Buttermilk Brine

Well, it’s one of America’s favorite spice blends. A heady concoction of at least 16 different herbs and spices, that brings a unique flavor to any dish it’s used with.

Old Bay Seasoning brings such character and depth of flavor to anything it touches. While it’s usually added to seafood dishes or as a meat rub, when used with this brine, it adds an incredible dimension of flavor.

Trust me… you’re going to love it!

Buttermilk is basically fermented milk. Traditionally, buttermilk was always the liquid leftover from after milk was churned to make butter.

Thinner than milk and without the fat, yet retaining that delicious sweetness, the cultures in buttermilk means it stays good for longer than milk. 

Nowadays, instead of being a by-product of the milk-churning butter-making process, buttermilk is purposely made. Modern dairies add cultures to fresh pasteurized milk to create buttermilk.

For another buttermilk recipe, check out this tasty buttermilk scones recipe.

Buttermilk marinated turkey is wonderfully tender and incredibly delicious! Whether it’s a Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas turkey, you want it to be special. Well, brining your turkey in buttermilk is the way to go.

When you brine turkey, you help the whole turkey retain its juices – from the turkey legs and the turkey breast to the wings and every other part.

Turkey is a naturally lean meat, which means it can easily end up very dry and tasteless during the roasting process, especially if you don’t get the preparation and cooking time correct. 

Brining helps to keep everything succulent and juicy. Even if you go a little over the correct cooking time, a buttermilk brined turkey tends to come out perfectly juicy and tender.

This is, in large part, down to the saltiness, acidity and the sweetness of the buttermilk mixture. The acid in the buttermilk ‘denatures’ and ‘unravels’ the protein fibres in the meat. When they reconnect, they trap moisture within the meat. 

Meanwhile, the salt in the brine gets into the cells of the meat through osmosis, while the sweetness of the buttermilk keeps the balance of flavor.  

Any type of standard supermarket turkey or a normal butcher’s turkey should be fine. 

There’s one very important thing to bear in mind when brining a turkey. Any turkey that is labelled ‘kosher’ or has been pre-flavored should not be brined. This is because your turkey will end up far too salty. 

This brine, aside from keeping the inside of your turkey wonderfully tender, will add a lot of seasoning. Therefore, it’s vital not to add a brine seasoning to a turkey that has already been salted.

You can also brine a frozen turkey in buttermilk. Just place the turkey in the buttermilk mixture and defrost it and brine it at the same time. Whether it’s partially or fully frozen, it still works.

For a whole turkey, you need at least 12 hours and anywhere up to 48 hours. Bringing turkey breast could be anything from 12 to 24 hours.

Yes, it’s too long to brine a turkey for three days. You don’t need to brine a turkey for any longer than 48 hours.

to brine turkey. One other thing to note is that buttermilk lasts longer than milk and is easier to keep fresh, which makes it ideal for brining.

When you brine a turkey, in buttermilk or any other type of brine, the pan juices in the roasting pan end up very salty. 

So, if you’re planning on using the roasting pan drippings to make gravy after roasting a buttermilk brined turkey, be sure to have a taste first, otherwise you’ll end up with a gravy that is far too salty.