To Brine, or Not to Brine?

written by

posted on

October 30, 2024

That is a common question we get here at Whiffletree Farm. And especially since it’s a pasture-raised turkey, people wonder what the best way to prepare it is.

The answer is… BOTH are good methods! Our turkeys are moist and flavorful as they are, so many people skip the brining and go straight to roasting. And they say it still tastes great and has amazing moisture - even the white meat! (But it is critical to use a meat thermometer and monitor it closely so that you don’t overcook– 165 F is the highest you need to go.)

Personally, I do like brining. I like that extra bit of flavor and moisture it gives to the turkey, and I love that you can get creative with it! Want more of an herbal flavor? Add rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaves…you name it. Want a fruity flavor? Add apple cider or orange slices with some cloves to the brine. Yum!

In the video included in this blog post, I did an herbal brine. Watch the video above, or keep reading to find out how to brine your turkey!

Want to try this out for yourself? Grab a turkey HERE and let us know what you think!

What you’ll need:

2 gallons water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
3 Tbsp. peppercorn
3-4 sprigs rosemary
5 sprigs thyme
8 cloves crushed garlic

First, I brought one gallon of water to a boil, then added in the salt and let it dissolve in the hot water. Turn the heat off and add in the peppercorn, rosemary, thyme, and crushed garlic. Let everything sit until it comes to room temperature to allow those flavors to infuse into the brine. Once it’s room temp, add in another gallon of cold water.

Now, take your turkey and put it in a container (or turkey brine bag) big enough to cover it with the brine. (Make sure to remove and save your giblets first!) Pour brine and herbs into the container. If your turkey isn’t completely submerged, that’s fine - just flip it periodically so everything gets brined evenly. Let the turkey sit in the brine for about 16-24 hours, but no longer than 24 hours so it doesn’t get too salty!

*Pro tip - I would usually use a small cooler to brine my turkey in. I would use about a half gallon less of water, and after the brine completely cooled I’d add in a couple quarts of ice. My turkey would go directly into the cooler and I’d pour the brine and ice over top. This helps keep the turkey cold and insulated so you don’t have to find room for it in your fridge! Just make sure to add some ice every now and then to keep it cold.

After the brining time is done, drain off the brine but save the herbs - you can put them into the cavity of the turkey while it roasts for some aromatics! Then rinse the turkey, and let it sit for about a half hour to 45 minutes to dry off (because no one likes mushy turkey skin!).

Next up, we’ll be releasing another blog post on roasting your Thanksgiving turkey!

We want to hear from you! Do you like brining your turkey, or do you love it as it is? Let us know!

Cheers to you and your health,

~Bethany

Click HERE to browse our store!

Click HERE to browse our Thanksgiving store!

Turkey Craft

Thanksgiving is only a week away! We thought this week would be fun to share something with you that your kids can partake in…something that will help get them excited for Thanksgiving too! One of our former interns, Alisha, is an AMAZING artist. And she has shared her skills with us in creating a fun turkey craft you and your kids will love! It’s a great opportunity for your kids to learn about some turkey anatomy and have fun dressing their turkey up in a costume! Turkey Craft PDF for PrintWhat you’ll need to make your turkey craft: ScissorsGlueColored markers, crayons, or pencilsKids (or adults!) Here's a video on how to make this: You’ll have two pages. Page 1 is the base page, and page 2 has all the body parts and costume pieces. Step 1: Make sure to add your name! Step 2: Color in all the body parts and costume pieces on page 2. Step 3: Next, cut out the body parts and glue them into their outlined spots on page one. Step 4: Then, you’ll cut out the turkey body on page 2, and attach it to page 1 by gluing it to the “only glue here!” outline. The reason for that is so that you can unfold the top turkey and see what’s inside! Step 5: Now comes the really fun part! You get to dress up your turkey! What do you think turkeys like to wear? Cut out the costume pieces you want to put on your turkey and glue them on however you like! And there you go! A fun art project the whole family can enjoy. They make great decorations for your Thanksgiving festivities too! So click on the file below and print it out, gather the kids around the table, and let the fun begin! Turkey Craft PDF for Print

