CLASSIC BRINED AND ROASTED TURKEY
Brined to retain moisture, then basted with butter and wine while roasting, this turkey, the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, is golden and juicy. The bird is brined for 24 hours, so leave plenty of time for this recipe. If you don't brine yours, skip steps one and two.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Meat & Poultry Turkey Recipes
Yield Serves 12 to 14
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Put salt, sugar, onions, leeks, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and 10 cups water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring until salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat; let brine cool completely.
- Add turkey, breast first, to the brine. Cover; refrigerate 24 hours. Remove from brine; pat dry with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Stir together melted butter and wine in a medium bowl. Fold a very large piece of cheesecloth into quarters so that it is large enough to cover breast and halfway down sides of turkey. Immerse cloth in butter mixture; let soak.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack set in a roasting pan. Fold wing tips under turkey. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper inside turkey. Loosely fill body and neck cavities with stuffing. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Fold neck flap under; secure with toothpicks. Rub turkey all over with softened butter; season with salt and pepper.
- Remove cheesecloth from butter mixture, squeezing gently into bowl. Reserve butter mixture for brushing. Lay cheesecloth over turkey. Place turkey, legs first, in oven. Roast 30 minutes. Brush cheesecloth and exposed turkey with butter mixture. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Roast, brushing every 30 minutes, 2 1/2 hours more; cover with foil if browning too quickly. If making gravy, add giblets and neck to pan 1 1/2 hours after reducing temperature; roast 30 minutes, and reserve.
- Discard cheesecloth; rotate pan. Baste turkey with pan juices. Roast, rotating pan halfway through, until skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees and stuffing reaches 165 degrees, about 1 hour. Transfer to a platter. Set pan with drippings aside for gravy. Let turkey stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Garnish, if desired.
BRINED AND ROASTED TURKEY
Steps:
- Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
- Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.
- For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
- Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
- Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.
- In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
- To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.
THE BEST TURKEY BRINE
This is our go-to brine for turkey. It's simple, flavorful and most importantly leaves you with a succulent, juicy, perfectly-seasoned bird. It's also perfect for chicken, pork chops, Cornish game hens - you name it. While we like the combination of thyme and sage, you can also use other hearty herbs such as rosemary, oregano or marjoram.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories condiment
Time 10m
Yield 12 to 14 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Combine 1/2 cup salt, the sugar and 1 quart water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until the salt and sugar are fully dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the peppercorns, thyme, sage and lemon strips. Let steep and cool to room temperature.
- Pour the brine into a large stockpot or bucket and add 3 quarts cold water. Remove the neck and giblets (reserve for gravy) from the turkey and put it into the brine, pushing it down to cover. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the brine; rinse and pat dry. Cook according to your favorite method.
BRINED, HERB ROASTED TURKEY
Provided by Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time P1DT3h40m
Yield 6 to 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 32
Steps:
- For the Brine:
- To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a nonreactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, food grade plastic storage bag). Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary. Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.
- Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
- Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels both inside and out. Place turkey, breast side up, in a large, heavy roasting pan. Rub breast side with orange segments and rub on all sides with the butter, stuffing some underneath the skin. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, remaining orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string. Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
- Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- For the turkey broth:
- Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
- For the pan gravy:
- Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat.
- Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
- Slice and serve guests with desired sides.
GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY
This holiday season, serve Alton Brown's most-popular recipe: a brined and roasted turkey from Good Eats on Food Network.
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time 9h45m
Yield 10 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
- The night before or early on the day you'd like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. 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 oil.
- Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
BUTTERMILK-BRINED ROAST TURKEY
With only two ingredients - buttermilk and salt - this might be the least complicated turkey brine recipe ever. The trickiest step will be pulling out your kitchen scale to weigh out the salt, but it's worth doing if you can to ensure a properly seasoned turkey. The acid in the buttermilk leads to moist, tender meat throughout, while the sugars result in a gorgeous golden-brown skin. This turkey is spatchcocked, which might sound like a lot, but it's just another way to simplify the recipe: By removing the backbone before brining, you'll be able to fit the turkey, placed in a 2-gallon plastic resealable bag, in the fridge more easily. And you'll get a lot more of that beautiful lacquered skin in about half the cooking time. It's a total win-win situation. Just make sure you don't skimp on the brining time; 48 hours is essential to make sure the bird gets seasoned through and through. (Watch the video of Samin Nosrat preparing the turkey here.)
Provided by Samin Nosrat
Categories poultry, roasts, main course
Time P2DT2h
Yield 10 to 14 servings
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Two to three days before you plan to cook, spatchcock the turkey: Put the turkey on a stable cutting board, breast-side down, and use heavy-duty kitchen shears to snip along both sides of the backbone to release it. You can start from the tail or neck end, whichever you prefer; just keep the blades of the scissors as close to the spine as possible. It helps to work incrementally, snipping a little on one side, then a little on the other, rather than completing one side entirely and then doing the second side without the advantage of the opposing pressure.
- After removing the backbone, remove wingtips, neck and giblets, setting them all aside for stock and gravy.
