The Complete Guide to Pickle Juice Brined Turkey

Pickle juice brined turkey is a unique and delicious way to prepare your holiday bird. The brining process infuses the turkey with tangy salty flavor while also keeping it incredibly moist and juicy. While it may sound unconventional once you try pickle juice brined turkey, you may never go back to plain old roasted turkey again!

In this complete guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about brining a turkey in pickle juice. We’ll cover the history of this cooking method its benefits, how to properly brine your bird recipes, tips for avoiding pitfalls, and more. By the end, you’ll be a pickle juice brining expert ready to wow your family this holiday season!

A Brief History of Pickle Juice Brined Turkey

While the exact origins are unknown, pickle juice brined turkey likely emerged as a creative cooking technique in America sometime in the early- to mid-20th century. The earliest known published pickle brine turkey recipe appeared in a 1950 cookbook.

Brining itself dates back much further as a way to preserve meat and fish. But using the tangy pickle brine likely came about once pickles grew in popularity in America. The technique gained traction as people realized the brine not only preserved but also tenderized and added flavor.

Today, pickle juice brined turkey has become a favorite holiday cooking method for its delicious taste. The unique brine offers a fun twist on traditional roasted turkey.

Benefits of Brining Your Turkey in Pickle Juice

There are several excellent reasons to give pickle juice brined turkey a try:

Infuses Bold, Tangy Flavor – The pickle brine penetrates deep into the turkey meat, giving it a tangy, salty taste. This flavor simply can’t be replicated with a typical roasted turkey.
Keeps Meat Juicy and Moist – The salt in the brine helps retain moisture in the turkey meat during cooking. No more dried out holiday bird!
Tenderizes the Meat – As the salt breaks down muscle proteins, it leaves the turkey deliciously tender and easy to carve.
Adds Interest to Leftovers – Even your post-holiday turkey sandwiches get an upgrade with the lingering pickle flavors.
Simple to Prepare – A pickle juice brine takes little active effort beyond submerging the turkey and waiting.

With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why more home cooks are embracing pickle juice brined turkey.

How to Brine Your Turkey in Pickle Juice

Brining a turkey in pickle juice is straightforward but does require some advance planning. Here is an overview of the basic process:

Ingredients Needed

1 whole turkey (12-15 lbs)
1 gallon pickle juice
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
Fresh herbs and spices (optional)

Brining Container

You’ll need a container large enough to fully submerge the turkey in brine. Options include:

Extra-large stock pot
Clean bucket or trash can
Large cooler
Heavy-duty roasting bag

Brining Timeframe

Whole turkey: brine for 12-24 hours
Turkey breast: brine for 6-8 hours
Turkey pieces: brine for 4-6 hours

Brining Steps

Combine pickle juice, water, salt, sugar, and any other flavorings in your brining container. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
Add your fully thawed turkey and enough cold water to cover. Place a heavy plate on top to keep submerged.
Refrigerate for the recommended brining time based on turkey size.
Remove turkey, rinse off brine, pat dry. Cook as desired.

And that’s all there is to it! The brining itself requires very little work.

Helpful Pickle Juice Brined Turkey Tips

Here are some additional useful tips to ensure brining success:

Chill the brine before adding turkey to avoid food safety issues.
Avoid brining longer than 24 hours or the meat can become too salty.
Thoroughly rinse and dry the turkey after brining to reduce saltiness.
Add whole spices and fresh herbs to the brine for extra flavor.
Let the cooked turkey rest 20 minutes before carving for juicier meat.
Save leftover brine to use again. Refrigerate up to 5 days.
Store raw brined turkey in the fridge up to 2 days before cooking.
Cook to an internal temperature of 165°F for safety.

Delicious Pickle Juice Brined Turkey Recipes

While pickle juice, water, salt, and sugar make a basic brine, you can also add different seasonings for more flavor. Here are a few tasty brine recipes to try:

Everything Bagel Brined Turkey

Pickle juice
Water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp everything bagel seasoning
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder

Dill & Garlic Brined Turkey

Pickle juice
Water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 sprigs fresh dill
12 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 lemons, quartered

Maple Bourbon Brined Turkey

Pickle juice
Water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
2 cinnamon sticks
1 orange, quartered

Feel free to get creative with spices, herbs, citrus, onions, garlic, peppercorns, or anything else that sounds good! The brine will infuse the flavors right into the turkey.

Common Pickle Juice Brined Turkey Questions

If you’re new to pickle juice brining, chances are you have some questions. Here I’ll address some of the FAQs:

Does the whole turkey need to be submerged in brine?

Yes, the entire turkey must be completely covered by the brine to properly penetrate the meat.

Can I brine just a turkey breast?

Absolutely! Bone-in and boneless turkey breasts work very well with a shorter brine time.

What kind of pickle juice should I use?

For the best flavor, use pickled dill or bread and butter pickle juice. Avoid garlic or spicy options.

Is it safe to eat pickle brined turkey?

Yes, it is safe if you cook it to 165°F internal temperature. Discard used brine.

Why does my turkey taste too salty after brining?

Make sure to thoroughly rinse off the brine. And avoid brining longer than 24 hours.

