Thanksgiving is incomplete without turkey. Alton Brown's Classic Brined and Roasted Turkey is a must-try recipe that promises a juicy, flavorful, and tender turkey that will be the star of your holiday table. This comprehensive guide includes not only the classic turkey recipe but also variations for turkey breast and turkey legs, ensuring that you have options to suit your preferences and the size of your gathering.
Alton Brown's turkey recipes start with a flavorful brine that infuses the meat with moisture and seasonings. The turkey is then roasted to perfection, resulting in a crispy golden brown skin and succulent meat. Whether you choose the whole turkey, turkey breast, or turkey legs, you'll find detailed instructions and helpful tips to guide you through the process.
Along with the main turkey recipes, this article also includes complementary dishes to complete your Thanksgiving feast. You'll find recipes for savory stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, tangy cranberry sauce, and a rich gravy that will elevate the flavors of your turkey. With its comprehensive approach and expert guidance, this article is the ultimate resource for creating a memorable Thanksgiving meal that will impress your family and friends.
GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY
This holiday season, serve Alton Brown's most-popular recipe: a brined and roasted turkey from Good Eats on Food Network.
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time 9h45m
Yield 10 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger 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.
- The night before or early on the day you'd like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan 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 F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
ALTON'S ROAST TURKEY
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time 12h
Yield 10 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- 2-3 days before roasting:
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger 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 or the night before you'd like to eat:
- Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan 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 F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 151 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
TURKEY WITH STUFFING
Follow Alton Brown's lead for stuffing a turkey with his Turkey with Stuffing recipe from Good Eats on Food Network.
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories side-dish
Time 3h15m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the turkey into a deep, high-sided bowl on its end with the stuffing end up. Set aside.
- Heat the chicken broth in the microwave in a large microwave-proof container. Place mushrooms in a glass bowl and pour heated broth over them. Cover and allow to sit for 35 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl toss the onion, celery, and green pepper with the oil and salt. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan and roast for 35 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, spread the cubed bread over the vegetables, return to the oven, and continue cooking.
- Drain mushrooms, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Chop the mushrooms and place in a large
- microwave-proof bowl with the vegetables and bread, reserved chicken stock, cherries, pecans, eggs, sage, parsley and black pepper. Stir well in order to break up pieces of bread. Use your hands to combine, if necessary. Heat the stuffing in a microwave on high power for 6 minutes.
- While the stuffing is heating, rub the bird with oil. Working quickly, place the stuffing into the cavity of the turkey to avoid losing heat. Place the turkey into a roasting pan, on a rack, and season with salt and pepper. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for another 60 to 75 minutes or until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F. Serve immediately.
BUTTERFLIED, DRY BRINED ROASTED TURKEY WITH ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE PANZANELLA
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time P4DT3h5m
Yield 8 to 10 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- For the turkey: Four days before service, place the salt, sage, thyme, black peppercorns, and allspice into a spice grinder and pulse until the peppercorns and allspice are coarsely ground, 5 to 6 pulses. Set aside.
- Set the turkey, breast-side down, on a large cutting board with the tail closest to you. Use an electric knife or heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut up one side of the backbone. Turn the bird around and cut back down the other side of the spine. Reserve the backbone for Giblet Stock. Discard any fat pockets or excess skin found inside the turkey. Turn the turkey breast-side up and use the heel of your hands to press down on both breasts, until you hear a cracking sound and the bird has flattened slightly.
- Rub the seasoned salt on both sides of the turkey. Place the turkey on a parchment paper lined half sheet pan, breast-side up with legs running with the long side of the pan. Store, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
- For the panzanella: Place the parsnips and rutabaga in a large nonstick roasting pan, toss with vegetable oil and set aside.
- Place one rack in the middle of the oven and a second one far enough below so the roasting pan will fit. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the turkey directly on the middle rack of the oven with the legs perpendicular to the metal bars of the rack.
- Place the roasting pan with the parsnips and rutabaga on the rack below the turkey and roast both for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Add the red onion to the roasting vegetables and stir to combine. Continue to roast both the vegetables and the turkey until a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees F, an additional 40 to 50 minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the oven onto a cooling rack set inside a half sheet pan and rest for 30 minutes.
- Add the Brussels sprouts, bread cubes and garlic to the roasting vegetables, stir to combine and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven and immediately transfer to a serving bowl. Pour the apple cider vinegar in the warm roasting pan, stir and scrape off any browned bits from the pan. Pour the vinegar mixture over the salad, add the thyme and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Carve the turkey with an electric knife and serve with the panzanella.
TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time 3h15m
Yield 10 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the broth, salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice and ginger in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate the brine.
- The night before you'd like to eat: Truss the legs of the turkey with kitchen twine if desired. Combine the brine, water and ice in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey, with innards removed, breast-side down in the brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover and refrigerate or place everything in a cooler. Turn the bird once halfway through brining.
- Day of roasting: Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the bird with canola oil. Roast the bird on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
- While the bird is cooking, fold and shape a double thickness of aluminum foil into a closely fitting breastplate.
- After 30 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and cook until the temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Use the breastplate at any point during cooking should the bird become too brown.
