Good Eats Roast Turkey

By Shaylie

Ingredients

• For the brine:
• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
• For the aromatics:
• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Butter

Details

Servings 10

Preparation

Step 1

Combine all brine ingredients in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature

24 to 48 hours prior to cooking add the brine to a cooler lined with a plastic bad. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and set in cool area. Add ice to cooler if needed to keep the bird cool. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with butter.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

* I like to cover the bird with a poultry/chicken rub for extra flavor but is not necessary.