Author Notes

This reciipe works for a 13 to 15 pound turkey.

For accessories, you'll need a large stockpot - large enough for over a gallon of liquid and a large, 5-gallon painter's-type bucket. They can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes or a good hardware store. Try to get one with a lid. If you can't find a lid, pull out that roll of plastic food wrap !

Ingredients

2  gallons  water
16 ounces kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
24 ounces maple syrup
24 ounces honey
12 bay leaves
1/2 ounce ground cloves
1/2 ounce ginger
4 ounces ground peppercorns
2 oranges quartered
2 lemons quartered
6 thyme sprigs
4 rosemary sprigs

Instructions

Pour one gallon of water into the stockpot and add the cloves, ginger, peppercorns, bay leaves, salt and brown sugar and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, then add the honey and maple syrup and stir the pot;.

Turn off the heat and let cool. After cooling, pour the mixture into the large bucket, then add the quartered Oranges and Lemons, the sprigs of Thyme and Rosemary, then add the other gallon of water.

Give the pot another stir, then add the turkey (butt first).

Then, either put the lid on the bucket or close off the top by wrapping the plastic wrap around it. Then, refrigerate or, if there's no room in the refrigerator, assuming that it's cool enough outside, leave the bird to brine on your patio. Brine the bird anywhere from 6 to 24 hours.

You could season the curd with salt and pepper and cook now and you will get a moist bird. 

Optional:
After brining, if you want even more flavor,  inject the bird with one of Cheri's injectable marinade recipes (see Related Recipes section below).

After brining, you are ready to cook your bird -- be it roasted , smoked, or fried, it should be absolutely delicious!