Thanksgiving Turkey

This method is mostly taken from the Good Eats Thanksgiving special “Romancing the Bird”.

Dry Brining

If you bought your turkey frozen, be sure that it is defrosted.

Combine the salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, and pepper. Rub down the turkey with salt mixture, paying particular attention to the breasts and thighs.

Put the turkey in a pan or dish large enough to hold it. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for three days.

Prep

Quarter or halve your apple and onion then microwave, with the cinnamon sticks, for 5 min. in shallow water. Place your rosemary, sage, cinnamon, apple, and onion into the cavity of the turkey.

Put a wire rack on a baking pan and place the turkey on top, breasts up. Tuck the tips of the wings underneath the turkey. If the ends of the legs are already secured to each other, leave them. Otherwise, tie the ends together with a length of twine.

Insert your thermometer into the deepest part of one of the breasts, being sure not to hit bone.

Finally, take a large, square peice of aluminum foil and fold it in half diagonally to form a triangle. Rub one side down with some canola oil, then place it on the turkey breasts with the right angled corner at the bottom of the breasts, between the legs, and the opposite side up by the neck cavity. Mold the foil to the shape of the turkey then remove and set aside.

Cooking

Preheat your oven to 500° F.

Rub canola oil all over the turkey. Pour a shallow layer of water in the pan to prevent the drippings from burning. Bake for 30 min. to brown the skin.

Put the aluminum foil we prepped earlier back over the turkey breasts. Set oven to 350° F and continue baking until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 161° F (about 1¾ hours for a 15 lb. turkey).

Pull your turkey out of the oven. Remove the aluminum foil. Cover the turkey with something to trap in the heat (such as an aluminum foil tent) and let rest for at leat 5 min.