I know Thanksgiving has long passed and I’m super late with this but I wanted to share it anyway.
I’ve made turkey three times before and each time I got compliments on how juicy it was. I’ve only ever done it by brining it. Each time I’ve added different things to the brine but I think this time it was the best one and now I have it right here for you!
For this one, I was inspired by Food Network’s Anne Burrel’s recipe.
Ingredients:
-1 15-18 lb turkey
-3/4 salt kosher salt
-1/3 cup sugar
-2 onions, diced
-2 carrots, diced
-4 celery ribs, diced
-1 garlic bulb, cut in half
-2 tsp rosemarry
-2 tbs coriander seeds
-2 tbs fennel seeds
-6 bay leaves
-1 tsp crushed red pepper
-1 tsp red chili powder
-1 orange cut in half, with peel
For the spicy herb butter:
-2 sticks butter at room temp
-2 cloves garlic chopped
-1 tsp rosemary
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp chili flakes
For roasting:
-1 bunch of green onions
-1 yellow onion, chopped
-4 carrots, chopped
-4 celery ribs, chopped
Directions:
1. To brine the turkey, boil 1/2 gallon of water with the salt, sugar, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves, crushed red pepper and chili powder. Once it boils, turn the heat off and let it cool. Add 1 and a half gallon of ice water to the 1/2 gallon and stir thoroughly. Then, submerge the turkey into the water and let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
2. A few hours before you are ready to roast the turkey, make the herb butter. In a small bowl, combine butter, chopped garlic, rosemary, onion powder and chili flakes and some salt.
3. Take the bird out of the fridge, rinse it and pat it dry. Then, massage the butter under the skin and all over the bird.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. For roasting, in a pan, place green onions, yellow onion, chopped carrots and chopped celery ribs. Put the turkey on top of these veggies and pop it in the oven, uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until it becomes browned. Then, reduce the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Baste with the pan juices and rotate pan every 30 minutes for the rest of the cooking time. It’s about 17 minutes per pound. If the turkey starts getting too brown, just tent it loosely with foil.
5. Remove the turkey when an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
6. I served it on a platter with roasted potatoes, corn and boiled eggs on the side.
The entire turkey was devoured, there was barely any leftovers! I got many compliments, one person said it was the best and juiciest turkey they’ve ever had! I was super happy but I may be taking a break from being the one to make it next year. 😉
If you try this out, please tag me on on Instagram by using #tayonthemove. I would love to see how you did!
