Tips from Alton Brown's fantastic show. Brining the bird is the key to moist meat. Made this again this year, only brined in just water instead of stock to save some dough. Again, the bird turned out perfectly. Growing up, I hated white meat because it was always dry and grinding on your teeth , now I love white meat. Cook time includes the brining time.
Cuisine: Main Ingredient: Turkey
kcinaz ,This was the best turkey I’ve ever made. I did use vegetable broth to start and changed a few other ingredients. Since I made the brine on Thanksgiving Day I had to use ice to quickly cool down the brine and then only had 4 hours to soak the bird. I want to use this for a whole chicken sometime too.6y
jonathanwillard2 ,Best turkey I've ever had. I've made it three thanksgivings in a row now. Super easy.8y
keleynal ,I don't have a ton of experience roasting turkey but this was easy and delicious! My husband is not a turkey fan and he could not get enough of this. For people concerned about the salt content in the brine, it really is necessary to ensure moist and flavorful breast meat.9y
doublechin ,From the Food Network website www.foodnetwork.com/.../al... Ingredients 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey For the brine: 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 For the aromatics: 1 red apple, sliced 1/2 onion, sliced 1 cinnamon stick 1 cup water 4 sprigs rosemary 6 leaves sage Canola oil10y
cheryldugger ,This is NOT the original recipe, and it is a shame it comes up first on the search for it. Brine, by definition needs SALT, to be, well, brine. There is a scientific reason for the salt and water to be in the exact measurements as stated in the original recipe. The stock and allspice berries, peppercorns, etc should not have been omitted and called Good Eats Roast Turkey. And NEVER STUFF A TURKEY! Did the OP ever watch the episode? Stuffing slows down cooking, breeds bacteria and the "aromatics" listed wouldn't have anywhere to be if there was nasty stuffing in the cavity! Go to the Food Network and get the recipe.11y
heatherteeter ,this isn't the complete Alton Brown recipe for Thanksgiving turkey.... I'm not sure how it would turn out but the original is amazing.... for the original recipe goto Food Network.com and search for Turkey under Alton Brown... my dad is a big fan of the original recipe and he is normally not a turkey person... I was always told do it right or don't do it all and this recipe needs every ingredient in my opinion to work...11y
fabfanfine ,This was my first time cooking a turkey, I made it for my husband when he was home for R&R... (Thanksgiving is his favorite meal) He said it was better than his moms! That's the highest of compliments!12y
bez1975 ,Hi I'm across the pond in the UK found this Recipe last year and gave it a try. FANTASTIC ! just doing now for this year too ! I recommend it 1000% thanks and Merry Christmas :)12y
davidsond ,Finally broke down and made this for thanksgiving this year After discussing it forge last few years - absolutely incredible! Best turkey I've ever eaten.12y
misa28 ,Well I found the recipe that AB used and his brine called for vegetable stock as well, was that purposely omitted? And it said to brine for 8 to 16 hours, this recipe says 6. But either way sounds good and can't wait to try12y
soapsaltsandsuch ,I have made this for 3 years now! I do always rinse the bird well after brining so it's not salty and it does not take away the flavor or moistness! I will forever brine a turkey and thick pork chops!12y
tripletmama ,I've been dying to try this technique ever since I caught a re-run, late night, after Thanksgiving this last year... I am a huge AB fan and he's never let me down before so I figured this would be awesome!! Glad you posted this, it's great to see others have tried it and loved it! I may just have to pretend it's Thanksgiving in February! Lol!13y
shilohann ,For Thanksgiving this year we prepared three different turkeys. Our traditional stuffed roast turkey, a smoked turkey and for the first time we brined a turkey using this recipe (I'm a huge Alton Brown fan). I followed the directions exactly and the results were INCREDIBLE! The turkey was beautiful and perfectly cooked. The skin was crunchy and aromatic, the moistness of the meat was unbelievable, and the flavors were subtle and balanced. Even the leftovers remained moist and savory. The only issue I had was when some of the juices started smoking while cooking at 500°. That made me a little nervous but once that 30 minutes was up there were no more issues! Thanks for posting this excellent recipe and for making our Thanksgiving yummy!13y
stevemur ,Brining recipe and description was supreme. Important note -- I know Alton Brown has previously said that "stuffing is evil". This is one of the very few areas where I part company with him -- clearly, stuffing is mandatory. I deviated from this recipe because I couldn't bear to skip the traditional bread stuffing, but used the brining and roasting technique completely as described, and can vouch for it. (In my case, the timing was exact and the bird came out so moist that several tablespoons of juice came out on my first cut. Beware!) Fantastic.13y
mermaiden ,Made this recipe again and also used an injection kit alongside it. It just doesn't get any better!!!14y
mermaiden ,WOW... this was delicious... I don't think I'll ever roast another turkey without doing it this way. I will note that though it certainly had no ill effect on the outcome, my turkey's skin blackened a bit more than I would have wanted during that first 1/2 hr, but it's probably just because my oven gets really hot... I'll have to go lower than 500 degrees next time.14y