What to do with those turkey giblets…

If you’re like me, you didn’t grow up eating animal organs like heart or liver. Maybe you’re a little grossed out by the idea. I completely understand the feeling! But I’m here to tell you they’re not as gross as they’ve been made out to be! What are Giblets? First off, what are turkey giblets? They are the heart, liver, and gizzard. If you purchased a Whiffletree whole turkey, you found all three of those in the cavity of the turkey. Health Benefits Poultry organs (and all animal organs) have amazing health benefits. They’re very high in protein, which is essential for our bodies to get enough of for everyday functions. You’ll also get the benefits of vitamins A and B, iron, and CoQ10. In a nutshell, giblets are a health powerhouse! Flavor What about the flavor, you may ask? I personally don’t love the flavor of organs alone, but once you add in garlic and butter, they taste amazing! So, here’s how to make a delicious, nutrient-dense giblet gravy. Nutrient-Dense Giblet Gravy Recipe What you’ll need: Turkey neck3.5 cups waterTurkey giblets 2 garlic cloves, minced⅓ c. flourDrippings from roasted turkey6 Tbsp butterSalt to taste If you’re looking at the giblet gravy recipe from one of our previous blog posts, you’ll notice the way I do it here is a little bit different. Both are great ways of making it, so it’s up to you which way you prefer! You’ll also notice the recipe says to sear the neck along with the giblets. If you already have chicken or turkey bone broth made and on hand, definitely go ahead and do that! I didn’t have any already handy, so here’s what I did. I reserved the turkey neck from my whole turkey and put it in a medium saucepan with 3.5 cups of water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I brought it to a boil over medium high heat before turning to low, letting it simmer for about an hour. (Or you can put all this in a small crock pot and cook it overnight before making the gravy, but maybe add a little more water so too much doesn’t simmer away. You want to end up with 3 cups of broth). Once the turkey broth was complete, I melted 2 Tbsp butter in another saucepan over medium heat, and then I added the turkey giblets, searing for a few minutes on each side before adding in the turkey broth. I brought the broth to a boil before turning the heat down to low and letting it simmer for about 30-40 minutes. After simmering, I drained the broth into a bowl and took out the giblets and finely diced them, removing any gristle. Next, I melted 4 Tbsp of butter over medium low heat, then tossed in the minced garlic and cooked until fragrant. Then I added in the ⅓ cup of flour and whisked to make a roux. I let that cook until browned for a couple minutes, constantly stirring, then slowly poured in the broth and reserved roasted turkey drippings, whisking the entire time to keep any clumps from forming. I reduced the heat to low and stirred for a few minutes while it thickened to my desired consistency. I took it immediately off the heat, added in salt to taste, and stirred in the diced giblets. And there you have it! A delicious giblet gravy. Trust me, no one will complain about the fact that there are chopped up giblets in there! It tastes amazing and adds so much flavor to the roasted turkey. And you can feel good that you’re getting a bunch of amazing nutrition into your loved ones! If you missed the original recipe from one of our previous blog posts, click HERE to see it. Shop Whiffletree's Pasture-Raised Turkeys With Giblets Grab a pasture-raised, nutrient dense turkey with giblets HERE and give this a try! Trust me, you won’t regret it! How do you like to make your gravy? Do you love giblets, or are you new to it? We want to hear from you! Comment below and tell us what you do! Cheers to you and your health! ~Bethany

