Way to Cook Your Turkey #1: Brine

TURKEY BRINE INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients 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 (found in produce section, near fresh ginger)

1 gallon heavily iced water

Ingredients for the AROMATICS:
Fancy word for things that will season your bird while in the oven?

1 red apple, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 leaves sage

Canola oil

• How to make your brine: Get a big pot and throw in your stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries and candied ginger. Turn to medium-high heat and stir until you’ve dissolved all the solids and you bring it to a boil. Remove brine from head and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

• The night before or the morning of the day you want to cook your turkey – Take your brine out of the fridge.
• Combine the brine, water and ice in a big bucket. Make sure it’s in a big enough container to fit your brine and your turkey.

• Wash your bird pat dry, pull out any inside pieces. Plop the bird into the brine. Breast side down. If you need to, weigh down the bird so it’s fully immersed. Cover and put in the fridge. Keep it cool for 8 to 16 hours.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Take your bird from the brine and rinse it well with cold water – both inside and out. Toss the brine, it’s done it’s job!

• Place bird on a roasting rack. Pat it dry with paper towels.

• Combine apple, onion, cinnamon stick and 1 cup water in microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for five minutes. Add this to the inside of your turkey, with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings under the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

• Roast turkey on lowest level of oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Do this for 15 minutes then turning it down. After you’ve had it at the high heat, insert probe thermometer into the thickets part of the breast, then reduce oven temp to 350 degrees F

• Set your thermometer alarm (if it has one) to 161 degrees F. A 14-16 pound turkey should be done in 2- to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let your bird rest after you take it out, covering it lightly with foil.