My favorite Roasted Turkey recipe

Make your Thanksgiving Turkey more flavorful than ever, so your guests will crave more and more of it. Super juicy, tender, flavorful and  absolutely delightful Roasted Turkey recipe is ready for you. All you need to do is buy a good fresh bird and one more important thing – a thermometer!
As I’ve mentioned in another post, my sister in law Tanya has been hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at her house for many years now. I’ve never had a need to worry about roasting a turkey until last year, when my husband’s side of the family put me in charge of the main dish 😅 for thanksgiving. As you could imagine, I freaked out for a little, because I understood how important this dish is. I knew that everyone will be trying the turkey. I don’t like complicated dishes at all. I love when my recipes are simple and delicious 🤷🏻‍♀️. Since my side of the family Have been loving Tanyas turkey, and she has been using her recipe for many years, so I decided to try it too.
First thing I realized that it wasn’t as complicated, as I thought it would be and if you are following the recipe, it’s not hard at all. This year I decided to work on the recipe little bit and I added some ingredients to make it even better and yes, it turned out very-very delicious !

Why do we need a thermometer?! Because all ovens are different and the time may be different for each oven. With a thermometer you will be able to make the perfectly cooked turkey with juicy and tender meat.

This Roasted Turkey recipe will make gorgeous centerpiece for your holiday table!

Ingredients:

1 fresh young turkey 10-16pounds (mine is 9lb)

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock or broth

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp all spice berries

1 tbsp chopped candied ginger

10-15 garlic cloves

4 dry bay leaves

1 orange, chopped

1 gallon heavily iced water

 

For the aroma:

2-3 apples, sliced

2 oranges, sliced

3 celery sticks , sliced

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

 

The skin rub:

3/4 cup good extra light olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

 

1. In a large stockpot combine kosher salt, vegetable stock, brown sugar, garlic, bay leaves, all spice berries, black peppercorns and chopped candied ginger. On a medium-high heat bring it to a boil stirring occasionally. Once solids has being dissolved, turn off the heat and cool the brine.  It has to be super cold before we start marinating the turkey in it. You can refrigerate it, or simply leaving it on the garage floor will do, because as we have noticed, it’s super cold outside these days, so there is no need to refrigerate. I did my brine the night before I was planning to marinate the turkey.

2. The day before you would like to bake / eat your turkey, combine the brine with chopped oranges, iced water and turkey in a large oven bag (turkey size).

!!! Make sure that all the innards of the turkey have been removed.
3. Place the turkey breast side down. Ensure that the brine is coating the whole turkey properly. Close the bag and set the turkey in a  cool area for 24 hours to marinate.        

4. To bake it- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  Remove turkey from brine and rinse well in a cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.
5. Fill the turkey with chopped rosemary, oranges, apples and celery. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin generously with oil, garlic and rosemary mixture.
6. Roast the turkey on the bottom (lowest possible) rack of the oven at 500 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Insert a thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Don’t miss the perfect raring for your bird! As soon as the alarm will beep at 161 degrees F it’s done. Set the alarm on your thermometer if it’s possible.

A 14-16 pound Turkey should require a total of 2- 2 1/2 hours of baking. My turkey was 9 pounds and I baked it for 1 hour 50 minutes.
Take out turkey from the oven and place it on a big serving plate. Let it rest for about 15 minutes before serving.
Also, this turkey recipe pairs perfectly with my Easy Cranberry Sauce recipe.

Now that you have accomplished your mission, you can easily be proud of yourself and enjoy the rest of the day with your loved ones.

 

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I’m so thankful for all of you! Thank you for your support and kindness. ❤️ you all.

Iryna.