Can I brine a frozen turkey?

Only brine fully thawed turkeys for food safety and proper brine penetration.

Avoiding Pitfalls With Pickle Juice Brined Turkey

While pickle juice brining delivers delicious results, there are a few potential mistakes to avoid:

Don’t brine turkey longer than 24 hours or the meat can become mushy and overly salty.
Use fresh brine each time. Don’t reuse brine multiple times.
Make sure turkey is fully submerged. If any parts are exposed, they will be less seasoned.
Thoroughly rinse and pat dry turkey after brining. Skipping this can make it too salty.
Use cool brine before adding turkey. Warm brine can cause food safety issues.
Don’t let raw brined turkey sit out more than 2 hours before cooking.
Cook to at least 165°F internal temperature for food safety.

Follow the guidelines here and your pickle juice brined turkey will impress!

Time to Get Brining!

As you can see, infusing your holiday turkey with tangy pickle flavors is easy and rewarding. While it does take some advance planning with the lengthy brining time, the results are well worth it. Just be sure to avoid any brining pitfalls.

With the history, benefits, tips, and recipes provided in this complete guide, you now have everything you need to become a pickle juice brining pro! I hope you’ll give this unique and delicious cooking method a try this holiday season.

pickle juice brined turkey

How To Wet Brine a Turkey With Pickle Brine

I remove the turkey from the packaging and pat it dry with paper towels. Then I place it in my biggest stock pot and add eight cups of pickle brine and enough water to fully cover the turkey. You can use any kind of pickle brine—I like Mt. Olive dill pickles so thats what I use.

I suspect you likely dont always keep eight cups of pickle brine in your fridge. A 24-ounce jar of pickles will leave you with a little more than a cup of brine, so start stashing the liquid as you go through the pickles. (Note: Mt. Olive sells large jugs of pickle juice if you cant get through that many jars of pickles before Thanksgiving.) Since were a pickle family, I always keep the leftover brine in a deli container in the fridge. And if space is tight, I freeze it.

To the liquid, I add a cup of salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, and sometimes fresh garlic and more spices.

The trickiest part of wet brining a turkey for me is finding space for it to hang out for 12 to 24 hours. If you have a garage fridge, that’s a great option. You can also use a large cooler loaded with ice.

I remove the brined turkey from the liquid, pat it dry, and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Then I slather it all over, including under the skin, with seasoned butter. Now the turkey is ready to roast! This method will give you a moist and flavorful turkey that’s worthy of being called the star of the show.

Why You Should Brine Your Turkey

Brining is a clever way to build flavor and improve the texture of meat, especially poultry. There are two types of brine. A dry brine is a combination of salt and spices, which you rub on the surface of the turkey. A wet brine adds liquid to the mix and you soak the turkey in it.

I like a wet brine because the liquid plumps up the turkey with flavor while the salt helps the meat retain moisture as it cooks. It also takes a little less time than a dry brine, typically about 12 to 24 hours compared to 24 to 72 hours for a dry brine.

pickle juice brined turkey

Pickle Juice Brined Turkey | Bubbies Thanksgiving | Bubbies.com

FAQ

Is pickle juice good for a brine?

Yup, believe it. A big ol’ jar of leftover pickle juice is like a perfectly pre-seasoned pour over for meat. The salt and garlic flavors are already there and the acid in the juice acts as a great meat tenderiser, helping particularly to break down tougher cuts.

What is the name of the pickle juice in turkey?

Tursu Suyu is a surprising snack/beverage made from pickled vegetables and pickle brine. The veggies range from beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, onion, peppers, garlic — the list is truly endless! Turkish street food involves pickles on everything, forget jars, they rest on vendors’ carts in giant buckets.

How much pickling salt to brine a turkey?

Brine a Turkey for Maximum Flavor and Tenderness. Your basic brine ratio (adapted from Charcuterie) should look like this: one cup of kosher/pickling/sea salt for every gallon of water. You can also add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon, plus any number of other seasoning accoutrements.

What does brining chicken in pickle juice do?

Soaking chicken in pickle juice helps tenderize the protein and retain moisture while cooking. It’s similar to a wet brine, which entails submerging meat in a water and salt solution for several hours.

Can you use pickle juice to brine turkey breast?

Whether you choose to wet brine or dry brine is up to you, but this simple brine, made from Bubbie’s pickle juice, turned out to be an awesome turkey breast recipe. I often use leftover brine to brine fresh cucumbers or onions, so that way I never have to throw out the delicious pickle juice.

What are the ways to use pickle juice?

Pickle juice is actually the pickle liquid. That is, it includes the following, such as: water, organic vinegar, salt, a type of oil, potassium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E. However, the taste may not be very pleasant.

What is the best pickle juice to drink?

The best choice is a vinegar-based pickle juice with no yellow food coloring or preservatives. I would generally not recommend drinking pickle juice, especially if you have health conditions such as high blood pressure or kidney, liver or heart disease.

Does pickle juice help with regularity?

Pickle juice helps reduce cramps, maintain hydration, and provide probiotics. However, since it is an ultra-processed food, it is recommended to consume it sporadically and replace it with natural juices.