How to Cook Turkey - a Foolproof Recipe

Brining - the Simple Secret of a Moist and Delicious Turkey Roast

Nov 8, 2008 Janice Hally

Brining, or curing - though it sounds complicated - is in fact the simplest way to ensure a tender, moist and delicious roast turkey dinner for thanksgiving or Christmas.

Salt has always been used to “cure” or preserve meat, and our ancestors discovered that a wonderful side-effect is that it tenderizes the meat at the same time. Brining, which means marinating the meat in a salty and sweet liquid, brings the third advantage of adding extra moisture to potentially dry meat such as the breast of turkey.

This recipe guarantees a tender and moist roast turkey every time.

What you’ll need:

Turkey

• one fresh turkey, completely thawed, if frozen

Important: Don’t use pre-basted, self-basting or kosher turkeys, as these are likely to have been brined or salted already

Brine Mix

This quantity makes one gallon, if more is required to cover bird, adjust amounts proportionately.

• 3 quarts water
• 1 quart pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup regular salt or (1 cup Kosher salt)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• Crushed black peppercorns

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly until salt is completely dissolved.

Container

Depending on the size of your turkey, you can either keep the bird cool in your refrigerator while brining, or you can use a large cooler box with the turkey in a double layer of plastic bags and surrounded by ice or ice packs.

Refrigerator Method:

• One large bowl, basin, or pot large enough to immerse the bird completely

Tip: place the turkey in the container first, then pour over enough water to cover. Remove the turkey, drain it well, then measure the amount of water in the container. This will tell you exactly how much brine you will need to cover the turkey, and will save on spillage and waste.

Cooler Box Method:

• Cooler Box or large plastic tub
• Ziplock bag for a sweater or brining bag or food grade polythene bag large enough to take the turkey and brine
• a large strong plastic garbage bag
• ice or re-usable frozen blocks or ice packs

Place ziplock or brining bag inside large garbage bag, and then place in cooler box and pack ice or ice packs all around.

Method:

1. Place the turkey breast side down in the container or inside bag.
2. Pour brine over until turkey is covered
3. Leave in refrigerator or cooler box for 10 to 12 hours or overnight (or one hour per lb for a very large bird)
4. Rinse well,
5. Dry well by patting all over with kitchen paper roll

Roasting

1. Preheat oven to 500° Fahrenheit (250°C)
2. Roast breast-side down for 30 minutes.
3. Then without opening the oven door, reduce temperature to 350° Fahrenheit (175°C).

Calculate roasting times from this point

Roasting time should be ten minutes per 1lb in weight.

• A 14 to 16 pound bird should require another 2 1/2 hours of roasting.
• A 20 to 25 pound bird should require another 4 hours of roasting

1. Continue cooking for the calculated amount of time
2. Take the turkey and roasting pan out of the oven
3. Turn the oven back up to 400° Fahrenheit (200°C)
4. Add a couple of cups of water to the roasting pan and turn the turkey over so that it is breast side up
5. Brush the turkey with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and freshly ground black pepper
6. Put back in oven and continue roasting until the breast meat is exactly 165°Fahrenheit (73°C) and the thigh reads 170° Fahrenheit (76°C).
7. Baste frequently and check the temperature every 5-10 minutes.
8. The skin should turn golden brown and crispy.
9. Remove from oven and cover with foil.
10. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.
11. Enjoy your turkey with all the trimmings

And always remember the basics about buying, storing, and thawing your turkey, to avoid the risk of food poisoning!

The copyright of the article How to Cook Turkey - a Foolproof Recipe in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Janice Hally. Permission to republish How to Cook Turkey - a Foolproof Recipe in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Roast Turkey

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