- Rest the bird, covered lightly with aluminum foil, for 15 to 30 minutes. Carve and serve.
ALTON BROWN'S BRINED TURKEY
A salt water brine changes the cellular structure of the turkey and allows it to both hold in the moisture, as well as pull the seasonings deep into the meat. It's actually a very simple process that will yield beautiful and delicious results. My mom told me how good Alton's recipe was and that she was going to repeat it again this year. I decided to try it myself. It's, hands-down, the best roasted turkey we've ever had. The brine and aromatics create an amazing symphony of flavors that starts with the aroma of making the brine and follows right through to the rich, full gravy. I've also used this recipe on a whole fresh chicken by halving the recipe and adjusting the cooking times.
Provided by Tinkerbell
Categories Whole Turkey
Time P2DT3h
Yield 12-14 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- 2 to 3 days before roasting:.
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger 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.
- The night before you'd like to eat:.
- Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on rack of roasting pan 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 F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and cover the breast with a foil triangle. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 666.1, Fat 31.1, SaturatedFat 8.8, Cholesterol 263.4, Sodium 9696, Carbohydrate 12, Fiber 0.6, Sugar 10.7, Protein 79.3
ALTON BROWN TURKEY BRINE AND GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY
Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe from Good Eats will give you a flavorful Thanksgiving turkey with juicy white and dark meat.
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories Thanksgiving Turkey Poultry Christmas Fall Christmas Eve Winter
Yield At least 10-12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Two to three days before roasting, thaw the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38° F, tops.
- To make the turkey brine: Combine the broth, salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice, and finger in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate the brine.
- The eve before roasting, combine the brine and the iced water in a cooler. Place the thawed turkey (guts, neck, and whatnot removed) breast side down in the brine. Seal up the cooler and use it as an ottoman. Target bring time: 12 hours; flip the bird once about halfway through.
- On roasting day: Heat the oven to 500°F. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out. Discard brine.
- Place the bird on a roasting rack and place inside a roasting pan. Pat the bird dry (inside and out) with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon, and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add to the turkey's cavity, along with the rosemary and sage. Truss, if you like.
- Lightly coat the bird with canola oil. Roast the bird on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
- Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Roast until the thermometer registers 155°F, about 2½ hours.
- Remove from the oven, cover closely with aluminum foil, and let rest for a least 15 minutes before carving.
CLASSIC BRINED AND ROASTED TURKEY
Brined to retain moisture, then basted with butter and wine while roasting, this turkey, the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, is golden and juicy. The bird is brined for 24 hours, so leave plenty of time for this recipe. If you don't brine yours, skip steps one and two.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Meat & Poultry Turkey Recipes
Yield Serves 12 to 14
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Put salt, sugar, onions, leeks, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and 10 cups water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring until salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat; let brine cool completely.
- Add turkey, breast first, to the brine. Cover; refrigerate 24 hours. Remove from brine; pat dry with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Stir together melted butter and wine in a medium bowl. Fold a very large piece of cheesecloth into quarters so that it is large enough to cover breast and halfway down sides of turkey. Immerse cloth in butter mixture; let soak.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack set in a roasting pan. Fold wing tips under turkey. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper inside turkey. Loosely fill body and neck cavities with stuffing. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Fold neck flap under; secure with toothpicks. Rub turkey all over with softened butter; season with salt and pepper.
- Remove cheesecloth from butter mixture, squeezing gently into bowl. Reserve butter mixture for brushing. Lay cheesecloth over turkey. Place turkey, legs first, in oven. Roast 30 minutes. Brush cheesecloth and exposed turkey with butter mixture. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Roast, brushing every 30 minutes, 2 1/2 hours more; cover with foil if browning too quickly. If making gravy, add giblets and neck to pan 1 1/2 hours after reducing temperature; roast 30 minutes, and reserve.
- Discard cheesecloth; rotate pan. Baste turkey with pan juices. Roast, rotating pan halfway through, until skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees and stuffing reaches 165 degrees, about 1 hour. Transfer to a platter. Set pan with drippings aside for gravy. Let turkey stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Garnish, if desired.
Tips:
- Brining the Turkey: Brining the turkey in a mixture of salt, sugar, and water helps to keep the meat moist and flavorful. Be sure to use a large container that can accommodate the entire turkey and allow it to brine for at least 12 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Drying the Turkey: After brining, it's important to dry the turkey thoroughly before roasting. This will help the skin to crisp up and brown evenly. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels or use a hair dryer on a low setting.
- Seasoning the Turkey: Season the turkey liberally with salt, pepper, and any other desired spices or herbs. You can also add a compound butter or herb paste under the skin for extra flavor.
- Roasting the Turkey: Roast the turkey in a preheated oven at 325°F (165°C) for about 13 minutes per pound. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the breast and 180°F (82°C) in the thigh.
- Resting the Turkey: Once the turkey is roasted, let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, resulting in a more tender and flavorful turkey.
Conclusion:
Alton Brown's Classic Brined and Roasted Turkey is a delicious and flavorful dish that is perfect for any special occasion. By following these tips, you can ensure that your turkey turns out perfectly cooked and juicy every time. So gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to enjoy a delicious and memorable Thanksgiving meal!
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