Roasted Turkey

By oldbklady

Ingredients

• For the aromatics:
• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1 gal vegetable stock or water
• 1 c. kosher salt
• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 1/4 c. black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice berries
• 1 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 gal ice water
• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 c. water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Preparation

Step 1

2 to 3 days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator. Combine the garlic, vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, thyme and bay leaf in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day before you'd like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey breast side down in brine. Make sure the bird is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 16. Turn the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. Place the bird on roasting rack and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting or until internal temperature reaches 161 degrees in the thickest part of breast. Remove from oven and let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.