Roasting a Turkey

It’s Thanksgiving Day! Guests are showing up soon, excitement is in the air, and the kitchen becomes alive with activity. You may be wondering what to do with that turkey sitting in the fridge… when, at what temp, and how long to ROAST it for… I (Bethany here!) started cooking our family Thanksgiving turkey when I was seventeen years old. Yeah, that first time was a little rough! But my family, as amazing as they all are, ate it anyway and let me try again the next year. Now, eight years later, there isn’t much turkey left from our Thanksgivings because everyone loves the moist, flavorful turkey! (Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with those dry turkeys and letting me keep trying!) Last week, we looked at brining a turkey. (If you didn’t see that post, click HERE to learn how to brine your Thanksgiving turkey!) This week, I’ll walk you through the process of roasting the turkey. What you’ll need: -1 whole turkey, brined or not (18.5 lb turkey was used for this post)-Salt-Seasonings of your choice (optional)-Onions, carrots, and celery cut into large chunks (optional)-Roasting pan-2 Tbsp butter-Meat thermometer For a quick run-down on the steps, from frozen to roast: TUESDAY: pulled turkey out of the freezer to thawWEDNESDAY: thawed turkey the rest of the way in cold waterTHURSDAY: brined the turkeyFRIDAY:8:00am -- Pulled the turkey from the fridge, drained the brine juices, placed into roasting pan8:15am -- Let the turkey sit out for half hour to keep drying, set over to 325F8:30am -- Melted the butter in a saucepan, brushed the butter onto the turkey skin, and sprinkled salt and/or seasonings on the turkey and inside its cavity9:00am -- Popped the turkey into the preheated oven9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am -- Basted turkey with juices11:30am -- Stuck thermometer into breast and leg to ensure it was at 165F, removed the turkey from the oven, and let it cool12:15pm -- We ate the turkey! Here's those same steps with more detail: I pulled it out of the freezer on Tuesday, let it thaw for a day, and then thawed it the rest of the way in cold water on Wednesday. I then brined it on Thursday so it was ready for Friday (I made it for one of our team lunches on the farm, so I pulled it out of the fridge at 8:00 Friday morning). After draining all the juices from the brine, I placed it into the roasting pan and patted it dry with a paper towel. I also reserved the rosemary, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns from the brine and put those into the cavity. Then, I let the turkey sit out for a half hour to keep drying so I’d get a nice crispy skin while roasting. While the turkey was drying, I set the oven temp to 325F. Then, I melted the butter in a small saucepan. After the turkey finished drying, I spread it on the turkey skin with a pastry brush. This step helped it brown nicely while roasting and added some yummy flavor! Then, I sprinkled some salt on the skin and inside the cavity. (Don’t use too much here if you brined the turkey as the skin will already have absorbed some saltiness…you could even skip the salt if you brined.) Then if you wish, you could sprinkle seasonings of your choice on the turkey. I usually would do garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and pepper, but some of our team had different allergies so I stuck with just salt for this time. I also didn’t add any vegetables to the cavity for the same reason, but that definitely adds a nice touch! At 9:00am, I popped the turkey into the preheated oven. Every half hour, I used the pastry brush to baste the turkey with the juices, but otherwise, I was free to work on prepping the other food for our team lunch. I allowed for 8-10 minutes per lb of turkey, and it was finished around 11:30 (about 8 minutes per lb). I stuck the thermometer into both the breast and the leg…I needed it to be 165F for a safe level of doneness, but no more as I didn’t want a dry turkey! All parts of the turkey were at that temp when I inserted the thermometer. If the legs happen to not be quite done yet for you, you can carve those off to keep roasting, but make sure to remove the rest of the turkey to avoid drying it out by overcooking. I let the turkey cool off for a bit before removing it to a serving platter and reserving the drippings from the pan for my gravy. And ta-da! We had an amazing roasted turkey that the team devoured. Want to try this out for yourself? Grab one of our pasture-raised turkeys HERE for the best Thanksgiving turkey you’ve ever had! If you want to see the full recipe in case you missed one of our previous blog posts, click HERE! Next week, I’ll show you how exactly to use those turkey giblets. Maybe you’re a bit hesitant to use them - trust me, I was too! But I’ll show you just how delicious and healthy of a giblet gravy you can make, so stay tuned! Cheers to you and your health! ~Bethany Click HERE to browse our store! Click HERE to browse our Thanksgiving store!

To Brine, or Not to Brine?

What you’ll need:

More from the blog

Turkey Craft

What to do with those turkey giblets…

Roasting a Turkey

WAYS TO SHOP

BUY BULK

MORE @ WHIFFLETREE

Whiffletree Farm