Joyce Farms' Heritage Black Turkey Brine

4 quarts low-sodium chicken, turkey or vegetable broth

1 cup kosher salt

½ cup light brown sugar

1-ounce fresh ginger, roughly chopped

1 head fresh garlic, cut in half, crosswise

½ bunch fresh parsley

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

10 pounds ice cubes

Heat the broth in a large stock pot, but do not boil. Add the salt and sugar; stirring to dissolve. Add to the pot and stir in the ginger, garlic, parsley, peppercorns and bay leaves. Remove the stockpot from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, add the ice cubes to the brine liquid; stirring to fully chill the brine.

When the brine is cold, transfer the brine to a container sufficiently large to comfortably hold both the brine and the turkey.

Remove the fully defrosted turkey from its package. Remove the giblet package from inside the turkey and reserve for later use. Submerge the turkey, breast side down in the brine and soak for 24 hours, turning once.

After 24 hours, wipe the turkey with paper towels, discard the brine and roast the turkey using your favorite method.

Joyce Farms notes: It is suggested to use an oven-bag or a brining bag to brine the turkey with less mess. If your refrigerator is not large enough to hold the brining turkey, you can put the turkey in its brining bag into a cooler, as long as you pack plenty of ice to keep the temperature of the turkey 38-degrees. while brining, for food safety.

Based on a recipe from: Joyce Farms, Winston-Salem North Carolina.