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Roast Turkey

By Brian Lagerstrom
Every year on Thanksgiving, I would find myself disappointed with the turkey so I made it my mission to create the greatest roasted turkey recipe of all time. This recipe combines new ideas with traditional techniques and will make your holiday turkey the star of the show.
Prep Time: 3 days
Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 days 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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Ingredients 

TURKEY:

  • 8 kg whole turkey, about 17 lbs. Adjust ingredient quantities for larger or smaller birds
  • 4,000 g water, for brine
  • 300 g kosher salt
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 4 heads of garlic, halved
  • 1 clamshell poultry herb blend, (sage, rosemary, thyme)
  • 4,000 g ice
  • 240 g water, for roasting pan
  • olive oil, for brushing
Metric - US Customary

Instructions 

TURKEY:

    Prepare Turkey:

    • Thaw turkey completely. Once thawed, remove anything from the inside of the turkey. Detach the wings. Save wings and neck for the gravy.
      • Thawing a 17lb turkey takes about 3-4 days in the fridge. You can also thaw it in about 8 hours in running cold water, but I recommend planning ahead by thawing in the fridge if possible.

    Make Brine:

    • In a large stock pot, combine 4000g water, 300g salt, sugar, bay, garlic, & herbs. Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Pour infused mixture over ice to cool completely.
      • If you like your turkey on the saltier side, increase salt in brine to 350-400g (for a 17 lb turkey). I wouldn't go past 400g.

    Inject & Brine Turkey:

    • Use a brine injector to inject brine into the breast (5-6 injections per side) and each leg (2-3 injections).
    • Next use the tip of the brine injector to pierce the turkey 40-50 times per breast and 20-30 times per leg. Pour brine in a brining bucket or large container, submerge turkey in the brine, breast down. Refrigerate 3 days.

    Prepare for Roasting:

    • Preheat oven to 425°F/218°C.
    • In a roasting pan with rack, lay down a few sheets of folded tin foil on top of rack and grease or spray foil with pan spray. Pour a cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan (to prevent burning).
    • Lay turkey breast side down on top of foil. If using wireless probe thermometer, insert 1 into breast & 1 into leg thigh, careful not to touch bone. Cover with 2 layers of foil.

    Roast:

    • Roast in the oven for 1 hour at 425°F/218°C.
    • Remove foil cover, reduce oven to 325°F/163°C and continue roasting for 90-120 minutes or until the breast temperature reaches 150°F/65°C and the thigh is 165°F/74°C.

    Rest & Brown Skin:

    • Remove turkey from the oven when ideal temp is reached. Tent the turkey loosely with foil & rest for 1 hour.
    • Reserve all drippings to use for gravy then flip the turkey breast side up on the roasting rack. Truss drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Brush the breast skin with olive oil.
    • Roast again, uncovered, at 500°F/260°C for 20 minutes to brown and crisp the skin.
    • Carve and serve.
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