This was by far, the best holiday turkey I’ve made to date. The brining process guarantees a tender, flavorful turkey. You will not believe the difference! After brining, I follow my “regular” turkey recipe from my book.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup salt
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- 1 orange, cut into wedges
- 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- cold water to completely cover turkey
DIRECTIONS
- Place salt, lemons, oranges, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper into a large pot. Place the turkey in the pot, and fill with water and two large bowls of ice. Refrigerate overnight. Discard brine after removing turkey.
- Proceed with your normal turkey preparation process below(you will not need much salt because the turkey will already be salty from the brine)
Here was the final result, golden, moist, and delicious!
½ pound grass-fed butter
½ teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon crushed rosemary
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the turkey inside and out then pat dry, stuff (if desired), and truss. Cut a piece of cheesecloth to a length that will cover the turkey and unfold to a single thickness. Melt ½ pound of butter in small saucepan and completely saturate the cheesecloth. (You can also brush skin with herbed butter and base every 15 minutes.
Place turkey in oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees. After 15 minutes, drape butter-soaked cheesecloth over the turkey so it is completely covered. After an hour, baste the turkey every 15 minutes or so to keep the cheesecloth moist (you can use leftover butter as well). Remove the cheesecloth for the last 30 minutes of cooking time for crisp skin. Allow the turkey to sit for at least 20 minutes before carving.
EatSmart Meals 
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