elevan
Critter Addict ♥
I used this recipe last year and had a moist and delicious bird.
Turkey Brine
Ingredients
8 cups cold chicken stock or vegetable stock or water
4 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sage
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon peppercorns
4 cups ice
Instructions
Bring 4 cups of water to a simmering boil.
Add salt and sugars. Stir until the sugars has completely dissolved.
Turn off the heat.
Stir in 8 cups cold chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, sage, thyme, peppercorn, and ice.
The brine is ready to be used.
Remove giblets and neck from the cavity.
Rinse the outside and inside of a thawed turkey.
Using paper towels, pat the turkey dry.
Completely submerge the turkey in a large soup pot or tub bigger than the bird and cover with a lid.
Refrigerate.
Allow the turkey to marinate for 12 hours for a small turkey (8-10 lbs) and up to a full day for a bigger bird.
Rinse turkey and pat dry.
Roast Turkey (after brining as instructed above)
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or margarine
6-8 Sage leaves
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 oranges, cut into quarters
1 small onion, cut into quarters
2 stalks of celery, chopped roughly
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500*
Using your hand separate the skin from the turkey breast by gently sliding your hand between the skin and the breast.
Once you have access to the full breast beneath the skin, slather each one with approximately 1 Tbsp of butter
Then place the sage leaves under the skin on the breast.
Slather the rest of the butter onto the outside of the bird (all over)
Sprinkle paprika onto the entire bird
Tuck the wings under the bird.
Place the oranges, onion and celery into the cavity of the bird
Put bird into your roasting pan
Roast at 500* for 30 minutes
Then reduce the temp to 350*
Pay attention to the breast of the turkey, if it starts to get too dark when roasting, slap a piece of foil over the breast portion for the rest of the cooking time.
A 14-16 pound bird requires between 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Remove from oven
Allow to rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving
Discard the aromatics inside the cavity.
To prevent over browning, foil may also be placed over the turkey after it reaches the desired color.
A whole turkey is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook turkey to higher temperatures.
Turkey Brine
Ingredients
8 cups cold chicken stock or vegetable stock or water
4 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sage
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon peppercorns
4 cups ice
Instructions
Bring 4 cups of water to a simmering boil.
Add salt and sugars. Stir until the sugars has completely dissolved.
Turn off the heat.
Stir in 8 cups cold chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, sage, thyme, peppercorn, and ice.
The brine is ready to be used.
Remove giblets and neck from the cavity.
Rinse the outside and inside of a thawed turkey.
Using paper towels, pat the turkey dry.
Completely submerge the turkey in a large soup pot or tub bigger than the bird and cover with a lid.
Refrigerate.
Allow the turkey to marinate for 12 hours for a small turkey (8-10 lbs) and up to a full day for a bigger bird.
Rinse turkey and pat dry.
Roast Turkey (after brining as instructed above)
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or margarine
6-8 Sage leaves
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 oranges, cut into quarters
1 small onion, cut into quarters
2 stalks of celery, chopped roughly
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500*
Using your hand separate the skin from the turkey breast by gently sliding your hand between the skin and the breast.
Once you have access to the full breast beneath the skin, slather each one with approximately 1 Tbsp of butter
Then place the sage leaves under the skin on the breast.
Slather the rest of the butter onto the outside of the bird (all over)
Sprinkle paprika onto the entire bird
Tuck the wings under the bird.
Place the oranges, onion and celery into the cavity of the bird
Put bird into your roasting pan
Roast at 500* for 30 minutes
Then reduce the temp to 350*
Pay attention to the breast of the turkey, if it starts to get too dark when roasting, slap a piece of foil over the breast portion for the rest of the cooking time.
A 14-16 pound bird requires between 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Remove from oven
Allow to rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving
Discard the aromatics inside the cavity.
To prevent over browning, foil may also be placed over the turkey after it reaches the desired color.
A whole turkey is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook turkey to higher temperatures.
and who said we should only have turkey on thanksgiving ?? 
