Good Eats Roast (Brined) Turkey - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the brine:
For the aromatics:

Preparation

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in a trash bag and place in the the sink. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover with ice before going to bed for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once about half way through brining (or when you get up in the morning).

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cover the breast with foil and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. cook breast to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting (17-19 pounds 3 to 3-1/2 hours). Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.