This is a thanksgiving turkey recipe that I have used for 10+ years. It is based on Alton Brown’s roasted turkey recipe. I adjusted the spices a bit so they were easier to measure, and I added a method for making a large amount of gravy.
Combine salt, sugar, stock, pepper, allspice, and ginger a stockpot and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cool. Then refrigerate until ready to use.
On the night before Thanksgiving dinner, place the turkey in a clean 5 gallon bucket. Make sure to remove the gizzards that are often placed in the cavity so that the brine can easily soak through the turkey.
Add the brine, ice, and enough water to cover the turkey. Cover with foil and set in a cool place, out of reach of animals, for the night.
Roasting
Early the next morning, preheat oven to 500 F, remove the turkey from the brine, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, set in a roasting pan, and cover skin with canola oil.
Add the aeromatic ingredients including apple, onion, sage, rosemary, and cinamon with water to a glass bowl, cover, microwave for 5 minutes on high, and then spoon into the cavity of the turkey.
Tie legs with kitchen twine, fold the wings behind where the neck used to be.
Insert counter top thermometer deep into the turkey breast.
Roast turkey for 30 minutes at 500 F
Decrease the oven temperature to 350 F and cover the turkey breast with a double layer of aluminum foil.
If you want to make gravy, add it to the roasting pan as the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 155 F, or about 15 minutes before you will remove the turkey from the oven.
Cook until breast meat is 161 about 2 1/2 – 3 hours for a 20-22 pound turkey.
Remove turkey from oven, cover with foil and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes while you prepare gravy and heat the side dishes.