Juicy and Tender Roast Turkey
My Thanksgiving Turkey is Never Dry
Thanksgiving is always an elaborate affair when it comes to our family’s standard constellation of dishes: Turkey (1-2, who says we can’t have a second feast on Saturday), gravy (which CC#2 claims is always in shortage), stuffing (regular, gluten-free, and vegetarian), cranberry sauce (cooked and spiked) and relish (raw), marshmallow yams (CC#2 is till a firm believer), and PIES (4 to be exact). Yet year after year, I reach into a pile of recipes, trying to remember what worked and making more changes along the way.
Now I am finally putting together a full collection of our Thanksgiving recipes so the whole family can reference them in the future. I hope these dishes will continue to evolve and I look forward to the girls’ contributions.
Roast Turkey
Turkey is a tough bird and does not taste good unless prepared correctly. Unfortunately, most roasted turkeys at American Thanksgiving dinners are dry and flavorless. What is missing is salt brining. Most American cooks either don’t know or don’t want to bother with this step. I still remember taking CC#1 to a Thanksgiving dinner where party was in full swing yet the turkey was in the bathtub thawing! These days, reputable recipes contain either dry or wet brine of turkey for a few hours to about half a day. But that is hardly enough time! Having worked with both dry and wet brines, I end up putting a frozen turkey in a big cooler lined with a plastic garbage bag and submerge the bird in 3-4 gallons of salt and sugar brine for up to 5 days to produce a tender, moist, and delicious roast turkey that even my Chinese friends flock to eat. My current version is adapted from Cooks Illustrated’s Roasted Brined Turkey.
Ingredients:
Frozen turkey, less than 15 pounds (hard to cook if larger)
1/2 cup table salt + 1/4 cup sugar per gallon of water
Baking powder, 2 tsp, mixed in canola oil (4-5 tbsp)
2 cups of chopped onion, celery, carrots, mixed with thyme and rosemary springs, salt and pepper and canola oil
Instructions:
Line large cooler (deep enough to host turkey comfortably) with large plastic bag, place frozen turkey breast-side down
Fill with brine until turkey is submerged
Check on turkey after 1-2 days as the bird thaws, and pull out neck and giblets from cavity and leave them in brine
Add plastic bags full of ice or frozen cold packs in cooler if outside temperature is not cool enough (less than 40F) and continue to brine until morning of Thanksgiving, about 4-5 days in total
Remove turkey from brine about an hour before baking (around 9 am if you want to have the turkey ready by 1-2 pm)
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400F
Line large V-rack with generously-sized heavy duty foil (use small knife to slit 30-40 holes/slits) and place rack in large roasting pan (high rim)
Put 1/2 of onion/carrot/celery mixture in roasting pan and add 1 cup of water
Place turkey breast side up on V-rack, rub turkey with baking powder/oil mixture, turn turkey over and rub turkey back with the same (don’t forget legs and wings, and neck area where there is a lot of skin)
Leave turkey on V-rack with back side up
Roast turkey, back side up, for 45 minutes
Remove roasting pan from oven, and use a thick wad of paper towels, rotate the turkey breast-side up, continue to roast for about 50-60 minutes longer, until thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees
Start checking meat temperature about 10-15 minutes before turkey is done. If less than 165F, turn on convection bake feature to give the bird the final color. Alternatively, turn up the temperature to 450F. The closer you can get the breast temperature to 165F, the more tender and moist the turkey.
Rest turkey for at least 30 minutes, carve with electric carver, against the grain for breast for maximum tenderness
Place roasting pan on two burners to cook down the dripping a bit (adding some water if needed), strain/press/discard roasted vegetables and herbs, pour into fat separator to extract the essence of the roasted turkey to be added to gravy stock.
Turkey Gravy:
Roast turkey neck and giblets at 350F until browned (about 30-45 minutes)
Cook roasted turkey parts with 8 cups of water, 1 cup of chopped celery, onion and carrots, parsley with stems, and thyme sprigs. Cook for 2-3 hours until fragrant, strain out solids, and keep stock hot while preparing gravy thickener.
Thickener: You have two choices. a) Make a roux by whisking 1/4 cup of flour in 2 tbsp of roasted turkey fat (from drippings) or butter melted in fry pan on medium heat. Roux is ready when brown and fragrant. b) Mix 1/4 of corn starch (GF) with same amount turkey stock.
In medium pot, gradually whisk to incorporate hot turkey stock into thickener to no lumps, then add in roasted turkey dripping (defatted)
Bring everything to boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. If the gravy is too thin, add a little more corn starch mixed with water to desired thickness.
