Brined and Roasted Turkey

This is a more involved recipe, but I have included the brine process in this one. This bird turns out so moist, flavorful, and delish, you will want to make it all year!

Ingredients

• 1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
• Brine, recipe follows
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
• 1 large orange, cut into 8ths
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting

Turkey Broth:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Reserved turkey neck and giblets
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• 1 small bay leaf
• 3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 3 cups water

Gravy:

• 4 cups turkey broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.

Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.

Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.

Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute through the bird.

For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stove top burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.

Brine:

• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 oranges, quartered
• 2 lemons, quartered
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.

Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.

All About Brining

What is Brining?

Brining, or soaking in salt water, is an easy way to make moister chicken or pork (it does not work on beef). Typically a ratio of 16 parts water to 1 part salt is used (e.g. 1 quart water to 1/4 cup salt). Note that brining does not add salt to the meat; it makes the meat moist through osmosis which draws water out of cells.
Brining increases the temperature (from 140 to 160 degrees) at which meat dries out (i.e. the cells burst and lose their water) due to cooking.

Brining was originally used to preserve food (strong salt solution); now it is used to flavor meat (medium salt solution).

How does Brining Work?

The meat's cells have a concentration of salt in them. Brine has a higher concentration of salt than the meat. The osmosis process will balance the concentration of salt between the cell and the brine so in order to increase the concentration of salt (note salt is not adding to the meat) in the cells, the water in the cell moves from the cell (passes through the cell's wall) to the space surrounding the cell.

The temperature that causes the cell to burst (and dry out the meat) has been raised from 140 deg to 160 degrees (due to higher concentration of salt in the cell).

Maximum Brine Time

If meat is kept past the maximum brine time, it will taste salty and perhaps turn mushy. Start out at the low end of the range.

Meat	Brine Time
Whole chicken (4 pounds)	4-8 hours
Chicken parts	1 1/2 hours
Chicken breasts	1 hour
Whole turkey	12-24 hours
Pork chops	2-8 hours
Whole pork loins	1-3 days
Pork Tenderloin	2-12 hours
Shrimp	1/2 hour
Cornish game hens	1-2 hours

Salt Choice

Table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt provide the same saltiness if they weigh the same. It is not true for volume. A cup of table salt weighs about 10 oz while kosher salt weighs 5-8 oz per cup, depending on the brand.

Professional cooks use kosher salt since it is pure. Sea salt is too expensive to use on a regular basis and table salt contains additives such as anti-caking agents (prevents caking in humid weather) and iodine (prevents thyroid disease).

Do not use lite salt since it contains other substances besides salt (sodium chloride). Pure salt must be used for brining.

Meat	Volume	Weight
Table salt	1 cup	10 oz
Morton kosher salt	1 1/2 cups	7.7 oz
Diamond Crystal kosher salt	2 cups	5 oz

What Container to Use

Since brine is very salty a nonreactive container must be used:

• plastic buckets
• coolers
• Ziploc bags
• stainless steel or anodized pots
• glass bowls
• ceramic bowls
• stainless steel bowls

Use a heavy ceramic bowl or plate to weigh down the meat so it is completely submerged in brine.

Basic Brine Recipes

Brine solutions work best when they are 40 degrees which is the expected temperature of a refrigerator. Salt dissolves quickest in hot water but be sure the brine solution is cooled before placing meat in it. After brining, thoroughly rinse the meat.

Basic Brine

• 1 cup water
• 1 TBL table salt (or 2 TBL DC kosher salt)

Basic Chicken or Pork Brine

• 1 quart hot water
• 1/4 cup (5 oz) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (2 TBL cup table salt)
• 1/4 cup sugar (brown or white. Optional)

Dissolve salt and sugar in hot water then chill in refrigerator (40 deg). Immerse chicken breasts and keep immersed in refrigerator or in an ice chest for 1 to 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and rinse thoroughly.

High Temperature Chicken or Pork Brine

For grilling, broiling, and roasting chicken or pork.

• 1 quart hot water
• 1/4 cup (5 oz) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 2 TBL cup table salt)
• 2 TBL sugar (brown or white.)

Dissolve salt and sugar in hot water then chill in refrigerator. Immerse chicken breasts and keep immersed in refrigerator or in an ice chest for 1 to 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and rinse thoroughly.

Basic Turkey Brine

• 2 gallons water
• 2 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Brine turkey 8 to 12 hours at 40 degrees.

Brine Tips

Use these helpful tips to maximize your brining experience.

• Make sure you refrigerate your brine and meat.
• Do not use acidic liquids such as orange juice or beer on poultry. It will make it mushy.
• Rinse meat after brining.
• Use kosher salt. It does not contain additives, like table salt.
• Make sure the meat is *completely* covered by the brine solution.
• Do not reuse brine.
• Pat meat dry with paper towels after rinsing.
• For full benefits of brining do not cut back on salt.