Brining Recipe & Cooking Instructions (Alton Brown)

By ctaubenheim

Brining Time: 8 - 16 hours + 10 minutes prep time

Ingredients

• FOR THE AROMATICS:
• Well insulated cooler
• clean plastic trash bag
• 1 thawed turkey, ideally 14-16 lbs.
• 1 cup kosher salt (yes, it be kosher)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice berries
• 1 1/2 tsp candied ginger, chopped
• 1 gallon heavily iced water
• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 sage leaves
• canola oil

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare the brine the morning before the day you plan to roast the bird. It needs to soak in the brine for 8-16 hours. Bring the vegetable stock to a boil and stir in the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and ginger until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Remove the brine from the heat and cool to room temperature (place the stock pot in an ice bath if you're in a hurry). Once the brine is cool, combine the brine and ice water in a cooler lined with a clean garbage bag. Place the thawed turkey (giblets removed) breast side down in the brine. The bird must be fully submerged. Tie up the top of the garbage bag and place a refrigerator thermometer in the cooler, along with some extra ice, if needed. The temperature inside the cooler must stay below 38 degrees for the entire time it's in the brine. Add ice as necessary between the walls of the cooler and the garbage bag. A good, well-insulated cooler should be more than capable of maintaining a sub-38 degree temperature. (Alternatively, if you have a large enough refrigerator, you can put the bird and the brine in a clean 5 gallon bucket and then stick the bucket in the fridge). After the 8-16 hours are up, remove the bird, discard the brine, rinse with cold water, and pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees - YES 500. Combine all the aromatics, except for the rosemary, sage, and canola oil, in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Insert the steeped aromatics into the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Cot the bird liberally with canola oil. Place the bird on a roasting rack. If you're so inclined, separate the turkey's skin from the breast meat at the edge of the cavity opening just enough to where you can stick your hand in there. Take some chilled pats of butter and whole sage leaves and slide them in between the skin and the meat. Roast the turkey at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Place a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, and reduce the cooking temperature to 350. Remove the turkey from the oven when the thermometer reaches 160 degrees. Cover loosely with foil for 15 minutes before carving.