Roasted My Turkey

with Brine and Baste

“People who love to eat are always the best people” – Julia Child

There is something about the holidays that makes cooking for our crew even more exciting. Life throws a lot of things at us, and they’re not all pleasant – all the more reason to take time out to get together and celebrate family. I truly enjoy the ability to provide a table where we can gather together not only to spend time, but appreciate things in life that are worth being grateful for. And I pour that love and gratitude into everything I prepare.

We stopped eating ham for Easter longer ago than I can remember. Packed with salt that was not ideal for some family health concerns, we’ve turned to other proteins for our holiday dinner – turkey, brisket, lamb. Due to a variety of circumstances, this year we had a smaller crew and an ‘extra’ turkey in a freezer which was perfect! Since hosting our first Thanksgiving, I have tried a few different methods, there is nothing that compares to brining and basting our bird.

Butter had previously my ‘go to’ to cover my bird for roasting, but I am trying to reduce dairy where possible. Honestly, I didn’t notice the difference with this recipe and everyone raved about how delicious it was. Probably the one time that we would have been fine to have MORE leftovers than we did. This bird came out juicy and full of flavor. You’re bound to have your guests offering to buy you a turkey to do it again.

Don’t forget, that carcass is great for homemade bone broth so bag it up and put it away. I’ll be sharing a recipe for that soon.

Ingredients:
– Turkey (14-20 lbs)
– Bone Broth (1 cup for bottom of roasting pan)

Brine your bird: (24 hours in advance of roasting)
– Apple Juice or Cider (3 cups)
– Water (2 gallons)
– Fresh Rosemary (leaves from 1 package, or 4-6 TBSP)
– Garlic (5-6 cloves, minced)
– Salt (1/2 cup)
– Brown Sugar (2 cups)
– Peppercorns (4 TBSP)
– Bay Leaves (5 whole)
– Naval Oranges (6 small or 3 large)

Stuff your bird:
– Onion (1 large)
– Apple (1, quartered. I use granny smith)
– Garlic
– Rosemary

Baste your bird:
– Avocado Oil (or oil that can hold up to high temperatures)
– Rosemary

Kitchen Items You’ll Need:
– Large Stock Pot
– Food Grade Bucket
– Knife
– Cutting Board
– Basting brush
– Roasting Pan
– Baster

Cooking Instructions:               
1. Prepare the Brine: Combine ingredients to “Brine your bird” in a large stock pot, stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Bring to a boil. Turn off and cover. Let cool. (Make sure you allow time for this as it will take a couple hours to cool)
2. Brine your bird: Remove neck and giblets from turkey. Pat dry, inside and out. Place in pot or food grade bucket, legs up. Pour in brine (be sure it’s cool) and refrigerate or top with ice for 18-24 hours.
3. Stuff your bird: When ready to start roasting your turkey, prepare “Stuff your bird” ingredients. Pull turkey out of brine and pat dry. Set in roasting pan, stuff, and tie legs together.
4. Baste your bird: Combine avocado oil and chopped rosemary in a small bowl. Using a basting brush, coat outside of turkey in this mixture.
5. Roast your bird: Pour about a cup of broth into the bottom of your roasting pan. Roast at 425 for 30 minutes. Use your baster to baste your bird. Turn temperature down to 325 and roast until done (about 15 minutes per pound), basting every 30 minutes.
*If your bird starts to get too brown/crisp, cover with aluminum foil for remainder of cooking.