Thanksgiving Turkey

We get the whole extended family and friends over for Thanksgiving annually and it is a special treat that we love hosting. It requires us to do this special thanksgiving turkey recipe that everyone raves and loves. It takes an extra day to Brine the turkey but it is worth it as it always make the turkey juicy and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 whole 15 to 20lb turkey. We count on 1 & 1/2 lbs of turkey per person. (We have been know to prepare 2  simultaneously.

Brine Solution:

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable (or chicken) stock or broth

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1 & 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice dried berries

1 Gallon heavily iced water

Aromatics (for inside the turkey):

1 red apple sliced

1/2 onion sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

9 leaves sage

Canola or olive oil

3 cups of chicken stock or broth

Here's what I do:

1) THAW TURKEY: 3 to 4 days before roasting, thaw the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F. 

2) BRINE: 12-24 hrs before cooking turkey, combine the vegetable/chicken stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and allspice berries in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature.

3) Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in a 5-gallon bucket. Add the brine and add enough water and ice to cover fully immersed turkey. Set in a cool area and keep adding ice as needed for 12-24 hours.

4) PREPARE TURKEY: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. Place the turkey in a roasting rack and pat dry with paper towels. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and 1 cup of water in the microwave safe disk and microwave high for 5 minutes.

5) Drain and add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola or olive oil. Add 3 cups of chicken stock or broth to the bottom of the pan.

6) ROAST TURKEY: Place the turkey in the 500 degree heated oven on the lowest level for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover the breast side with tin foil and insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm to 161 degrees F. This should take 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting a 14lb turkey, longer depending upon the heavier weighted turkey. Remove from oven when done and let turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.