The best way to get flavorful poultry, regardless of how it is prepared, is to start with a brine. Brining adds moisture and flavor to poultry and helps to keep it from drying out. A turkey can be a serious investment in time so you want to make sure it is perfect, especially if you're entertaining. Whether you grill, smoke, fry, or roast your turkey, you should use a brined bird. The following brining recipe has been passed down in my family from the south and it is an original. Try it on your next turkey, you will not regret it.
Supplies: To properly brine a turkey you need to start two night before you plan to cook. You will need at least 12 to 24 hours, a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need salt, water, sugar, seasonings, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers, I use my turkey deep fryer pot, or for a really big bird you can use a large clean cooler. Whatever container you choose the turkey needs to have enough room to be turned so it should be big.
Turkey:Now let's get to the turkey. The turkey should be cleaned out, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. A fresh turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work just as well.
Brine Ingredients:To make the brine, the first thing you have to do is find out how much brine you are going to need. If you have ever deep fried a turkey then you all ready know how, but I will explain for those who don't. Take your turkey and put it in the container that you plan to brine it in. Fill it up with water until it is submerged, make sure to get all the air bubbles out from with in the cavity of the turkey. Now take the turkey out and set it aside so you can dry it completely. The water that is left is the amount of brine you will need, so make sure you make enough to cover it.
First in a large stock pot add 2 1/2 gals of apple juice, 5 lbs of light brown sugar and one 3 lb box of Morton's course kosher salt. Bring this to just under a boil stirring to melt sugar and salt.
Now while that is coming to heat you will need12 oranges and quarter them, 8 heads of garlic broken down but live the bulbs whole, 4 oz's of fresh ginger sliced you don't have to skin the ginger just make sure you cut 1/16 thick slices.
Now when the mixture gets hot and everything has dissolved turn off the heat and let it cool a bit, add the oranges, garlic and ginger. Stir for a while. Get a clean bucket that can hold all your brine plus 2 gals of ice, A 5 gal bucket will do the trick, After about 1 hour pour your warm mixture into the bucket with the ice so it will cool off quicker.
Put your turkey into what ever you are going to brine it in once the brine has cooled completely, I put mine in my outside fridge, then pour the brine onto the turkey making sure to 
move it around and get all the air bubbles out on the main cavity of the bird. Now this has got to be kept cold (see note) between 35 and 41 deg for the full 12 to 24 hours, depending on the sise of your bird. Once you get the bird where you are going to keep it take some heavy dinner plates, two should be enough, and place them on top of the bird to weight it down under the brine.
NOTE:Keep it Cool!: Don't have room in the refrigerator? Try a cooler. A cooler big enough to hold your turkey makes a good container for your turkey and brine. The cooler will help keep it cool and allow you to brine your turkey without taking up precious refrigerator space. If the weather is cool, but not freezing you can put the whole thing outside until you need the turkey. If the weather is warm fill a a zip top bag with ice. Place this in the cooler with the turkey and brine and it will hold down the temperature during the brining process.
Rinsing:When you are ready to start cooking your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface inside and out. Safely discard the brine and cook your turkey as normal. You will notice the second you start to carve your turkey that the brining has helped it retain moisture. The first bite will sell you on brining turkeys forever, and after you've tried this you will want to brine all your poultry.
