Roast Turkey
Tips from Alton Brown's fantastic show. Brining the bird is the key to moist meat. Made this again this year, only brined in just water instead of stock to save some dough. Again, the bird turned out perfectly. Growing up, I hated white meat because it was always dry and grinding on your teeth, now I love white meat.
Tips from Alton Brown's fantastic show. Brining the bird is the key to moist meat. Made this again this year, only brined in just water instead of stock to save some dough. Again, the bird turned out perfectly. Growing up, I hated white meat because it was always dry and grinding on your teeth, now I love white meat.
- Carbohydrate 12.6073092988114 g
- Cholesterol 393.113387333333 mg
- Fat 26.7759377181577 g
- Fiber 0.971789891852862 g
- Protein 131.868219921644 g
- Saturated Fat 6.55384258745535 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1309g)
- Sodium 5283.38356820113 mg
- Sugar 11.6355194069585 g
- Trans Fat 3.27777948564077 g
- Calories 851 calories
Step-by-step
2. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
3. Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5 gallon bucket.
4. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours.
5. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
6. A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees.
7. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
8. Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water.
9. Discard brine.
10. Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels.
11. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage.
12. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.
13. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500F for 30 minutes.
14. 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.
15. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F.
16. A 14-16 pound bird should require a total of 2-2 1/2 hours of roasting.
17. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
I've been cooking this turkey for years, and it's always a hit. The key to juicy, flavorful turkey is to brine it for at least 6 hours. I usually brine my turkey overnight, but you can get away with brining it for as little as 4 hours.
Once the turkey is brined, it's time to roast it. I like to roast my turkey at a high temperature (500 degrees F) for the first 30 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy. Then, I reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and roast the turkey for the remaining time, or until the internal temperature reaches 161 degrees F.
