I’ve had several people ask for this, so here goes. Now, this is based on another recipe I found but I only use the salt, sugar and spices portion of it since we deep fry our bird in 100% peanut oil. I leave out the aromatic stuff since we are after more of a true salt brine. Scale this up for a bird bigger, ours is only 12lbs.

• 2 TSP Ground Cinnamon
• 2 TSP Ground Mustard Seed
• 2 TSP Whole Black Peppercorn
• 2 Cups Redmond Mineral Salt
• 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
• 6 Quarts of Water

In a stock pot, place cinnamon, mustard seed and peppercorns and toast over a low heat until you can smell them in the room (about 5 minutes). Then add half of the water, salt and sugar. Raise heat and dissolve sugar and salt completely and let seasonings meld together. Then remove from heat and add other half of water. Let cool at least 4 hours, but overnight is better. Then, brine your bird for 24 hours!

If you are roasting your bird, you might want to add the more traditional aromatic ingredients like sage, rosemary, thyme, onion, garlic, carrot, lemon, etc. But for a deep fried bird which is tradition in our house, the above is the only way to go!