Mr. G's Roast Turkey (Brined)
- 1 whole turkey
- 14 cup canola oil, as needed
- 2 gallons apple juice or 2 gallons apple cider
- 2 cups kosher salt
- 1 23 cups brown sugar, packed
- 14 whole cloves
- 4 teaspoons black pepper
- 4 teaspoons dried sage
- 4 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 large red apple, sliced
- 12 medium onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 large oranges, zest of or 1 large tangerine, zest of
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 leaves fresh sage
- THE DAY BEFORE:.
- Combine all brine ingredients in a non-reactive pot.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve solids, then remove from heat.
- Allow brine to cool completly.
- Rinse the turkey under cool running water, inside and out (remove giblets from body cavity).
- Pat the turdey dry with paper towels, then immerse turkey in cooled brine.
- Cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
- 24 hours is better.
- Be sure container fro brining turkey is non-reactive (enamel, glass, stainless steel, plastic ice chest, etc.
- ), I use a 5 gallon bucket lined with a plastic trash bag.
- The turkey should be completly submerged in liquid.
- Place a weight on top of bird if necessary to keep it submerged.
- if the climate is cool enough just set it in the garage overnight, otherwise use the fridge or an ice chest.
- THE DAY OF:.
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, orage zest and water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
- (or steep in boiling water).
- Remove turkey from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water.
- Discard brine.
- Place bird on a roasting rack, breast up, inside a wide low pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Add steeped aromatics along with rosemary sprigs and sage leaves to the body cavity.
- Tuck back the wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola oil.
- Roast on lowest lever of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes.
- (give the turkey a half turn after 15 minutes so it browns evenly).
- Remove from oven and cover breast with a double triangle of aluminum foil, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.
- Reduce overn temperature to 350 degrees F. and return turkey to oven.
- Cook turkey to 165 degrees F., remove from oven and let rest, loosely covered with foil, for 15 minutes before carving.
- And don't forget to check the temperature carry over.
- This recipe is enough to brine a 25 lb.
- turkey.
- A 13-16 lb.
- bird should cook in about 2 to 2-1/2 hours.
- A 22 lb.
- bird takes about 3 hours.
- You may want to use less salt in the brine for smaller bird (1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups).
turkey, canola oil, apple juice, kosher salt, brown sugar, cloves, black pepper, sage, thyme, red apple, onion, cinnamon, oranges, water, rosemary, sage
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/mr-gs-roast-turkey-brined-340778 (may not work)