Roast Salted Turkey

By Peggio

*WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We wanted to develop an alternative method to brining—a salted turkey recipe that would both season the meat and keep it moist . We discovered that salting the turkey and refrigerating it for 24 to 48 hours left most of the meat nicely seasoned but not as moist. Since the dryness was concentrated in the breast, we iced the breast before the turkey went into the oven, allowing us to remove the turkey when the dark meat was thoroughly cooked but the breast wasn’t overdone.

Ingredients

• 1 turkey (12 to 14 pounds), giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making
• 5 tablespoons kosher salt (see note above)
• 1 bag ice cubes (5 pound)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (combined with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, fresh ground black pepper and/or other herbs of choice, DO NOT ADD ANY additional salt)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Following illustration 1 below, carefully separate turkey skin from meat on breast, legs, thighs, and back; avoid breaking skin. Following illustrations 2 through 4, rub 2 tablespoons salt evenly inside cavity of turkey, 1 tablespoon salt under skin of each breast half, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt under skin of each leg. Wrap turkey tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 24 to 48 hours.

2. Remove turkey from refrigerator. Following illustrations 5 and 6, rinse off excess salt between meat and skin and in cavity, then pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Add ice to two 1-gallon zipper-lock bags until each is half full. Place bags in large roasting pan and lay turkey breast side down on top of ice. Add ice to two 1-quart zipper-lock bags until each is one-third full; place one bag ice in cavity of turkey and other bag in neck cavity. (Make sure that ice touches breast only, not thighs or legs; see photo below.) Keep turkey on ice for 1 hour (roasting pan should remain on counter).

3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and use paring knife or skewer to poke 20 to 30 holes in foil.

4. Remove turkey from ice and pat dry with paper towels (discard ice). Tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure and tuck wingtips behind back. Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Set prepared V-rack in roasting pan; set turkey breast side down on V-rack; brush back and legs with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roast for 45 minutes.

5. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven (close oven door to retain oven heat); reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Using clean potholders or kitchen towels, rotate turkey breast side up; continue to roast until thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer. Transfer turkey to carving board; let rest 30 minutes. Carve and serve.