TenMile
Well-Known Member
Yours truly was responsible for cooking the Thanksgiving turkey this weekend. Turned out so well that I thought I'd share. The turkey ends up being very moist, well browned with an excellent base for gravy. This recipe requires that you start the process 24 hours prior to your meal.
Ingredients:
1 x fresh turkey (not frozen) -- remove innards
1 x cup coarse salt
1 x litre of organic chicken or vegetable broth
1 x tablespoon thyme
3 x sprigs fresh rosemarie
1 x tablespoon sage
1 x large 5 gallon foodsafe bucket or cooler
3 x gallons icewater
5 x small apples from a local tree
In a large saucepan, mix the salt, broth, and spices and bring to a boil to create your brine mix.
Let the brine cool to room temperature (adding icewater speeds this up). Add the brine mix to either your large bucket or cooler (I used a cooler for this step as they are foodsafe and have a lid for carrying). Place your turkey into the brine mixture, and fill the cooler until the turkey is completely covered and the cavity is full. Place the cooler in your fridge overnight uncovered a minimum of 8-12 hours (water stays cold -- don't want the turkey to cook or bacteria to grow).
The next day, remove the turkey from the brine, let it drain and place it into your roasting pan. I added about 10 scoops of brine to the bottom of the roasting pan. Lightly cover your turkey with another mix of thyme/rosemarie/sage and a bit of salt (1 tablespoon each). Loosely stuff sliced apples inside the turkey (you don't want to pack them tight or turkey may not fully cook) -- the apples are for flavour, suppose you can eat them but we didn't.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, and place turkey UNCOVERED into oven for 30 minutes. This process browns the turkey at the beginning and helps keep it moist (browning at the end dries it out). After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees, cover roasting pan with lid and allow your turkey to cook for approximately 30-40 minutes per pound (we had a 16lb bird that took 8 hours to cook). Check internal temperature (at the breast) with a thermometer about 4-5 hours in -- don't overcook or it dries out the meat. When the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165F, remove it from the oven and let it stand covered for 30-40 mins (internal temperature will continue to increase). Standard disclaimer about undercooking your turkey and bacteria...
Remove from roasting pan, remove apple stuffing, make gravy from drippings -- carve and enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 x fresh turkey (not frozen) -- remove innards
1 x cup coarse salt
1 x litre of organic chicken or vegetable broth
1 x tablespoon thyme
3 x sprigs fresh rosemarie
1 x tablespoon sage
1 x large 5 gallon foodsafe bucket or cooler
3 x gallons icewater
5 x small apples from a local tree
In a large saucepan, mix the salt, broth, and spices and bring to a boil to create your brine mix.
Let the brine cool to room temperature (adding icewater speeds this up). Add the brine mix to either your large bucket or cooler (I used a cooler for this step as they are foodsafe and have a lid for carrying). Place your turkey into the brine mixture, and fill the cooler until the turkey is completely covered and the cavity is full. Place the cooler in your fridge overnight uncovered a minimum of 8-12 hours (water stays cold -- don't want the turkey to cook or bacteria to grow).
The next day, remove the turkey from the brine, let it drain and place it into your roasting pan. I added about 10 scoops of brine to the bottom of the roasting pan. Lightly cover your turkey with another mix of thyme/rosemarie/sage and a bit of salt (1 tablespoon each). Loosely stuff sliced apples inside the turkey (you don't want to pack them tight or turkey may not fully cook) -- the apples are for flavour, suppose you can eat them but we didn't.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, and place turkey UNCOVERED into oven for 30 minutes. This process browns the turkey at the beginning and helps keep it moist (browning at the end dries it out). After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees, cover roasting pan with lid and allow your turkey to cook for approximately 30-40 minutes per pound (we had a 16lb bird that took 8 hours to cook). Check internal temperature (at the breast) with a thermometer about 4-5 hours in -- don't overcook or it dries out the meat. When the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165F, remove it from the oven and let it stand covered for 30-40 mins (internal temperature will continue to increase). Standard disclaimer about undercooking your turkey and bacteria...
Remove from roasting pan, remove apple stuffing, make gravy from drippings -- carve and enjoy.
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