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How to Brine and Roast Turkey (plus Homemade Gravy)
This step-by-step recipe for how to brine and roast the most juicy, moist turkey will immediately make you the turkey master at Thanksgiving. NOTE: Give yourself a couple of days for brining, and several hours for turkey to reach room temperature prior to cooking.
👥 20 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 5h 10m⏳ Prep: 2h🔥 Cook: 3h👤 Amy Dong📖 chewoutloud
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- pan
- bowl
- oven
- pot
- cutting board
- spatula
📝 Preparation Steps
1
For the Brine
2
Heat
3
In a very large/tall stockpot, add all brine ingredients, except for ice and water. Heat over high heat* and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool.
plenty of ice and waterwater1 cupquarts water6
4
Submerge
5
Gently submerge turkey into the brine. Cover the top with ice. Pour in enough cold water to completely submerge turkey in liquid. Stir the liquid to combine. Store in fridge or cool location (below 40F). Swirl/stir a couple of times during brine time – ⏱️ 48 hours recommended, but ⏱️ 24 hours minimum.
plenty of ice and waterwater1 cupquarts water6
6
For the Turkey
7
Drain and Dry
8
Drain and place turkey upright on roasting pan’s wire rack to fully drain for several hours and allow it to reach room temp. Pat dry turkey skin thoroughly with paper towels.
9
Rub
10
Preheat oven to 450F, with rack on a lower position. Combine dry rub ingredients in bowl. Gently spread one-third of the dry rub between skin and flesh throughout entire bird, taking care not to rip the skin. Sprinkle and press remaining dry rub on outside of skin throughout entire bird. Seal together loose skin of neck area with toothpicks.
11
Stuff Turkey
12
Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat and add apples, 1 quartered onion, cinnamon stick, rosemary, and sage and let steep for ⏱️ 1 minute. Dispose of water and insert the steeped aromatics into the turkey cavity.
plenty of ice and waterwater1 cupquarts water6large apple (quartered)1
13
Add foil
14
Add 1 quartered onion, carrots, and celery to the bottom pan of a turkey roaster. Place sheet of foil onto the roaster's wire rack and poke holes in the foil to allow juice to flow throug - the foil keeps the bird from sticking to the rack and makes it much easier to flip halfway through the cooking process. Place turkey breast-side down on the foil-lined rack.
whole carrots (roughly cut)4large carrots (sliced into 1/4" coins)4
15
Roast for ⏱️ 1 hour at 450F. Drop heat to 300F and roast for another ⏱️ 30 min. Remove turkey from oven and carefully flip it over, breast-side up. Insert meat thermometer into center of turkey breast and return to oven. Continue roasting until meat thermometer registers 160F.
16
Rest
17
Transfer rack with turkey to cutting board, tent with foil, and let it rest – do not cut into it, nor remove the thermometer probe for at least ⏱️ 15 minutes. Set roasting pan with roasted vegetables and pan drippings aside for later.
18
For the Gravy
19
Sear
20
While turkey is roasting, heat 2 TB oil in a large pot. Add giblets/neck to hot oil and sear until well-browned. Remove neck and set aside. Throw out giblets.
21
Sauté and Boil
22
Add remaining 2TB oil to the pot and heat until almost smoking. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add onions, carrots, and celery, cooking until onions become translucent. Add water and bring to a boil.
garlic powder2 tablespoonsgarlic (peeled and smashed flat)10 cloveswhole carrots (roughly cut)4large carrots (sliced into 1/4" coins)4plenty of ice and waterwater1 cupquarts water6
23
Reduce
24
Add neck back in and boil over heat. Continue to boil until liquid is reduced by about half. Keep warm.
25
Boil and Reduce
26
Place the turkey roasting pan with roasted vegetables over two stovetop burners. Pour reduced gravy with veggies into the roasting pan and bring to a boil. Use spatula to loosen all brown bits from bottom of roasting pan. Boil and reduce by at least half again, or until gravy has the desired flavor strength. It should taste amazing when it's done!
27
Strain and Serve
28
Strain mixture so you are left with just the au jus. Skim fat off the top and serve with sliced turkey.
Nutrition Facts
calories
507 kcal
fat Content
11 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
2 g
sugar Content
10 g
sodium Content
7013 mg
protein Content
85 g
trans Fat Content
0.03 g
cholesterol Content
284 mg
carbohydrate Content
15 g
saturated Fat Content
2 g
unsaturated Fat Content
6 g
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