I've heard of using a picking bucket, but real estate in my frig is at a premium around thanksgiving, plus I don't have a pickle bucket. I could use an ice chest, but would need to put a lot of ice in there to keep it cold, right? And wouldn't that dilute the brine?

If I'm brining chicken sometime's I'll use a big ziploc or oven bag but I don't think I've seem them enough for a whole bird.

Thanks for any advice you've got.

Either figure the ice in your brine concentration, or use frozen water bottles to keep things cold.

Get one of the really big brine bags. Fill it with turkey and brine. Close it up then put it in an ice chest and put ice on top of it.

I use the large plastic oven bags. I put the turkey in it and then put it in a cooler with ice.

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Either figure the ice in your brine concentration

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This is what I do. Then I use a 5 gallon Home Depot orange bucket with a sealable lid. Good insurance.

Acemart has some great containers

Little different scenario, but I've used a cooler and frozen water bottles to 'wet' cure a ham last year. It worked, and that ham spent significantly longer in the brine than your turkey will. I'd recommend using bigger bottles for this, like a 2 liter that's had the outside rinsed in bleachwater. Only problem was I got lazy and careless on my second ham last year, didn't check it one night, rushed out the next morning for a test, and didn't check it until late the following night, it was already maybe developing the hint of a smell, and I just didn't trust it. This year, space isn't at a premium, and I'm going to do it in a food grade bucket in my fridge, because it's less effort for the length of time this will take to cure.

Williams Sonoma Turkey Brining Bag




These work very well!

One of those cheapy white styrofoam coolers with red plastic handles that you buy at the grocery store. Put a clean trashbag inside it and then put your stuff inside it. Then put the whole shebang in your bathtub incase of leaks.

5 gallon jobsite cooler. The tall cylinder ones with the screw top lid

Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04

I use the Ziploc big bags and then put in a cooler full of ice.

www.ziploc.com/Products/Pages/BigBags.aspx

My question has always been what type of turkey do you brine? Everything I've read is that you avoid the pre-basted turkeys as they've already been injected with a salt solution. Does everyone use a fresh, natural turkey?

Yes I get fresh turkeys from the butcher. sometimes after Thanksgiving you will find them on sale for as little as 25 cents per pound. Good time to stock up if you like turkey.

Thanks! I plan on smoking a whole turkey at Christmas. Should probably do a dry run before long since I've never done it before. I've done a turkey breast, but never a whole.