You Must Brine Your Turkey!

Last night, we attended our homeschool Holiday Dinner. Yes, it's early, but I guess homeschoolers like to be ahead of the curve :o). Each family was asked to sign up to bring two dishes. We brought a turkey and mashed potatoes. I recently saw a post by the Pioneer Woman about brining a turkey. I have never brined a turkey, so I decided to give it a try. Now, I have never been all that big on eating turkey, but this turkey was amazing!!! I actually wish I could have brought some home for leftovers. Many people even complemented the turkey! All I did was brine the turkey for about 24 hours, rinsed it really well and then cooked it. I generally followed the Pioneer Woman's directions for cooking (10 minutes for every pound at 275 covered really well with foil, then taking the foil off and smothering the skin with a stick of butter and cooking at 375). But the turkey wasn't cooking fast enough for me so I cranked up the temp to 500 for the last half an hour.

So, please brine your turkey, your guests will love you!