How to make the Best Christmas Turkey Ever!

This article will instruct you on how to roast the most succulent turkey your family has ever tasted.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• One thawed turkey
• One large bucket, cooler, or other container large enough to hold your turkey
• 2 Gallons water
• 1 ½ C Kosher Salt
• 3 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs ground black pepper
• ¼ C Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 C brown sugar

1. In your large container combine water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.
2. Take your thawed turkey and remove the innards. Place turkey in prepared brine mixture. Let set over night (from 10 to 24 hours).
3. Before Cooking, remove turkey from brine. Rinse thoroughly inside and out, to remove any excess salt. Pat dry with a paper towel, then discard.
4. Brush turkey breast, legs, and thighs with a thin coating of canola oil. (During the first 30 minutes of cooking, this oil may cause your oven to emit a small amount of smoke, do not be alarmed. Your turkey will turn out fabulous, and when you reduce the heat, the smoke will be eliminated. Just crack an outside door or window during this time.)
5. Roast turkey in a 500 degree oven for the first 30 minutes. After that first half an hour, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue cooking for the remainder of the time.

Tips & Warnings

• Follow the cooking time instructions on your bird. Brining usually shortens the cooking time slightly, but make sure the internal temperature of your turkey is 165 degrees farenheit serving.
• Dissolve the salt in 4 cups of boiling water (taken from your 2 gallons) before adding it to the brine mixture – this will prevent the salt from settling to the bottom of the container.
• Try adding different ingredients to the brine mixture to spice things up a bit, depending on your palate. You might want to include some red hot chili or maybe some apple and onion.
• A food safe bag placed in your crisper drawer makes a great brining spot for your turkey, if it will fit.
• Be careful when working with poultry. Be sure to thoroughly clean all surfaces that touch the raw bird.
• When brining the turkey it is extremely important to keep the temperature of the bird below 40 degrees farenheit.