Best Brine Cured Roast Turkey Recipes

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.

SUMAC DRY BRINED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Two days before cooking, combine the salt with the herbes de Provence, sumac and black pepper in a bowl. Rub all over the turkey, inside and out, and under the skin of the breast and legs where accessible, being careful to not tear the skin. Place on a sheet tray fitted with a rack or in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 days.
• Bring the turkey out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before cooking to temper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the butter, minced thyme and lemon zest in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey on a work surface. Spread the butter under the skin of the turkey around the legs and breasts, as evenly as possible. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemons, apple, shallots and sprigs of thyme. Tie the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place the onions, carrots, celery and garlic at the bottom of a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place the turkey on the rack. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg (do not touch bone) reads 155 to 160 degrees F, 12 to 14 minutes per pound, or 2 to 3 hours. Allow the turkey to rest for 90 minutes.
• For the gravy: Meanwhile, strain the drippings and juices from the roasting pan into a bowl. Discard the vegetables. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the raw flavor is cooked off, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cider vinegar and soy sauce for depth. Slowly whisk the strained drippings into the flour to avoid clumps. Simmer until the gravy just coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. (The gravy will not be a heavy thick gravy, but rather a light gravy.) Season to taste. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

BRINED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• In 16-quart or larger stockpot, bring 2 gallons water to a boil. Add salt and sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. Turn off heat, and add carrot, onion, celery and leek. Add spices, and refrigerate until cold.
• Remove giblets from turkey. Cover and refrigerate liver if using in stuffing. Discard remaining giblets or reserve for another use. Add turkey to stockpot. If necessary, weight with plate so that it stays below brine's surface. Refrigerate 72 hours, then remove from brine and allow to come to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Loosely fill turkey at both ends with stuffing, and truss like a chicken.
• Place in large roasting pan, and roast until it starts to brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350 degrees, and roast for 12 minutes more per pound, until internal temperature at deepest part of thigh reaches 130 degrees. Baste frequently with olive oil or butter and pan juices. If bird begins to darken too much, cover loosely with foil.
• Remove turkey from oven, leave covered and allow to rest 20 minutes before carving and spooning stuffing into serving dish.

BRINE-CURED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• In 16-quart or larger stockpot, bring 2 gallons water to a boil. Add salt and sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. Turn off heat, and add carrot, onion, celery and leek. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, coriander, red pepper, fennel seeds, star anise and thyme. Refrigerate until cold.
• Remove giblets from turkey. Cover and refrigerate liver if using in stuffing. Discard remaining giblets or reserve for another use. Add turkey to stockpot. If necessary, weight it with a plate so that it stays below the brine's surface. Refrigerate for 72 hours, then remove from brine and allow to come to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Loosely fill the turkey at both ends with stuffing, and truss as you would a chicken.
• Place turkey in a large roasting pan, and roast until it starts to brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350 degrees, and roast for 12 minutes more per pound, until internal temperature at the deepest part of the leg reaches 130 degrees. (Total roasting time will be about 3 hours.) Baste frequently with olive oil or butter and pan juices, using rosemary branches as a brush if desired. If the bird begins to darken too much, cover it loosely with a piece of foil. Before serving, remove turkey from oven and leave covered with foil. Allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving and spooning the stuffing into a serving dish.

BRINED AND ROASTED WHOLE TURKEY

Steps:

• Overnight Brine: Combine Morton®Kosher Salt and sugar in cool water in a large, clean stockpot until completely dissolved. Place the whole turkey in the brine until completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight, up to 14 hours. Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse inside and out under cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt; pat dry with paper towel.
• 4-5 hour Brine: To brine your turkey in less time (4-5 hours), use 2 cups of Morton®Coarse Kosher Salt and two cups of sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.
• To Roast: Mix the softened butter with the pepper. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan. Rub the seasoned butter under the skin. Brush the skin with the melted butter. Pour the 1 cup liquid (wine, broth or water) over the pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning. Roast turkey at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes, baste and then rotate the roasting pan. Continue roasting until the skin turns golden brown, an additional 25 minutes; baste again. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F; continue to roast, basting and rotating the pan once about halfway through cooking, until the minimum internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the oven. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.