Holiday & Christmas Classics: Brined Roasted Turkey - Not as hard as you think

I know that you will all be annoyed with me saying this by now but the best and safest way to determine if something is cooked is to get yourself a food temperature probe! 

A lot of professional kitchens will use something like a hypiglas which isn't necessarily uber expensive but is likely to last a lot longer than a cheaper alternative. This is a good cheaper alternative. It is very easy to find temperature guides online for different foods but a good rule of thumb is 75°C which is taught under basic food hygiene and safety courses.

I can't remember if I have spoken about Fallow before? They are an amazing restaurant in London and its head chefs started an AMAZING youtube channel they have a short video on brining a whole roast chicken and a longer video and since I started brining my meats, I haven't gone back. For a Turkey we want to use a 7% brine so for example 100g salt to 1000ml/1litre water. For more info watch their videos I have linked. 

If you are going to wet brine you need a pot large enough that will fit in your fridge or somewhere very cold. Then again, you need space in your fridge to defrost your turkey if using frozen! A frozen turkey will take 2-5 days to defrost in the fridge depending on how big it is! You then need 24 hours to brine and 12 hours to dry in the fridge plus 3-4 hours to roast, then 45-60 minutes to  rest before carving. It sound daunting but if you create yourself a schedule it can really help.

To brine and roast a 5.5kg turkey you will need:

A large disinfected box (you can also get specialist brining bags and tubs fairly cheap online, I use them for brining turkeys, chicken, for salt beef lots of things), 

a 5.5kg turkey,

 2 litres water,

8 litres very cold water,

700g sea salt or kosher salt (I have linked the one I use), 

2 Tbsp peppercorns, 

50ml sherry vinegar, 

1 Tbsp Bicarbonate soda, 

5 bay leaves, 

1 large onion cut in quarters,

10-30g fresh rosemary (I just use a supermarket pack), 

30g fresh parsley, 

1 pack supermarket fresh sage (or a handful of fresh sage if you grow your own), 

200g light soft brown sugar,

ice if needed.

1. Remove the giblets from your defrosted turkey (the neck and organs that come in a little bag) and save them for your gravy. Ideally roast them then they have several days in the fridge which is how long this will take. 
2. Add your 2 litres of water to a large pot with all of your aromatics (everything but your bicarb).
3. Heat your pan over a low heat stirring until the sugar and salt have completely dissolved.
4. Add your cold water into your brining tub/box then add your hot spiced brining fluid.
5. Stir in the bicarbonate soda (crucial for tender meat!). 
6. Stir and test to make sure the liquid isn't hot, then add your whole turkey.
7. If the brine is hot, add in a good cup or two of ice cubes and stir then once your brine is cooled, add your turkey.
8. Make sure the turkey is submerged then put the lid on and place the turkey in your fridge or somewhere extremely cool (we are talking between 2-5°C) for 24 hours. If your turkey isn't fully submerged, flip it over after 12 hours.
9. After the 24 hours is up, drain the turkey and pat it dry then place it on a rack over a tray and leave to dry in the fridge for 12 hours.

To roast the turkey you will need:

2 leeks halved lengthways and in half horizontally so you get 4 pieces from each leek,

3 halved carrots,

300ml good chicken stock,

Your brined, dried turkey

Plenty of good quality tin foil.

1. 2 hours before roasting take your turkey from the rack and place your leeks and carrot flat side down in the tray.
2. Pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the pan.
3. Once the time reaches 1.5 hours into bringing the turkey to room temp, set your oven to preheat to 180°C. 
4. Once your oven has preheated, place your turkey tray on the hob and turn your burners onto medium.
5. Once you hear the stock in the bottom of the pan boiling, turn off your burners and carefully use oven mits to move your pan to the oven.
6. Roast your turkey for 2 hours and 30 minutes then remove the foil (save the foil for resting).
7. Crank the heat up to 200°C and bake for a further 15 minutes then temperature probe the turkey. You want it to reach 70°C at the deepest part of the turkey near the bone. I say 70 because the temperature will rise as the turkey rests! If your turkey browns too fast before it is done, place the foil back on top of the turkey.
8. Once your turkey reaches the right temperature place the pan on some heatproof pads, place the saved foil on top and wrap it best as you can then place a couple of bath towels on top.
9. Let your turkey rest for 45-60 minutes.

During this time drain any juices from the pan to use for your gravy. If you haven't carved a whole bird before, the easiest way to do it is to use a sharp, long, slightly flexible knife and take your turkey breasts and legs off before carving them up this is the best video I have found. Once you have your turkey breast and legs off, you can cut the breast as thin or thick as you like.