- Turn turkey over so breast faces up. Splay out its legs and press hard on breastbone until you hear the cartilage pop and the bird lies completely flat.
- Place a 2-gallon resealable bag in a large bowl, stock pot or sink. Pour buttermilk and salt in bag and stir to dissolve salt. Place turkey in bag and seal carefully, expelling out air. Double-bag the turkey as needed to prevent leakage, then squish the inner bag to distribute buttermilk all around the turkey. Place it on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for 48 hours. Turn the bag every 12 hours so that every part of the turkey gets marinated.
- Three hours before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive, discarding buttermilk. Set the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet and bring it to room temperature.
- Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Transfer turkey, breast-side up, to another rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper. Tuck thighs inward.
- Place baking sheet on the prepared oven rack and roast the turkey, occasionally rotating the pan 180 degrees, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast registers 150 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees, about 80 to 100 minutes, depending on size. (You may want to tent the breast or other hot spots with aluminum foil, if darkening too quickly.)
- Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 20 minutes before carving.
SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY
For all the attention we lavish on Thanksgiving turkeys, the truth is more work does not necessarily yield a better bird. That's right: You can skip brining, stuffing, trussing and basting. Instead of a messy wet brine, use a dry rub (well, technically a dry brine) - a salt and pepper massage that locks in moisture and seasons the flesh. No stuffing or trussing allows the bird to cook more quickly, with the white and dark meat finishing closer to the same time. And if you oil but don't baste your turkey, you'll get crisp skin without constantly opening the oven.
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories dinner, main course
Time 3h30m
Yield 10 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Remove any giblets from the cavity and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).
- Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).
- When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
PERFECT ROAST TURKEY
Use lemon, garlic and thyme to flavor Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Turkey recipe from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, great for the holidays or just dinner.
Provided by Ina Garten
Categories main-dish
Time 3h20m
Yield 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
- Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
- Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
- Slice the turkey and serve.
BEST BRINED ROAST TURKEY
Our family's favorite way to do turkey! We have been making our Thanksgiving turkey with this recipe for years and it is always moist and delicious! The brine works well for chicken or pork too (cut the brine recipe in half). Make sure to use a good meat thermometer and do not over cook! While you still see recommendations to cook poultry to an internal thigh temperature of 180° to 185°, the USDA standards say 160° to 165° is safe. Preparation time does not include brine time.
Provided by Cat S.
Categories Poultry
Time 2h
Yield 12-16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Brining: Remove giblet bag from turkey, along with any extra internal fat and pin feathers. Rinse well under cold tap water.
- Combine sugar, salt and 1 gallon of water in a large bowl; stir until sugar and salt dissolve.
- Add bay leaves, thyme, garlic, allspice berries and juniper berries.
- Double-bag two heavy-duty, unscented trash bags (do not use bags made of recycled materials) and put them in an ice chest that is large enough to hold the turkey.
- Place turkey in bags, pour in brine and remaining 1 1/2 gallons water; there should be enough liquid to completely cover the bird.
- Press out air in bags; tightly close each bag separately. Keep turkey cold with bags of ice, which will also help keep it submerged. Let brine for 12-24 hours.
- Alternate method: Place turkey and brine in a pan large enough for bird to be completely submerged. Weight it down with a plate and cans to keep it submerged in brine. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
- Air-dry: After brining, rinse the turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey in a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, 12 to 24 hours. Turn the bird over halfway through drying time.
- Roasting (Convection): Preheat convection oven to 375°.
- Spread 2 tablespoons softened butter over skin; sprinkle skin and cavity with 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper.
- Tuck wing tips under and tie legs together. Place bird breast-up, in a V- shaped roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Cover breast and top of thighs tightly with foil.
- Roast for 45 minutes. Remove foil and baste with 1/2 cup turkey stock. Leave foil off.
- Return turkey to oven. Baste with pan drippings every 20 minutes, adding more stock and butter as necessary, until internal thigh temperature reaches 165°. A 12-16-pound bird will cook in about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
- Let turkey rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
- Roasting (Conventional Oven): Preheat oven to 400°.
- Spread 2 tablespoons softened butter over skin; sprinkle skin and cavity with 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper.
- Tuck wing tips under, loosely truss legs and place turkey on a V-shaped rack in a roasting pan. Tent breast with foil.
- Put turkey in oven. To assure that the bird cooks evenly, rotate roasting pan 180° every 30 minutes while turkey is roasting. Roast for about 1 hour, remove foil and baste turkey with 1/2 cup stock.
- Return to oven and roast, basting with pan drippings every 20 minutes, adding more stock and butter as necessary. Start checking internal temperature after about 1 hour of roasting time. If legs begin to get too brown, cover loosely with foil. Roast turkey until internal thigh temperature reaches 165°. Total roasting time should be about 2 to 2 3/4 hours.
- Let bird rest for at least 20-30 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 620.9, Fat 28.6, SaturatedFat 8.7, Cholesterol 230.8, Sodium 14404.1, Carbohydrate 18.5, Fiber 0.2, Sugar 16.7, Protein 68.2
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