Dry Brined Herbed Turkey Food

BIG, BRINED HERBY TURKEY

Steps:

• Brine the turkey: Combine 2 gallons water with the salt, sugar, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves and crushed red pepper in a container large enough to accommodate all the ingredients and the turkey. Stir to combine. Submerge the turkey in the brine and refrigerate for 3 days.
• The night before you roast the bird, remove it from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Make the herb butter: In a small bowl, combine the butter, rosemary, sage and some salt. Using your fingers, carefully work your way under the skin of the turkey to separate it from the breasts and legs. Massage the butter under the skin, then all over the bird. This acts like suntan lotion to create a lovely, crispy brown skin. Tie the turkey legs together with twine to keep the bird nice and compact for even cooking.
• In your roasting pan, for the gravy, combine the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme bundle and bay leaves. Season with salt. Plunk the turkey on top of the veggies and put it in the fridge overnight uncovered. Yes, that's right...uncovered. This allows the skin of the turkey to dry out, which will create a gorgeous brown crispy skin. Now a bunch of your prep work is out of the way, so all you have to do tomorrow is toss the turkey in the oven!
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Pour the wine into the roasting pan and put the turkey in the screaming-hot oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it becomes beautifully browned. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Baste with the pan juices and rotate the pan every 30 minutes for the remainder of the cooking time; think 17 minutes per pound...you do the math. If the turkey starts to get too brown, tent it loosely with foil.
• Remove the turkey from the oven when an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. (Be sure the thermometer is not touching a bone.) Transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet, cover with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Make the gravy: Using a mesh strainer, strain the veggies out of the pan juices over a large bowl and allow the fat to rise to the top. Discard the veggies. Skim the fat from the pan juices, add it to a large saucepot and bring it to medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until it has the consistency of wet sand, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk the pan juices and stock into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until it is thick, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

DRY-BRINED FRIED TURKEY

Steps:

• Before dry brining, it is best to measure the frying vessel-to-turkey-ratio to keep the skin nice and dry. Place the turkey in the fryer with the legs pointed down and fill with water until the turkey is barely submerged. Mark where water line is at (on the outside of the vessel). Take out the turkey and proceed with the below.
• Put the salt, granulated garlic, black pepper and herbs in a food processor. Pulse until fine and uniform. Rub the inside and outside of the turkey with the spice mixture. Using your fingers, carefully separate the breast skin from the meat and rub the spice mix directly on the breast meat. Place on a wire-racked baking sheet and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Heat the oil in a turkey fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Carefully submerge the turkey into the oil, legs down. Fry until the thickest part of the breast registers 145 degrees F-- this could take 20 to 25 minutes (the bird is so hot it will carry over and perfectly hit the recommended temp). Watch the temperature of the oil and attempt to keep it at 350 the entire time.
• Take the turkey out of the oil and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

BRINED, HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the Brine:
• To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a nonreactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, food grade plastic storage bag). Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary. Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.
• Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
• Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels both inside and out. Place turkey, breast side up, in a large, heavy roasting pan. Rub breast side with orange segments and rub on all sides with the butter, stuffing some underneath the skin. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, remaining orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string. Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
• Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• For the turkey broth:
• Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
• For the pan gravy:
• Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat.
• Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
• Slice and serve guests with desired sides.

