| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 9 hr 45 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 7 hr |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 10 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 gallon vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
- 1 red apple, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- Canola oil
Instructions
- 2 to 3 days before roasting:
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- 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 the 5-gallon bucket. 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, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- 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. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Reviews
We have been feasting on Alton’s brined turkey for years and years, Thanksgiving, Christmas and just because! Well worth the brining steps! Paired with a fresh organic free range turkey, well, it is nothing short of turkey heaven! It is in the oven, now, as I type this, as i import recipes into my digital app, as a backup to my well-worn and loved binder. Smells delicious. You will be thinking “we’re gonna need a bigger bird” next year as leftovers go quickly. Thank you to Alton Brown for bringing a delicious part of our traditions and holidays to us!
I love Alton’s turkey and his amazing “Best Ever Gravy”. I’ve been using this recipe for years. The only thing is If you don’t like crispy skin covering it while resting will steam the skin and soften it up. I like crispy skin, so I don’t.
I made this Turkey recipe twice in a row now on Thanksgiving Day. I love how it turned out. It’s moist, and you can taste the brine seasoning. I also like that it cooks faster. Thanks, Alton, for sharing the tips on every step. I love this great recipe.
Been making this turkey since Romancing the Bird first aired. Easiest, juiciest, tastiest bird ever!
I’ve made this several years in a row now, and it ALWAYS is a crowd pleaser! I’ve had to increase the size of the turkey over the years because it was gone the first time I made it! FANTASTIC, THE BEST!!!!!
Brined Turkey is the best and juiciest Turkey you’ll Ever eat!!
Don’t forget to roast your Turkey “Breast Side Down”! Why let the juices drip from the breast to the back? That just doesn’t are sense!! Let All of the juices drip from the back TO THE BREAST!! If you Have to have crispy skin all over the bird, insert two wooden implements into the Turkey cavities and carefully turn it breast side up 1/2 hour before it is to be done and turn the heat up a little!
Don’t forget to roast your Turkey “Breast Side Down”! Why let the juices drip from the breast to the back? That just doesn’t are sense!! Let All of the juices drip from the back TO THE BREAST!! If you Have to have crispy skin all over the bird, insert two wooden implements into the Turkey cavities and carefully turn it breast side up 1/2 hour before it is to be done and turn the heat up a little!
Find my turkey every year for the past 8 years it is a big hit with the family however for the past two years we have brinded and smoked it.
With the exact ingredients you instructed it is a big head we never have leftovers our family eats until it’s completely gone that we usually don’t make our turkey no more than 20 lb
Howdy from South Texas
With the exact ingredients you instructed it is a big head we never have leftovers our family eats until it’s completely gone that we usually don’t make our turkey no more than 20 lb
Howdy from South Texas
I found this recipe five or six years ago, and my family absolutely loves it, I use this recipe and then wrap the turkey in bacon, it is so amazing and with the apple and cinnamon inside the cooking turkey the whole house smells amazing while it cooks.
I found this recipe 15 years ago and continue to use it every year! The turkey comes out so tender and juicy! A little too salty to make gravy from, but definitely worth it. I substitute Chicken Stock for the vegetable stock. It’s amazing every time!
This recipe will NOT disappoint. And my personal favourite part, is the absolutely perfect turkey soup stock this makes. Just boil the carcass (aromatics and all) and you are left with a soup base that will warm your heart on a chilly fall day.