Turkey Question

[scanne]

Have you ever put your turkey in a brine before roasting it? Any good recipes out there? I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and I'm looking for some great recipes.

Thanks!

 

[Pooh67_68]

Try searching here www.allrecipes.com

 

[pumba]

and remember we have a Recipe board too.......come on over and post it there and I am sure a zillion different ways of doing a turkey will be at your disposal

 

[oogieboogie]

This is Alton Brown's recipe that Food Network always airs every year:

Good Eats Roast Turkey
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Yield: 10 to 12 servings

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
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
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. 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 canola (or other neutral) oil.
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.

 

[Christine]

Brining makes for a very moist turkey. Most brine recipes are very basic with the salt-to-water ratio. I know that my co-worker did a brine that also had added herbs to the brine. He said you couldn't really taste the herbs so it was a waste. Just to an internet search on a brining mixture.

One thing you may need to be careful about is your gravy. The brine water is very salty and sometimes you can end up with a salty gravy.

 

[debster812]

oogieboogie beat me to it. We make AB's brined turkey EVERY year. It's one of three (yep THREE) turkeys on the table at my ILs Thanksgiving extravaganza.

It's never failed us.