Brined And Roasted Whole Turkey

Total Time: 9 hrs Preparation Time: 5 hrs Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 cups kosher salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 -3 gallons of cool water
• 12 -15 lbs fresh whole bone-in skin-on turkey, rinsed and patted dry
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (5 tb softened; 3 tb melted)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup wine or 1 cup chicken broth or 1 cup water

Recipe

• 1 to brine: combine kosher salt and sugar in cool water in a large, clean stockpot until completely dissolved.
• 2 place the whole turkey in the brine until completely submerged.
• 3 cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.
• 4 remove the turkey from the brine, rinse inside and out under cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt; pat dry with paper towel.
• 5 to roast: mix the softened butter with the pepper.
• 6 place turkey on rack in roasting pan.
• 7 rub the seasoned butter under the skin.
• 8 brush the skin with the melted butter.
• 9 pour the 1 cup liquid (wine, broth or water) over the pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning.
• 10 roast turkey at 450° f.
• 11 ,for 25 minutes, baste and then rotate the roasting pan.
• 12 continue roasting until the skin turns golden brown, an additional 25 minutes; baste again.
• 13 reduce oven temperature to 325° f; continue to roast, basting and rotating the pan once about halfway through cooking, until the*internal temperature reaches 170° f.
• 14 ,for turkey breast meat and 180° f.
• 15 ,for turkey thigh meat.
• 16 remove the turkey from the oven.
• 17 let stand 20 minutes before carving.
• 18 tips:*internal temperature guidelines courtesy of usda food safety facts.
• 19 do not brine turkey if it includes?
• 20 basting?
• 21 liquids that contain salt.
• 22 if pressed for time, use twice as much salt and sugar in the brine and cut soaking time to just 2 hours.
• 23 if you purchase a turkey with a pop-up timer, leave it in place and ignore it.
• 24 if removed, the timer will leave a gaping hole for juices to escape.
• 25 serves: 10 to 12.
• 26 preparation time: 5 hours.
• 27 recipe by morton salt.