Brining & roasting turkeys

The best turkey we ever had was a 12 lb frozen/defrosted Butterball or Butterball clone, cooked conventionally with stuffing on the side. Other Thanksgivings, we went to bigger turkeys, which cooked up drier.

In 2003, I decided (with much prodding) to try brining a turkey before roasting. It was successful, but I did not save the recipe or method. So, for the record, this is the 2004 brined turkey:

• 1 18lb turkey (not frozen from Costco; Foster Farms brand)
• washed, giblets and neck removed
• Brine:
• 1 gallon of water, in which is dissolved
• 1 cup regular salt (if using Kosher salt, use 1.5 cups)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 splash of gin
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 1-2 tbsp thyme
• pepper
• sage
• other herbs to your taste

Take two garbage bags; put one inside the other. Put the turkey inside the inner bag. Put the whole thing in a cooler. Pour in the 1 gallon of brine. Add between 1/2 to 1 gallon more of cold water. Take out as much air from the inner bag as you can, then, tie the inner bag shut. Tie the outer bag shut. Prop up the turkey a bit so that the brine covers up as much of the turkey as possible. Dump some ice on top, and close the cooler.

Let brine 12-24 hrs, turning the turkey once or twice, and adding ice to keep things cold if necessary.

Preheat a convection oven to 375. Take the turkey out and put it on a roasting rack. Pour 1-2 cups of water in the roasting pan; stuff the cavity and neck cavity with some aromatic vegetables (celery, cut up onion, apple...). Start roasting, figuring on 9-10 minutes/lb (convection bake setting). Let roast for 1 hr, then, start basting with the pan juices every 30 minutes. You may want to start checking the temperature of the turkey with an instant-read thermometer; you want to hit 165 F (some folks say 160 F; others say 170 F). If the skin begins to get too brown, either baste some more, or wrap with foil. Be sure to let bake without foil for the last 15 minutes or so, though...

There you are!