How to Brine and Roast a Turkey ONLY READ IF YOU LIKE MOIST AND JUICY TURKEY!!

My sweet husband roasts the best turkey in the universe...Seriously. It is always moist and tender. SO scrumptious and tastes of that traditional thanksgiving turkey we dream about the night before the big T-Day. This is how he does it.  Its a big secret so don't tell anyone. ;) 

Brined Roasted Turkey

14-16 pound thawed turkey

1 gallon of chicken broth

1 Cup of salt

1/2 C brown sugar

1 TBS whole pepper corns

1/2 TBS allspice berries

1/2 TBS candied ginger

1 gallon of heavily iced water

1 cinnamon stick

1 red apple sliced

1/2 and onion quartered

1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

canola oil

brining bag or 5 gal bucket

Place the broth salt brown sugar, pepper corns allspice berries and ginger in a pot and bring to a boil stir to dissolve solids remove from heat and cool and refrigerate. About 8 hours before cooking put the turkey neck side down in a brining bag or 5 gal bucket. Pour in the chicken broth mixture then add the gallon of heavily iced water. At approx 4 hours rotate the bird so that the legs are down and the neck is up. When you are ready to roast remove the bird from the brine, rinse well and pat dry.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place on a roasting pan or a baking sheet with a cooling rack. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Put your cinnamon stick, apple slices and onion and 1-2 Cups of water and microwave for 4-5 minutes. Let steep for 1 minute. Drain the liquid and insert them into the cavity of the bird and add the rosemary and thyme into the cavity of the bird. Take a piece of aluminum foil appox the length of the bird and fold into a triangle. Mold around the breast and wing section of the bird. Remove mold and set aside keeping the shape intact. Liberally coat the outside of the bird with canola oil and place in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the foil tent to the turkey. insert a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast meat and set temp to 161 degrees. When the internal temp reaches 161 degrees remove the bird from the oven and let rest for atleast 15 minutes. Carve and Serve!

Enjoy!

 The turkey in the brining bag inside the 5 gal bucket. You only really need one or the other but he likes both.

The foil triangle used to shield the breast meat from over cooking after the first half an hour at 500 degrees. 

Yes this is a necessary step.

PS the 500 degree oven lends to the gold brown wonderfully appetizing color.

Molding the turkey foil triangle

The foil triangle after is has been removed but is still keeping it shape so it can be slipped back on quick and easy after the first half and hour.

oiling up the bird

After the first half and hour

Placing the foil back on the bird

Placing the thermometer 

SO JUICY AND MOIST!!!

MY