This is the only way I roast a whole turkey dry brined with a seasoned salt.
The flesh is juicy, the skin is golden, its simple, practical and foolproof.
2024 Roast Turkey timetable
Sunday 24 November Thaw:Place frozen turkey in fridge to start thawing.
My favourite Sausage Apple Stuffing recipe. Always make it separately, never put it IN a turkey!
Dont worry if the turkey is still partially frozen inside, it will brine/finish thawing at the same time.
Wednesday 27 November Flip turkey.
Thursday 28 November (Thanksgiving) Roast and enjoy!
Brine time:
1 day (bare minimum, emergency situation.
For the experienced, you canskip straight to the recipeor the section you are interested in!
Even drowning it in gravy cant completely compensate.
End of story!!
Take a close look at the turkey slice below look how juicy it is!!!
What is brining?
This has the effect of trapping moisture in the flesh while it roasts,yielding super juicy turkey.
Dry brining is easier, more effective and tastier than wet brining!
Why dry brining is best
Wet Brining is more well known than Dry Brining.
(Note: If youre determined to wet brine, use your vegetable crisper!
Genius idea from TheKitchn.)
The turkey tastes like turkey.
Which makes sense, right?
Whereas with dry brining, the turkey releases its own juices then sucks its own juices back in.
Turkey on turkey flavour!
It roasts faster.It takes 1 hour 45 minutes to roast a 5.5 kg / 10 lb turkey.
Compared to 2 1/2 hours for un-brined turkey.
Before we roast, we brine.
And before we brine, we must thaw!
Turkey THAWING
A frozen turkey is a formidable block of ice that takesdays to thaw.
So you must factor this into your turkey-feasting timeline!
Turkey needs to be in a leak proof bag / wrapping.
Submerge in large sink of water, keep it submerged.
Change water every 30 minutes.
Partially frozen turkey can be brined!
DRY BRINE CAN BE APPLIED WITH PARTIALLY THAWED TURKEY.
You just need the turkey skin to be thawed enough to rub the salt in.
Then brining + thawing will occur at the same time.
This is the total roasting time, including initial 30 minutes at high temperature.
It works out at around 12 minutes per 500g / 1 lb.
This is theUSDA recommended internal cooked temperature of turkey.
Take the temperature of the turkey straight out of the oven.
Insert the thermometer between the leg and the breast.
Insert straight down until you hit bone, then pull back a bit.
Hold still until the temperature registers on your thermometer and stays at the internal temperatures specified above.
How to make juicy roast turkey
I promised you easy, and easy you shall have!
My favourite Sausage Apple Stuffing recipe. Always make it separately, never put it IN a turkey!
While many opt for herb garnishes, I have a thing about making everything on a platter edible.
Said video was a total fail.
Will attempt again next year.
My classicCranberry Sauce.
In the meantime this video is a good tutorial.
To Stuff or Not to Stuff?
Besides, stuffing baked separately SO much more delicious heres myall time favourite Stuffing recipe!
Cranberry Sauce or Gravy?
Serve BOTH!Cranberry Saucekeeps for ages make it well in advance.
As for gravy…. its not an option around these parts.
My view is that its criminal to to waste those pan juices and NOT make a gravy!
So this roast turkey recipe includes gravy!
It is based onthis recipefrom the LA Times which has a cult following with good reason!
Ive added extra tips and tricks to help make this a breeze for you.
I have a feeling this Thanksgiving is going to be your BEST EVER!!!
Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Heres the recipe video for the Juicy Roast Turkey.
See below for gravy!
Prevent screen from sleeping
