We love this cactus cooler turkey brine at our house! It tenderizes the turkey and gives it a subtle sweetness and citrus notes that really compliment the turkey’s flavor.
My husband grew up in California as a child and for a long time cactus cooler soda was only available in California. His dad owned a wrecking yard and the yard had a soda machine in the lobby (it is still there today in fact). Him and his siblings would get cactus cooler from the machine and it was a staple of his childhood. After they moved they would stock up on it whenever they visited California.
Fast forward 30+ years and it is still a favorite of my husband and now our kids. Last year when we were on a vacation we bought some steaks to grill up at the condo we were staying in and we decided to marinate the steaks in cactus cooler to see what happened. To our surprise, the steaks turned out amazing! So we decided we needed to try it with a turkey.
We made this cactus cooler turkey brine for Thanksgiving and then seasoned our turkey with my smoked turkey compound butter . The result was so delicious!
The pictures on this post are not the best because on Thanksgiving I take off my food blogger hat and I’m all in as a chef in the kitchen and spending the day with my family. The last thing I am worried about is how the pictures turn out, so these are just screen shots from the day but google says I have to have pictures for this post so here you go.
I promise this brine does not disappoint!
What you need to make this cactus cooker turkey brine:
Brines a 15-20 pound bird
- 1 gallon water
- 2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cans cactus cooler soda – orange and/or pineapple soda will also work
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 oranges
- 2 tablespoons paprika – If smoking turkey, use smoked paprika)
- 1 tablespoon ground sage
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients in a large container or brine bag.
- Add thawed turkey to container with the brine and let it sit in a refrigerated place overnight or for desired amount of time.
- Remove from brine, pat dry and season with desired compound butter or seasonings.
Cactus Cooler Turkey Brine
Ingredients
- Brines a 15-20 pound bird
- 1 gallon water
- 2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cans cactus cooler soda – orange and/or pineapple soda will also work
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 oranges
- 2 tablespoons paprika – If smoking turkey use smoked paparika)
- 1 tablespoon ground sage
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients in a large container or brine bag.
- Add thawed turkey to container with the brine and let it sit in a refrigerated place overnight or for desired amount of time.
- Remove from brine, pat dry and season with desired compound butter or seasonings.