yay or nay?

if yay, then how?

(question: does the bucket/tupperware you use need to have tight lid during the process? or is it okay to just cover with foil during the process?)

TIA!

I've only made the turkey once (actually, it was 2 turkey breasts), and I did use a brine.  They were really good.  I was glad I brined them in the refrigerator in my garage, though, because I used fresh sage in the brine and the smell was really strong in the fridge and would've gotten into other things if there was anything else in the fridge.

I didn't use an airtight container....just a bucket....and I think I put aluminum foil over it.

ive never done it, but they sell bring bags!

yay! i tried it last year and it totally made a difference!

We've never done it but are planning on doing it this year. I just bought brine from Williams Sonoma that sounded really good. I skipped buying the bags though. My dad has brinned something before and used a certain bag so he's getting one of those again.

My uncle always deep fries it and I've never cooked a turkey so I don't know anything about it personally, but all the Thanksgiving specials on the food network the past couple of days have been talking about brining. If the pros do it, it's probably a good idea I think haha

thx for the input ladies...my cousin and i are going to tackle the brining this year....

Meg - will definitely check out the WS brine...and we got the oven bags from Reynolds

jbl04d - that's true...if the pros are doing it, it must be a good thing...

Laura - i think we're gonna do the bucket/foil cover thing :P

I did a brine the last 2years and it turned out great!  They sell brine bags and cheese clothes at bed bath and beyond that are pretty reasonable.  I got my brine mixture of of Martha Stewarts web-site, a couple things I couldn't find but I just improvised, sill tuened out good.  It gives you the directions from start to finish.

I am a believer in brining!  I use alton brown's brine recipe and brine it in a trashcan with a lid (to keep my animals out of it!).  My family loves it!  We just had thanksgiving with my side of the family this weekend, and we had the best turkey we've ever had.  Along with brining my turkey as I've done in the past, we also did a new technique called spatchcocking.  Sounds strange, but it was fantastic.  All you have to do is remove the backbone of the turkey and lay it out flat.  The turkey gets done in about an hour and a half (we had a 17 lb turkey). Martha Stewart featured it in her last issue of Living.  I will be doing this again for my Christmas turkey!