If your family likes all parts of the turkey, then you are sure to please the crowd with this recipe. I have made it for years. If you are serving a lot more people and need more turkey to go around, you can also cook a turkey breast or two.
This turkey is brined the night before. I first learned about brining while watching one of my favorite culinary personalities, Alton Brown of the Food Network. I learned how the osmosis process brings salt into the meat of the turkey, which helps it retain moisture and flavor.
I changed his recipe a bit for my own liking and the availability of ingredients, and I look forward to hearing about the version you create.
Serve the turkey carved on your French bread dressing in a cast iron pan for a great presentation.
Variations
How I make this turkey changes depending on my mood for the season. Sometimes I make it with just the oil on the skin and it comes out with the classic golden brown shine. At other times will put the herb rub on it to give it a more rustic but flavorful look. The choice is yours.
Regarding the Brine, you can vary that with the spices you use but don’t recommend changing the salt, sugar, and water ratios.
Equipment Needed
When I started making this turkey years ago, I would put the brine and turkey in a plain plastic bag (unscented 13-gallon bag) and place that bag in a 5-gallon bucket with ice on top.
A few years later I saw that one of my coolers was big enough to hold the turkey and keep it cold with less ice in it, so I started using that method. Just ensure your cooler is completely cleaned and sanitized, before and after use.
You will also need a roasting rack and pan. You can buy a dedicated roasting rack and pan or use the bottom half of a Dutch oven and make the rack with rolled-up aluminum foil.
It really doesn’t matter which pan you roast it in, as long as you have a way for the juices to drain.
Your cooking method should be based on your budget and storage space. The turkey will cook the same either way.
Herb Roasted Turkey
Brine
Brine
Aromatics
Seasoning Rub
Turkey
Roasted Turkey Instructions
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Turkey Brine
Brine
Up to 3 days before your meal, prepare the brine by bringing half the water and the rest of the ingredients to a simmer.
Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Remove it from the heat and let it rest and steep for an hour. This will allow it to cool down as well before you add the cold water.
Add the remaining water and place it in the fridge to cool completely.
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Turkey
Turkey
If you purchase a fresh turkey, you can go straight to the brine the day before Thanksgiving.
If you are purchasing a frozen turkey, purchase it at least 6 days before Thanksgiving. I like to purchase mine on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
Place it at the bottom of your fridge to thaw for the next 5 days. Make sure nothing is under it to prevent raw turkey juice from dripping onto other foods.
The day before your meal, remove the wrapping, gravy packet, neck, giblets, and anything else that may be packed with it, and wash the turkey with clean water.
Submerge the whole turkey into the cold brine. Do not place it in warm or hot brine. You may use a large pot for the brining or a large cooking bag filled with the brine and turkey in a large clean plastic container or 5-gallon bucket.
Place in fridge overnight. If you do not have space in a 2nd fridge to keep cool overnight. Use the bag method and place it in a cooler with the bag sealed, and ice on top of the bag. If your cooler is clean, you could simply brine it straight in the cooler, but the bag makes clean-up a snap. Why do extra work? You can also do the same with the 5-gallon bucket topped with ice if you have a cool garage or cellar. Just make sure any ice that melts doesn't mix with the brine.
About 3 hours before you plan to put the turkey breast in the oven, remove the turkey from the brine, discard the brine, and let the turkey sit out to come to room temperature.
Place turkey on a roasting rack in the roasting pan and pat dry. If you do not have a roasting rack, you can simply make one by rolling up a large foil coil for the turkey to sit on. You can see the one I made for a turkey breast in the picture below.
Leave in the open air in a safe clean place in the kitchen to remove some of the chill before cooking.
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Aromatics and Seasoning
Roughly slice the apple and onion and place them in the breast cavity along with the fresh herbs.
Make the seasoning rub by combining all the rub ingredients in a small bowl.
Using your hands, rub the mixture all over the top side of the turkey breast. Make sure it is evenly coated.
Roasting
Preheat Oven to 500 degrees, Insert a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the breast going under the skin. Do not place the thermometer tip next to a bone. You want it in the thickest part of the meat.
Place the turkey in the center of the oven. Roast at 500 degrees for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 and continue roasting until the turkey reaches the desired temperature of 162/165 depending on how you like the skin (see below) Allow about 15-18 minutes per pound to reach an internal temperature of 162, it will reach 165 while it is resting covered. Cook to 165 in the oven and do not while resting if you want crispy skin.
Remove the turkey from the oven when it reaches the proper temperature.
To tent or not to tent. That depends on how you like the skin. If you want to keep it as crispy as you can, don't cover the breast when you remove it from the oven. But you will need to cook it to 165 before removing it.
If you don't care about the skin or whether it is crispy, tent the breast with foil immediately after removing it from the oven, and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise and once it reaches 165 you can carve and service it.
Carve and serve on a platter or carve and serve on top of the French bread dressing you made in your cast iron skillet.
You can adjust the spices as you like in the seasoning rub, to build a flavor profile that you prefer.
If you are serving more people, you can always cook another turkey or cook a turkey breast.
