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Brined and Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

I have been making this recipe for Brined and Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey for almost 20 years. A riff on Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey, this was the first recipe I followed for cooking a turkey. I had success with it, so it’s been a staple for us when we host Thanksgiving.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Ingredients for the brine:

  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 gallon vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 TBSP whole peppercorns
  • 1 gallon ice water

Ingredients for roasting the turkey:

  • 1 14-16 lb turkey, thawed
  • 1 apple, cored and quartered
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 sprig sage leaves
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • Olive oil

Instructions

To brine the turkey

  • In a large pot combine salt, honey, vegetable stock and peppercorns. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and honey. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. The brine can be made a day or two ahead and then stored in the fridge.
  • The day before cooking, remove the turkey from the packaging. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. Place your bird in a large bag and place the bag inside a cooler or inside one of the drawers of your refrigerator. Pour the brine over the bird. Seal up the bag.If you are using a cooler, place ice packs or ice around the bag. Brine the turkey overnight.

To roast the turkey

  • The next day, just before roasting the turkey, remove the bird from the brine, rinse it and pat dry. Place the bird breast side up on the rack of a roasting pan.
  • Preheat oven to 500°.
  • Rub the turkey liberally with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
  • Place the apple, rosemary, sage, lemon and onion inside the cavity of the turkey.
  • Tuck the wings under the body cavity. Tie the legs and tail together with kitchen twine. Add a cup of water to the roasting pan.
  • Place the turkey in the oven on the lowest rack. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°. Continue to roast until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°. It will take approximately 3 hours for a 12 pound turkey. Be sure to use a thermometer to measure the internal temp. Use a piece of aluminum foil to cover the breast, if the skin appears to be browning quickly.
  • Let the turkey rest 20 minutes before carving.