Good Eats Roast Turkey

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by Alton Brown

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger

1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 leaves sage

Canola oil

 

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

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Turkey Brine

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 1 gallon vegetable broth
1 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried savory
1 gallon ice water
  
In a large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary, sage, thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature. 

When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Stir in the ice water. 

Wash and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight. 

Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine. 

Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.

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Maple Brine

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4 quarts water
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup sea salt
8-10 whole cloves garlic, peeled
6-8 whole bay leaves
3 large sprigs of thyme
2 teaspoons whole peppercorns

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, dissolving sugar and maple syrup. Remove from heat and allow brine to cool completely before using.

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Savory Turkey Brine

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2 quarts vegetable stock
1/2 cup salt (3/4 cup Kosher or coarse salt)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 quarts cold water

In a large pot combine vegetable stock, salt and herbs over a medium heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the salt is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cold water. Place turkey in a large plastic container. Pour brine over top, cover and refrigerate. Brine for 1 hour per pound.
Thoroughly rinse all the brine from the turkey before cooking. Otherwise there will be a salty flavor to the turkey.

Recipe by Derrick Riches at About.com

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Apple Turkey Brine

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2 qts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar
3/4 cup Morton's Kosher Salt
3 quarts cold water
3 oranges quartered
4 ounces fresh ginger,thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

12 to 14 pound turkey

Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, let mixture come to room temperature, then refrigerate to 40°F.

In a large non-reactive container, combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients. When adding the oranges, squeeze each piece to release the juice into the container, then drop in the peel.


Submerge turkey completely and keep refrigerated for 24 hours.

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Basic Brine

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1 gallon cold water
1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

Mix in a non-reactive container until dissolved. Makes 1 gallon of brine. Substitute 3/4 cup Morton Kosher Salt or 1/2 cup table salt for Diamond Crystal.

Basic brine good for chicken and turkey.

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