I was very surprised that I had left this opening in the trail.
I had to double check when I got home. Yes, I did miss a spot. Good
thing I had dropped a cache here just to be sure. Enjoy the newest
installment on this trail.
Ingredients
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
Directions
2 to 3 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.
Early on the day or the night before 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.
