Best Brined Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

BRINED AND ROASTED THANKSGIVING TURKEY WITH SIMPLE GRAVY

Steps:

• BRINING TURKEY: ONE DAY BEFORE baking turkey, prepare brine. Combine all the brine ingredients. Place the turkey in a bucket or very large pot and pour brine over turkey to submerge. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Remove turkey from brine; dry off turkey with paper towels. Discard brine.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Brine turkey as instructed above. Salt and pepper the brined turkey and cavity. Fill the cavity with carrots, celery, apple, orange, and garlic; bind the legs with kitchen twine.
• In a large roasting or braising pan (or disposable aluminum pan), spread onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Place the turkey on top of the bed of vegetables and herbs.
• Put butter on turkey, or between skin and breast meat.
• Place the turkey in the oven and roast 45 minutes. Pour half the chicken stock over the turkey; roast 45 minutes. Pour remaining stock over the turkey and roast 45 more minutes; it will start turning golden brown.
• Baste with pan juices, cover loosely with foil and roast an additional 45 minutes. When the turkey has reached and internal temperature of 165 to 175 degrees, remove from oven, keep covered, and let rest at least 10 minutes before carving. Transfer to platter.
• TO MAKE SIMPLE GRAVY: From the bottom of the roasting pan, discard herbs and measure out 1 cup of vegetables and 3 cups of pan juices; puree in blender. To thicken, add more vegetables; to thin add more pan juice. pour through a mesh strainer to make a smooth gravy. Makes 4 cups. TIP: For silken gravy, forget the flour. Avoid using flour, because that's usually what causes lumps. Instead, puree the vegetables you roast along with your turkey; they become your thickening agent. That, along with your pan juices, becomes your gravy. You can strain it through a mesh strainer, or use cream and reduce it.

BRINED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Stir chicken broth, apple juice, brown sugar, salt, dried sage, and peppercorns together in a large stock pot; add apple halves and crushed garlic cloves. Bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat immediately.
• Pour enough ice into a large food-safe container to be about half full. Pour chicken broth mixture over the ice; stir to cool liquid completely and evenly.
• Gently lower turkey into the liquid with the breast facing down.
• Brine turkey 24 to 36 hours, adding ice as needed to keep the brine and turkey cold.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Remove turkey from the brine and rinse well with cold water. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.
• Mix apple quarters, onion wedges, whole garlic cloves, and fresh sage leaves in a bowl; loosely stuff into cavity of turkey. Move the turkey to a shallow roasting pan. Lightly coat the turkey's skin with olive oil.
• Bake the turkey in the preheated oven until the skin on the breast of the turkey is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), cover turkey with aluminum foil, and continue roasting the turkey until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

DRY-BRINED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon. 2. Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. You should use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the opposite side. 3. Place the turkey in a 2 1/2-gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. (If you can't find a resealable bag this big, you can use a turkey oven bag, but be prepared for it to leak.) Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, turning it onto its breast for the last day. Rub the salt around once a day if you remember. 4. Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place the turkey breast-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours. 5. On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 6. Pat it dry one last time and baste with melted butter, if using. Place the turkey breast-side down on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so the breast is facing up (it's easiest to do this by hand, using kitchen towels or oven mitts). 7. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 3/4 hours total roasting. 8. Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve.

BBQ-BRINED GRILLED TURKEY UNDER A BRICK FOR THANKSGIVING

Steps:

• Determine how much salt you need for your bird: Figure about 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of turkey, or 2/3 tsp. Morton kosher salt per pound of turkey. For example, for a 12-pound turkey, use 1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Morton kosher salt. Whisk salt, mustard powder, paprika, thyme, pepper, garlic powder, brown sugar, and onion powder in a small bowl. Place turkey, breast side down, on a large cutting board. Cut along each side of backbone with kitchen shears-this will take some force (you can ask your butcher to do this). Discard backbone or reserve for another use (like stock for gravy). With turkey skin side down, use a knife to score long oblong bone in center of breast all the way down. Turn turkey skin side up, then firmly press down with both hands on breastbone until you hear a cracking sound. The bone should be cracked completely in half; if not, use your knife to cut the bone the rest of the way in half. Pat turkey very dry with paper towels. Rub spice mixture all over skin and flesh sides. Splay open, skin side up, on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Tuck wing tips under breasts. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 day, preferably 2, and up to 3. If you'd rather cover the bird, loosely cover with plastic wrap, then uncover for the final 4-6 hours of chilling. Do not rinse turkey after brining. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour before cooking. Prepare a grill for medium heat (if your grill has a thermometer, it should register about 350°F). Wrap bricks or cinder block in foil. Oil grates well and transfer turkey, skin side down, onto grill. Wearing heatproof gloves, arrange bricks on top of turkey, with 3 across breast and 1 across drumsticks, or place cinder block in the center. Cover grill and cook, checking every 5 minutes, until skin side is deep golden brown and crispy, 10-15 minutes total. Wearing heatproof gloves, carefully remove bricks or cinder block and flip bird over, skin side up. Cover grill and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F (take temperature in a few places including thickest part of thigh and breast), 65-80 minutes more, replenishing coals if needed. Transfer turkey to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving. Do Ahead Turkey can be seasoned with dry brine ideally 2 days but up to 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.