From inthekitchenwithkath.com
(Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt’s method on Serious Eats)
Although Kenji says you can use a 12 – 14 pound turkey, I found that my 12.5 pound turkey barely fit in the pan. You may want to stick with a turkey that’s no more than 12 – 12.5 pounds.
Be sure to allow adequate time to defrost a frozen turkey in the refrigerator. I bought the turkey on Tuesday. On Saturday it was defrosted enough to proceed, but it was still just a bit icy inside. The rule of thumb is to allow 24 hours for every 4 – 5 pounds.
For best results, dry brine the turkey, but this step can be skipped. You can just butterfly the turkey and proceed to roast it.
Special equipment: Rimmed baking sheet, wire rack or broiler pan top
To dry brine the turkey:
2 tablespoons kosher salt (use just 1 tablespoon if using regular salt)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1. Butterfly the turkey. Remove the neck and the giblets from inside the turkey. Throw the live out; reserve the neck and other giblets for broth. I also cut off the tail part (known as the Pope’s nose) to use for the broth. Turn the turkey on its breast and, using poultry shears, cut out the backbone. Turn it over, splay the wings and the legs, and press down hard on the breastbone to flatten it. You’ll hear a couple of cracking sounds. Check out Kenji’s excellent slide show to see step by step directions.
2. Put the butterflied turkey on a rack in a large rimmed baking sheet. Stir the salt and the baking powder together and sprinkle it all over the turkey. Rub it in a bit. Place the turkey in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 12 – 24 hours. (You can brine it for up to 3 days, but if you brine it for more than 24 hours, cover it loosely with plastic wrap or cheesecloth to prevent moisture loss.)
Roasting the Turkey
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 (12 – 12.5) butterflied turkey (dry brined, if desired)
1 tablespoon oil
Kosher salt and black pepper (use only if you did not dry brine the turkey)
1. Put an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 450˚.
2. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Make the edge of the foil go up the sides if your turkey extends a bit over the edge of the pan.
3. Scatter the chopped vegetables in the pan.
4. Place the rack directly on the vegetables and put the turkey on the rack.
5. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. (If you did NOT brine the turkey, sprinkle it liberally with kosher salt and black pepper.) Drizzle the oil over the turkey and rub it all over.
6. Put the turkey in the oven with the legs towards the back of the oven and roast the turkey for about 80 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 165˚. (I checked mine at 85 minutes and the temperature was well beyond 165˚, so do check at 80 minutes.) If your oven roasts unevenly, you made want to rotate the pan halfway through the roasting.
7. Remove the turkey on the rack to a new baking sheet or cutting board. (I found this easiest to do using a sturdy fork to lift up a corner of the rack so I could get a grip on it with an oven mitt.
8.Carefully pick up the foil with the veggies and turkey broth in the pan. Fold the edges up and pour the broth through a strainer into a measuring cup. These drippings can be added to your gravy.
9. Cover the turkey loosely with foil and let it rest 20 – 30 minutes.
10. Carve the turkey and serve.
Turkey stock for gravy
(This can be made while the turkey is roasting, or the day before if you dry brine the bird.)
1 tablespoon oil
Turkey neck, giblets (except liver) turkey back, and tail
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large stalk of celery, roughly chopped
1½ quarts low sodium chicken broth
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet.
2. Add all of the turkey parts and cook, stirring occasionally until browned.
3. Add the vegetables and continue to cook until they have softened a bit and are beginning to brown.
4. Remove the turkey and vegetables to a 3 – 4 quart saucepan.
5. Pour a bit of the chicken broth into the skillet to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Pour this deglazed liquid into the saucepan.
6. Add the rest of the chicken broth to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes and then strain.
7. Use the broth to proceed with your favorite gravy recipe, or use Kenji’s recipe. (See my blog post for a link to Kenji's recipe.)