Roasted Turkey

There's not too much to say here, right?  Except that my hubby isn't a huge fan of turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Or Christmas.  We just cook it for the leftovers.

Actually, my honey has been our turkey chef for our whole marriage.  He never uses the same recipe twice (for anything), so this is more of a how-to than a recipe.  But I will point out a few in case that's really what you're looking for!

First of all, the turkey.  If you're buying it frozen from the grocery store, it needs to defrost in the fridge for at least 2-3 days before you plan to begin cooking.  The brining process takes a day.  The roasting takes another day.  If you plan to roast on Thanksgiving Day, this means your turkey needs to be defrosting at least 4 days prior to Thanksgiving Day.

We start with a turkey brine.  It's a solution you soak the turkey in for the whole day before you plan to roast  it.  This can be as simple as salt and water, but this year we took the more complicated route and prepared a cooked brine on the stove top.  Alton Brown and Ree Drummond both have great recipes for brines, or you can use them as starting points for your own.

For the cooked brine, start with a large stockpot and combine your ingredients...

add your liquids (water, juice, vinegar)...

and bring it to a boil.

Then turn it off, cover it and let it sit for awhile.

As for the turkey, this guy needs to be gutted (the hard work has been done for you; just take out the packets containing the giblets as well as the turkey neck) and rinsed.  You'll be wanting a clean sink for this, and don't forget to sanitize everything after you're done!

Now put Mr. Tom in the pot with all the goodies and make sure he's fully submerged.  Then refrigerate (or keep on ice) for 12 to 24 hours.

When you're ready to roast, remove turkey from brine and place breast side up in roasting pan.  Make small slits in the skin and place pats of butter in each little pocket.  You can season the butter if you want.

Optionally, stuff the vegetables and other aromatics in the cavity of the turkey.

Roast in the oven, covered, for the first 2 hours. 

Remove cover and baste.

Continue roasting until internal temperature of thigh reads at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  Let rest before carving.

Roasted Turkey

one 14 to 18 lb turkey

roasting pan

prepared brine solution

butter

Defrost turkey in refrigerator 2-3 days in advance.  Prepare brine solution.  Rinse turkey and remove innards.  Place turkey in brine and refrigerate or keep on ice for 12 to 24 hours.  Remove turkey from brine and place in roasting pan breast side up.  Cut slits in skin and place pats of butter in pockets.  Stuff with vegetables and aromatics from brine if desired.  Roast covered at 350 for first two hours.  Remove cover and baste using liquid from roasting pan.  Repeat every 30 minutes until internal temperature taken in thigh reads at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove from oven and let rest at least 30 minutes before moving to platter or carving.  Reserve juices for gravy.