Mary Lou’s Roast Turkey

Ingredients

1 (14−16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves of sage
Canola oil

Preparation

1) Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stock pot and bring to a boil.

2) Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature refrigerate until
thoroughly chilled.

3) Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in
a clean 5 gallon bucket.

4) Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area
(like a basement) for 6 hours.

5) Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

6) A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees.

7) Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and cup of water in a microwave safe dish
and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

9) Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels.

10) Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage.

11) Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

12) Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes.

13) Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe
thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350
degrees.

14) Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should
require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.

15) Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

This roast turkey recipe yields 10 to 12 servings.

About the Author

I love healthy eating and hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. If you enjoy eating great tasting food, then I strongly urge you to visit Barbecue Party, where you will not only find a delicious selection of BBQ recipes, but you will also be able to read up on the infamous and popular BBQ Pitmasters TV show that is aired by TLC.

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