The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Brining a turkey will make it nice and moist. However, some recipes will render the drippings useless for gravy. This one is just right. It takes several days of preparation, so be sure to plan ahead. Also, do not use a pre-basted type of bird. Just a plain old cheap frozen turkey will
work the best.  

Three days before Thanksgiving, thaw the turkey (still in the plastic wrapper) in the kitchen sink, filled with water, overnight. Then place in the refrigerator to finish thawing, one day should do it. Remove the plastic wrapper and the package of giblets that will be found in the neck cavity. Save them for making broth for the gravy. Rinse off the turkey thoroughly, inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. If you find anything inside the bird that you think should not be there, just pull it out now. But it should be fine as it is. Also, you’re going to need a large non-corrosive container to hold the bird while brining. I use a molded plastic cooler, but it must be able to fit in the refrigerator. 

See note at the end of recipe regarding a non-brined turkey if you prefer a traditional bird.  We make them both ways. 


18-20  lb turkey, defrosted (or whatever size you want )
2  cups  KOSHER salt

Rub the turkey, inside and out, with 2 cups of kosher salt (must use kosher salt). Place the bird in the large non-corrosive container (I use a picnic cooler). Fill with cold water.  Refrigerate 12 hours.

THOROUGHLY RINSE THE TURKEY, inside and out, to remove all the excess salt. Discard the brine mixture. Wash out the container very well. Place the turkey on a large foil-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered, 24 hours, or until ready to use. This helps the skin crisp.

Prepare Sage and Onion Dressing. Stuff the cavity of the bird and the neck cavity, loosely with this dressing. Or if you prefer, bake the dressing in a casserole dish. We do both, as we like lots of stuffing (we mix them together before serving). Stuffing baked in a bird definitely has better flavor.

Using kitchen twine, tie up the bird. After brining a turkey, it will look like it stuck its wing into an electrical socket, so it has to be snuggled up securely to insure even cooking. Using the neck bone stub as the anchor, wrap the twine under the neck bone, and then bring it up and over the bird, taking it down between the legs and breast. Then just snug up the legs and wings, wrapping the string over the bird. Brush the outside of the bird with canola oil. Place the bird in the pan.


Choose one of the roasting methods below: 

1. Use either a very large covered turkey roaster, or make a foil tent to cover the bird on a large baking pan with sides. Be sure to tent-shape the foil so it does not touch the turkey.  Bake in a pre-heated 350° oven. Remove the covering the last hour for browning.

2. Use Alton Brown’s (Food Network TV) method. Using an open roasting pan, put the uncovered bird into a 500° pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Then insert the meat thermometer into the breast and turn the oven down to 350°. I very loosely put a sheet of foil over the bird at this point, as it was already browned and still had a few hours to spend in the oven.

Try not to open the oven, if possible. If you have a meat thermometer with a probe that sits on the counter, this can be done. If using a standard or instant read thermometer, of course you cannot do this.

Either way you choose, using a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will help judge the roasting time, avoiding an over-cooked bird. Roast to 161° or just a wee little bit more. It will continue to cook about 5 degrees while resting.  Don’t believe labels that tell you to cook it to 180° or for more hours than what is listed above. They do this to protect themselves from potential lawsuits, and you end up with a very overcooked bird on your table. The time frame above is more than generous.

Keeping It Warm:

When finished baking, remove from oven and cover securely with foil. Then layer on several bath towels over the top to keep it warm. It will stay warm for up to an hour. Be sure to let it sit this way for at least 20-30 minutes before carving. This enables the juices to redistribute in the meat, instead of running out into the pan. Remove the stuffing and keep covered to stay warm.

Cooking Time: 


Up to 18 lb bird will take 2½  to 3½ hours
Up to 22 lb. will take 3½ to 4½ hours
Up to 24 lbs may take 4½ to 5 hours

If you stuff the bird, allow the maximum time listed for the size turkey you’re using. Example, a 14 pound stuffed turkey will take 3 hours in my oven. But all ovens are different, so these are general guidelines. Using the Keeping It Warm method above, gives you time for getting it all
together.

Alternately, you may choose the traditional way of roasting the holiday bird . . . without brining.  This is always good. Just follow all the steps above, omitting the brining.

Now You’re Making Gravy 

While someone else is carving the bird, you take the pan and place it over two burners on the stove. Add some strained turkey broth you have prepared (about a cup or two). Bring to a boil and deglaze the pan with this, being sure to scrape up all the browned bits. This is where the real flavor is found.

Now mix about 2-3 tablespoons of corn starch into about ½ cup water. Pour this into the pan, stirring to prevent any lumps. Add more broth, a cup at a time, stirring constantly, until you get the consistency you’re looking for. The more broth you add, the more cornstarch mixture you will need, so if you have to mix up more cornstarch thickener, that is just fine.

Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Now I add my Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy to this pan gravy, and reheat it all together. This combination makes outstanding gravy.

Turkey Broth 

Rinse off the giblets found in the packet in neck cavity of the turkey. Put into a sauce pan of water (about 6 cups). Add 4 chicken bouillon cubes, about ¼ cup dried parsley, an onion (quartered), some celery tops, a couple of cut up carrots, and a bay leaf or two. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours.

Strain the broth into another container and save. Discard the veggie mixture.(Some people like to eat the giblets, just not the liver. You can cut the gizzard and heart up and use it in the gravy, or just put it on the serving plate. Personally, I throw it all out.) But don’t throw out any unused
broth. Freeze it in baggies. When a recipe calls for chicken broth, you can use it. I boil up the entire turkey carcass after the big dinner, using the formula given above; add the remaining broth to this. Then you can use this broth for turkey and dumplings, turkey soup, whatever. You will be able to pick out a lot of meat off the boiled up carcass. 


Surprising how many future meals you can make from one turkey.