Brine O' Mine

Well, at least it rhymes, right?

Brining, in it's most complicated terms, is the way you make pickles. We, however, are not making pickles. We're making turkey--for Thanksgiving.

So: the simple version. A brine is just a solution of salt (and other flavoring agents, if you want) that allows any lean meat to cook up juicier and with a bit more room for error. Brined turkey (or pork, or shrimp, or chicken) can be cooked at a higher temp with less chance that it'll turn out tough or chalky.

1 cup of kosher salt per gallon of water should do it. Other ingredients--like sugar, citrus, and spices--help, but don't exactly provide flavor like you'd think. Using orange won't provide an 'orange' flavor. But it will taste good!

I'm including an article from Allrecipes that one of my co-workers wrote. The Citrus Turkey Brine is awfully good.