How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey
There can be several ways of cooking a Thanksgiving turkey; every family has its own recipe. Here however, we will be telling you how to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving turkey. In the recipe mentioned below, the turkey will be left in the brine overnight.
Ingredients:
- 1 fresh turkey (18-20 pounds)
- Two medium-sized onions, roughly chopped
- Two medium-sized leeks, roughly chopped
- Two carrots, roughly chopped
- Two stalks of celery, roughly chopped
- Three cups of coarse salt (you may need more for seasoning)
- Five cups of sugar
- Two dried bay leaves
- Three sprigs of fresh thyme
- Three sprigs of parsley
- Two teaspoons black peppercorns, and grounded pepper
For the gravy:
- 1 stick of melted unsalted butter, and another ¼ cup of softened unsalted butter
- ½ cup of dry white wine
For chestnut stuffing:
- Crab apples
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Fresh sage
Instructions:
- Mix salt, sugar, onions, leeks, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns in 10 cups of water in a large stock pot. Make sure that the sugar and salt have dissolved completely in water, and then boil the mixture. This is the brine solution. After the solution has boiled, remove it from the heat.
- Place the turkey in the brine solution inside the stock pot. Cover the pot, and put it inside the refrigerator overnight. The next day, remove the turkey from the brine solution, and clean it carefully. Rinse the meat well to ensure that all the salt has been washed from the meat surface. Pat dry. Leave the meat for about two hours so that it comes down to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Mix the melted unsalted butter and the white wine together. Take a large piece of cheesecloth and fold it into quarters. The fold should be large enough to cover the turkey breast and sides. Soak the cheesecloth in the butter and wine mixture for a while,
- On a V-rack inside a roasting pan, place the turkey breast side up. Fold its wing tips. Sprinkle the insides of the turkey with one teaspoon of salt and pepper each. Fill the neck and larger cavity of the bird with the stuffing of your choice. Using a kitchen twine, tie its legs together. Also, fold the neck flap of the turkey and secure it using trussing pins. Apply the softened unsalted butter all over the meat, and season the bird with salt and pepper.
- Now, remove the cheesecloth from the butter and wine mixture. Squeeze the cloth into the bowl. This will be used later for brushing on the turkey. Place the cheesecloth on the turkey, and place the roasting pan inside the oven. Roast the turkey for about 30 minutes, and then remove the roasting pan from the oven. Apply the butter and wine mixture over the cheesecloth as well as the exposed portions of the meat. Reduce the oven temperature to about 350 degrees F, and replace the roasting pan.
- Keep brushing the turkey with the butter and wine mixture every 30 minutes, while also roasting it for another two-and-a-half hours.
- Then, remove the cheesecloth from the turkey, and rotate the roasting pan. Baste the turkey with the pan juices. Roast the turkey again, till the meat thermometer registers a temperature of about 170 degrees F, or till the meat turns golden brown in color.
- Remove the turkey from the oven, and let it arrive at room temperature before carving it.