How to Cook a Good Turkey
This recipe heralds from Alton Brown. If you are tired of the same old dry turkey that requires a cup of gravy just to get down your throat, this one is for you! It does require a little time and effort, but what good recipe roasting an entire animal wouldn’t? Lots of flavor and lots of moisture. I have used this turkey recipe every year for 4 years and it never has failed me.
(Photo side note: I’m sorry, but this savory recipe like many others I have doesn’t get a great photo. We are usually ready to eat and the contents are hot. With children running around sometimes I either take a not so great photo, or don’t get the photo at all.)
Tips: Walmart carries a fresh herb mix called “poultry mix”. So instead of spending $4 on separate fresh herbs and not using half of them, buy the poultry mix which already as the sage and rosemary in it! The crystallized ginger and other whole spices last a long time, so you will get your money’s worth from those.
Roast Turkey
yields 1 turkey to feed about 10-12 people
For the Vegetable Stock: (you could buy it to save time)
4 large potatoes, thickly sliced
4-6 onions, quartered
6-8 carrots, thickly sliced
2 celery stalk, chopped
2 apples, quartered
3-4 bay leaves
12 peppercorns
20 cups (5 qts.) water
Optional ingredients (because you can use whatever you have on hand really): garlic cloves, winter squash, zucchini, whole parsley, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, scallions
This will yield 1 gallon of vegetable stock
Turkey:
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
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
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
- 1 red apple, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- Canola oil
2. On one of these days, make the vegetable stock (if not purchased). Or make the day before roasting the turkey if you don’t have room to store this AND a huge turkey in your fridge. Scrub the unpeeled veggies and cut into chunks. Place everything in a big stockpot. Bring to boil and simmer for over 1 hour 15 minutes.
3. Take the vegetable stock already in the stockpot and mix it with the brine ingredients: salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries and candied ginger over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cool and refridgerate.
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