My Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey Recipe uses the Brine Method to achieve the most tender and moist Turkey meat. Learn about my tips and tricks to guaranteed success this Thanksgiving!
- 12-18 lb turkey thawed
- 2-3 cups baby carrots
- 3 large onions peeled & quartered
- 1 lemon quartered
- 1 cup kosher salt for 4-6 hour brine; or 1/2 cup kosher salt for 12-16 hour brine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon black Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoons all-spice
- Kale Greens
- Lemons/Oranges
- Roasting Pan with elevated rack or V-rack
- Cotton Cooking Twine
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Serving Platter
-
Start with making the brine. If you want to brine for 4-6 hours use the 1cup salt (I used meat seasoning salt) to 1 gallon of water for the brine. For 12-16 hour brine, use only 1/2 cup salt to every gallon of water.
-
Take 1 quart of water away from the 1 gallon and combine it with dry spices and seasonings in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir to allow the salt to dissolve and simmer for about 10-20 minutes. This will bring out the flavor of the allspice, pepper & bay leaf making the brine more flavorful. Cool it down. {I put it into a plugged sink and filled the space around the pot with cold water} Add the cold seasoned brine to the rest of the water. Stir.
-
Transfer the brine to the brining container that’s large enough to fit the turkey. If you’re unable to fit the container with the turkey in the fridge, add a lot of ice to the brine to make the mixture ice cold. You will need to add ice as it melts.
-
Remove the giblets, neck & anything else that’s inside the turkey. Wash it thoroughly and place it into the brine.
-
Keep the turkey submerged by placing something heavy on top. I used a saucepan filled with water. Depending on the salt content of your brine, you should do this from 4-6 hours before you want to roast the turkey, to 12-16 hours. If you want to leave the brine overnight, it’s best to put it in the fridge, since you will not want to wake up every couple hours to add more ice as it melts. Although, you can use a cooler filled with brine, ice & turkey.
-
When ready to roast the bird, fill a lined with parchment paper (optional, but will make the cleanup much easier)roasting pan with carrots, onions & the garlic. I did not have a proper roasting pan, so I used what I had. But a roasting pan with at least 2-inch tall sides would be best.
-
Place the rack on top of the vegetables.
-
Before placing the bird on top of the rack, tuck the ends of the wings underneath the body like shown on the picture.
-
Stuff the cavity of the turkey with quartered lemons and onion. If the legs of the turkey are not tied together, use a kitchen twine to tie the legs. Do not tie them too tight or the dark meat will take too long to cook, leaving the breast very dry.
-
Thoroughly dry the turkey with paper towels. Drizzle melted butter or oil and rub the turkey all over. Alternatively, you can use room temperature butter to rub the turkey with.
-
If using a V-rack for cooking the turkey, line it with foil (for easier clean up) and poke about 20 holes in it all around the foil. If using a pan like mine, just place parchment paper and score the paper with a knife in places where the rack underneath has openings.
-
Place turkey on top of the parchment-lined rack. Using such a small pan really wasn’t such a great idea. If you have a larger one, by all means, use it.
-
Place in the oven at 425F, on the lowest rack for about 30-40 minutes and allow the skin to brown nicely. Maybe not as nicely as mine. You probably don’t need the turkey to be as tan as mine got in some places.
-
Now add a handmade foil triangle that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray on the side that’s touching the turkey nicely covering the breast part of the meat. You can use oil or butter instead of non-stick spray. Also, put the thermometer through the thickest part of the breast.
-
Place back in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F. Cook until the thermometer inserted into the breast reads 165F and the temperature measured by inserting the thermometer deep into the thigh reads 180F. Give at least 15 minutes per pound of turkey. No need to baste the meat with anything. It has been proven that basting does not increase the moistness of the breast and instead just cools down the oven every time you open it so it just adds to the cooking time, with no benefit for the bird.
-
Once the turkey has reached 165F inside the breast meat and 180F at the thigh meat, remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes covered with foil. This step is critical for the turkey to keep its moisture within the meat.
-
Meanwhile, wash the kale leaves that will be used for garnish. Cut out the hard stems, then fan out the leaves around the perimeter of the plate.
-
Insert a wooden spoon inside the cavity of the turkey and transfer it to the garnished plate. Cut up a couple oranges arrange around the bird.
-
You can watch the video below to see how you can carve the turkey.
-
Cut the turkey into serving size pieces and arrange on a serving platter, like shown below.