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Brined Turkey |
Back to the Poultry Index |
Put the turkey in two large kitchen bin-liners (one inside the other) and place it in a large ice chest.
Pour the brine in, adding more water as necessary so the bird is fully immersed, then tie off the bags, squeezing out all the air as you do so.
Top the bags with as much ice as will fit in the ice chest, close the ice chest and let it sit for 24 hours, checking to see if it needs more ice after 10 hours or so.
At least an hour before you want to put it in the oven remove the bird from the ice chest. Drain it well, give it a quick rinse and a pat down with paper towels, then sit it on a rack to air for an hour.
Do not stuff the bird, as your stuffing will come out far too salty; you must bake the stuffing, now dressing, separately.
Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
Massage the bird with softened butter and sprinkle it with pepper (no salt needed). Tent the bird with foil and pop it in the pre-heated oven.
If the bird is under 16 lbs., roast it at 400F for 3–3.5 hours. If it's over, lower the heat to 350F and roast it for 4–4.5 hours.
Baste the bird with the stock every 30 minutes.
Use a quick-read thermometer in the thickest part where the thigh joins the body (but not touching bone) towards the end of the cooking time to check the bird has reached an internal temperature of 165F. Do not fudge this, even if it means the meal has to be late.
Remove the bird from the oven, place it on a carving board, still with its tent, and let it rest for a half hour while you make the gravy, serve the appetizers, have a drink with your guests, and finish up the roast potatoes and sprouts, or whatever else you're having (you made the pies yesterday, right?).
N.B., If you're going to fill up the oven with other things like roasting potatoes and dressing, you'll need to allow an extra hour, so work backwards from your mealtime and figure out when you need to start, and be sure to get up early enough!