SUMAC DRY BRINED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Two days before cooking, combine the salt with the herbes de Provence, sumac and black pepper in a bowl. Rub all over the turkey, inside and out, and under the skin of the breast and legs where accessible, being careful to not tear the skin. Place on a sheet tray fitted with a rack or in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 days.
• Bring the turkey out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before cooking to temper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the butter, minced thyme and lemon zest in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey on a work surface. Spread the butter under the skin of the turkey around the legs and breasts, as evenly as possible. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemons, apple, shallots and sprigs of thyme. Tie the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place the onions, carrots, celery and garlic at the bottom of a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place the turkey on the rack. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg (do not touch bone) reads 155 to 160 degrees F, 12 to 14 minutes per pound, or 2 to 3 hours. Allow the turkey to rest for 90 minutes.
• For the gravy: Meanwhile, strain the drippings and juices from the roasting pan into a bowl. Discard the vegetables. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the raw flavor is cooked off, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cider vinegar and soy sauce for depth. Slowly whisk the strained drippings into the flour to avoid clumps. Simmer until the gravy just coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. (The gravy will not be a heavy thick gravy, but rather a light gravy.) Season to taste. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• Two days before serving, rinse turkey and pat dry. Rub all over with kosher salt, slipping salt under skin where possible and rubbing some into cavities. Use about 1 tablespoon per 4 pounds of bird.
• Wrap bird in a large plastic bag and place in refrigerator. On second night, turn turkey over. A couple of hours before cooking, remove turkey from bag and pat dry. (There is no need to rinse it first.) Place in roasting pan and allow to come to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle half the pepper into main cavity of turkey; add thyme, parsley, half the onions and half the apples. Truss legs with kitchen twine. Put remaining apples and onions in neck opening and tuck neck skin under bird.
• Rub butter under breast skin and onto thigh meat. Sprinkle bird with remaining pepper.
• Roast for 30 minutes. Remove turkey from oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees and cover breast of bird and wing tips with foil. Add 1 1/2 cups white wine (or use water) to bottom of roasting pan and roast bird for another two hours, depending on size; figure 12 minutes a pound for an unstuffed bird. Remove foil in last half-hour so breast browns.
• When turkey has roasted for 2 hours, begin to test for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer (digital is best) into two places in thigh, making sure not to touch bone. It should be at about 160 degrees.
• When roasting is done, tip turkey so interior juices run back into pan. Remove turkey to a separate baking sheet or serving platter, cover with foil and then a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Pour fat and drippings from pan into a measuring cup. Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup white wine (or use broth) and pour that into same measuring cup. Fat and drippings can then be used to make gravy.

GARLIC HERB-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove neck and giblets from turkey cavities; discard or reserve for another use. Place turkey in plastic brining bag or turkey-size oven bag.
• Bring 3 qt. water, salt, garlic, onions and herbs to boil in 8-qt. stockpot on high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add ice water and dressing; stir until ice is melted. Slowly pour over turkey in bag; tightly close bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 16 hours.
• Remove turkey from bag; discard bag and brine. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature 30 min.
• Heat oven to 425ºF. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 20 min. Reduce oven temperature to 375ºF. Melt butter; brush onto turkey.
• Bake 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until turkey is done (165ºF). Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil. Let stand 15 min. before carving.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY WITH CLASSIC HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Unwrap the turkey and remove the neck and giblets (reserve for gravy). Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry. Combine 1/3 cup salt, the sugar and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Rub all over the turkey and inside the cavity. Put on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse well and pat dry. (A dry brine is a good choice if you're short on fridge space.)
• Mix the butter, parsley, sage, thyme, 1 teaspoon pepper, the paprika and cloves until combined. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the butter, then rub the rest under the turkey skin on the breasts and legs. Rub 2 tablespoons of the reserved butter on the skin; chill and save the rest for your gravy. Let the turkey stand 30 minutes at room temperature before roasting.
• Put the oven rack in the lowest position; preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan, tucking the wing tips under. Tie the drumsticks together with twine. Roast until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 15 minutes per pound. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving. Whisk the reserved 2 tablespoons flavored butter into your gravy just before serving, if desired.

DRY-BRINED ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• The day before, remove the giblets from the turkey cavity and pat dry with paper towels.
• Combine the salt, sugar and pepper in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the mixture inside the turkey cavity and all over the outside skin, using all of it. Put the turkey on a large baking sheet or platter and refrigerate uncovered overnight.
• The next day, adjust a rack in the oven to the lowest position and remove the other racks. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Set a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
• Rinse the turkey very well and pat dry thoroughly. Stuff the cavity with the herbs, bay leaves, garlic and onion. Put the turkey on the roasting rack, breast-side up, and brush with half of the butter. Tent with aluminum foil.
• Roast the turkey for 2 hours, then remove the foil and brush with the remaining butter. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes more. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes, then remove and discard the herbs, bay leaves, garlic and onion before carving.

HERB-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a stockpot, combine the salt, brown sugar, sage, thyme, rosemary and 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add the cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Place a turkey-size oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add turkey. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally., Drain and discard brine; rinse turkey and pat dry. Tie drumsticks together. Place the remaining ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub half of the butter mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Rub remaining butter mixture over skin., Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°; bake 3-1/4 to 3-3/4 hours longer or until thermometer reads 180°, basting twice during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly., Remove turkey to a serving platter; cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.