Buy a 12 pounds uncooked turkey (not injected with a salt solution)
(Mine was actually a 14 pound turkey and it worked just fine! Mine was also frozen, so I had to take thawing time into consideration!)
***Brine***
8 cups apple juice or cider (bottled or from frozen concentrate)
1 pound brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup Kosher salt
12 cups cold water
2 cups orange juice
1 tablespoon ground ginger
15 whole cloves
6 large bay leaves
3 tablespoons crushed garlic
Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
In a large food safe container (2 to 5-gallons), combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients, then refrigerate to 40-degrees F.
Remove giblets and neck from raw turkey and place turkey in the brine solution, breast side down. Place a heavy plate or bowl on top to keep the bird submerged, if necessary. Place container in fridge and brine the turkey for 24 hours.
Discard brine solution and rinse turkey well, inside and outside. Pat turkey dry and air dry in fridge for about 4-hours, uncovered. (I never wait the 4 hours, I just bake it right away! I'm just too impatient to wait!)
Coat turkey with light coating of oil or butter and bake in oven (or smoke ,outdoors, in bbq smoker) at 325-degrees F. until thermometer placed in breast reads 165-degrees F (about 3-hours).
I actually baked mine covered in tin foil at 450-degrees for 30 minutes and then removed the foil and baked it at 350-degrees for 2 1/2 more hours. The hot temp at the beginning makes the crust look nice and crisps it up! :0)
Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
In a large food safe container (2 to 5-gallons), combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients, then refrigerate to 40-degrees F.
Remove giblets and neck from raw turkey and place turkey in the brine solution, breast side down. Place a heavy plate or bowl on top to keep the bird submerged, if necessary. Place container in fridge and brine the turkey for 24 hours.
Discard brine solution and rinse turkey well, inside and outside. Pat turkey dry and air dry in fridge for about 4-hours, uncovered. (I never wait the 4 hours, I just bake it right away! I'm just too impatient to wait!)
Coat turkey with light coating of oil or butter and bake in oven (or smoke ,outdoors, in bbq smoker) at 325-degrees F. until thermometer placed in breast reads 165-degrees F (about 3-hours).
I actually baked mine covered in tin foil at 450-degrees for 30 minutes and then removed the foil and baked it at 350-degrees for 2 1/2 more hours. The hot temp at the beginning makes the crust look nice and crisps it up! :0)
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