Orange Turkey Brine Recipes

Steps:

• Unwrap the turkey and remove the neck and giblets (reserve for gravy). Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry. Fill a large pot with 2 quarts water; add the orange zest, orange juice, 2 cups kosher salt, the sugar, black tea bags, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and bourbon. Bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes. Add 4 quarts cold water and let cool. Submerge the turkey in the brine, adding water to cover, if necessary. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove the turkey from the brine; rinse and pat dry. Mix the butter, honey, dijon mustard and spicy brown mustard until combined. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the butter, then rub the rest under the turkey skin on the breasts and legs. Rub 2 tablespoons of the reserved butter on the skin; chill and save the rest for your gravy. Let the turkey stand 30 minutes at room temperature before roasting.
• Put the oven rack in the lowest position; preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan, tucking the wing tips under. Tie the drumsticks together with twine. Roast until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 15 minutes per pound. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving. Whisk the reserved 2 tablespoons flavored butter into your gravy just before serving, if desired.

Steps:

• Combine the orange juice concentrate, orange slices, lemon slices, lime slices, thyme, pepper, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water in a large stockpot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Wash and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bucket in the refrigerator. Allow turkey to marinate 1 to 2 days before cooking. Remove the turkey carefully. Drain and discard the excess brine and pat dry.
• Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster.

Steps:

• 24 hours in advance, wash the turkey and remove the neck and giblets from the cavity and neck; reserve for broth.
• Mix together in a large pot 1 of the onions, 2 stalks celery, 2 carrots, 6 garlic cloves, peppercorns, 3 sprigs each of the rosemary, thyme and sage, 6 sprigs of the parsley, kosher salt and the cranberry juice; heat and stir until the salt dissolves and mixture begins to simmer; remove and let cool to room temperature.
• Place turkey in a very large pot or turkey bucket and pour brine over to submerge, adding cold water if needed; refrigerate 24 hours.
• Remove turkey from brine and rinse well; dry with paper towels. (It will be a lovely shade of pink but don't worry, it roasts a beautiful mahogany color).
• Season turkey cavity with salt and pepper.
• Place 2 stalks chopped celery, 2 chopped carrots, apple, orange, cranberries, and 4 garlic cloves inside cavity.
• Make a nest of 1 med chopped onion, 1 chopped celery stalk, 1 chopped carrot, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 3 sprigs each rosemary, thyme and sage, 6 sprigs parsley and 3 bay leaves in a large roasting pan.
• Place turkey on top of the vegetables and herbs.
• Put butter pats on the turkey or between the skin and breast meat.
• Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 45 minutes.
• While turkey roasts the first 45 minutes, prepare a broth by placing the giblets in 5 cups of water; simmer to create turkey stock adding more water as needed; remove giblets. (You can chop the giblets and remove the meat from the neck and add it to your stuffing or discard it if you don't wish to use it. You can skip the turkey stock step and use canned chicken stock if desired. You will need 5 cups).
• After the first 45 minutes of roast time, pour half of the stock over the turkey; roast another 45 minutes and pour the remaining stock over the turkey.
• Continue to roast your turkey; basting with the juices from the bottom of the pan until the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 165 to 175°F (74 to 80°C).
• Remove from the oven and tent with foil; allow to rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving.
• Strain and use the liquid in the bottom of your roasting pan to make gravy and to moisten your stuffing if desired.
• Simple gravy:.
• Discard herbs from the bottom of the roasting pan and measure out 1 cup of the vegetables and 3 cups of the juices; puree in a blender. To thicken, add more vegetables, to thin, add more pan juice. Pour through a mesh strainer to make a smooth gravy.

Steps:

• Combine 2 quarts of water in a 6 quart pot with salt and sugar, over high heat until dissolved.
• If wanted, add other seasonings at this time.
• Let come back to room temperature.
• You will need 2 gallon turkey size oven roasting bags.
• Place one roasting bag inside the other, roll down the edges of the bags to help them stay open.
• Put bags in a heavy roasting pan that will hold turkey.
• Place turkey breast side down, with legs facing you in the inner bag.
• Some help from another person at this point would be of help, they can hold the bags open for you as you pour the cooled brine into the cavity and over the turkey.
• Gather the inner bag as tightly as possible and secure with a twist tie.
• Secure outer bag with twist tie.
• Refrigerate in the roasting pan for 12-18 hours.
• Remove from bags, rinse very well, pat dry with paper towels.
• It's now ready for your favorite recipe.

Steps:

• The day before, remove the zest from the oranges in wide strips using a vegetable peeler, applying gentle pressure so that most of the white pith is left behind. Reserve the zest, juice the oranges and strain into a medium saucepan. Add the zest strips, salt, bourbon, sugar, tea bags, peppercorns, cloves, 4 bay leaves and 4 cups (1 quart) of water. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Pour the brine into a plastic container or pot large enough to hold the turkey, add 20 cups (5 quarts) of ice water and stir to combine. Submerge the turkey, adding more ice water if needed. Weigh it down with a plate to keep it submerged and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.
• The next day, drain, rinse and pat the turkey dry. Put on a large paper-towel-lined cutting board and let sit out at room temperature until it reaches room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Stuff the onion, garlic, herbs and remaining bay leaf inside the cavity. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and brush half of it all over the bird. Sprinkle the skin with black pepper. Tie the legs together with twine. Tuck the wings under the body and put the turkey breast-side-up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Tent the turkey with aluminum foil and roast 2 hours.
• After 2 hours remove foil from turkey and increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 1 hour more.
• Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes. Before serving, remove the vegetables and herbs and discard.
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Steps:

• Fill a large container or stock pot with 1.5 litres cold water and set aside. The pot should be large enough to hold your turkey plus 3 litres water. Pour another 1.5 litres cold water into a large pan over a low-medium heat. Tip in the salt, sugar, bay, thyme, peppercorns, orange zest and coriander seeds, and whisk until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Remove from the heat, then pour into the container or stock pot and leave to cool completely.
• Weigh the turkey and carefully add it to the container, ensuring it's completely submerged in the brine. Leave to brine for roughly 1 hr per 500g to ensure succulent meat and a flavourful bird, then drain well (discarding the aromatics), pat dry and roast.