cook through than a 12 lb one. Calculate a minimum of 15 minutes per pound.
Stuffing – A stuffed turkey will need more time than an unstuffed one since the center of stuffing must reach 165°F.
Cooking method – Roast turkeys cook faster at higher oven temps like 350°F vs 225°F.
Temperature monitoring – Use a meat thermometer for accuracy. Cook to 165°F in breast, 175°F in thighs.

So brining may provide a small boost in cook time, but these other factors are much more impactful. Focus on properly calculating cook time based on weight and temperature.

Tips for Cooking a Brined Turkey

If you do decide to brine your turkey, here are some tips to ensure it turns out moist and delicious:

Brine for 12-24 hours – Too little time won’t infuse flavors fully while too much can make meat too salty.
Rinse after brining – This removes excess salt from the surface. Pat turkey dry.
Cook as usual – Use your standard roasting method. No need to significantly alter oven temp or time.
Check temp frequently – Brined turkeys cook ever so slightly faster so monitor temp closely.
Let rest before carving – Waiting 15-20 minutes allows juices to redistribute.

While brining alone doesn’t drastically reduce cook time, it remains a useful technique for boosting flavor and moisture when paired with proper cooking methods. This Thanksgiving, brine if you want added flavor but don’t plan on cutting much time off the total roast. Focus on calculating the cook time accurately based on size and use a meat thermometer to monitor doneness. Then you’ll end up with a juicy, fully-cooked turkey the whole family will love.

does brining a turkey make it cook faster

How to Dry Brine a Turkey

If you prefer dry brining, here’s how to do it:

Kosher salt
Dried herbs (such as thyme, sage, and rosemary)
Black pepper
A large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan

Create your dry brine rub. For a 14 to 16-pound whole turkey, you will need three tablespoons of kosher salt. Combine the salt with half a teaspoon of thyme, paprika, black pepper, oregano, and rosemary.
Completely thaw the turkey and pat the surface dry with paper towels. Apply your brine rub all over the turkey’s body and inside its cavity.
Place the seasoned turkey on a rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and put it in the fridge uncovered for 12 to 24 hours.
After brining, take the turkey out of the fridge, brush off any excess salt, and let the turkey come to room temperature. Once the bird reaches room temperature, cook it any way you desire.

For extra moist dry brined turkey, rub some butter between the turkey skin and meat before brining the bird. During cooking, the butter will melt and baste the turkey to make it juicier and more flavorful.

Why Brine Your Turkey?

Below are some of the top reasons why you should never skip brining before cooking your turkey:

Brined turkey takes less time to cook. The salt in the brine breaks down a lot of the protein, causing the dark meat to become tender in less time.

Brining forces turkey to absorb extra moisture. A lot of that moisture stays inside the turkey during cooking, leaving you with juicy white and dark meat when the cooking is over.

Applying topical seasoning to a whole turkey only goes skin deep, leaving you with a tasty surface and bland interior. Brining allows salt and other brine seasonings to seep deep into your meat, giving you a tastier bird.

If cooking a whole turkey, the white meat can overcook before the dark meat can reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Brining helps prevent this by keeping the white meat moist until the dark meat cooks completely.

Does a brined turkey cook faster?

FAQ

How does brining affect cooking time?

Because water is a heat conductor you will typically find that a brined item will cook faster than an non-brined item.

Does brining turkey really make difference?

Brining, or soaking meat in a salt-water solution, uses the power of osmosis to force the turkey or other meat to draw up water into itself. The theory is that the meat ends up juicier and moister that way. The problem is that it is a fake juiciness.

Should I rinse my turkey after brining?

According to a study by the food safety experts at the USDA, washing or rinsing raw turkey can put you at risk of foodborne illness. There’s only one time you should wash a raw turkey, and that is after brining. Otherwise, do not wash a turkey before cooking.

Should you brine a Turkey before cooking?

Alternatively, some people brine their turkey in the fridge’s crisper drawer—it’s large, out of the way, and can be lined with a brining bag for easier cleanup. Plan ahead. Because brining is a lengthy process—and the bigger the cut of meat, the longer it needs to brine—it’s best to brine your turkey the day before cooking.

Why do you brine a Turkey?

Sugar balances the flavors. Spices enhance the taste. Brining a turkey enhances its juiciness and tenderness, creates balanced flavors throughout the meat, and reduces cooking time for a perfectly seasoned and evenly cooked bird. The brine infuses herbs, spices, and other aromatics, producing a deliciously seasoned bird from skin to bone.

Does brining a turkey make it tender?

A brine is a basic solution of water and salt, and it works all sorts of magic on your bird: During brining, the turkey absorbs extra moisture, which in turn helps it stay juicy. Since the turkey absorbs salt too, it also gets nicely seasoned. Even better, the salt breaks down some of the turkey’s proteins, making it more tender.

How long do you brine a Turkey?

Brine the turkey in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Rinse the turkey in cool water and pat dry. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Clean your sink thoroughly after doing this step to avoid cross-contamination.