Roast Turkey - Brined and Rubbed - Recipe
ROAST TURKEY - BRINED AND RUBBED
Because this turkey gets a rub, you won’t be able to baste it as it roasts. This is why we brine our bird and then roast it at a high heat - the combo ensures maximum juiciness.
THE BRINING
Brining is easier than it might seem. Simply dissolve 2 cups of Kosher salt per every 8 quarts of water in a large pot. Put the turkey in the brine so that it’s covered (if your pot is not large enough, you can use a garbage bag.) Let it brine at least 8 hours, refrigerated.
THE RUB
2 tsp. smoked spanish paprika (aka Pimenton de la Vera)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. celery salt
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 tbs. olive oil
Combine all ingredients.
THE BIRD
Bring your brined bird to room temperature and pat dry.
Pepper the inside cavity.
Carefully shove some butter pats under the skin on the breast.
Rub the bird well with the spice and oil mixture - but be sure that it doesn’t clump in any one place. This is a rub, not a thick coating.
For a 15 lb. bird:
1. Oven to 500 degrees.
2. Bird on a rack in a roasting pan.
3. Roast for 1 hour - legs towards the door.
4. Turn it around so it’s legs in first, adding a couple cups of stock to the pan.
5. Roast another hour
Allow the bird to rest for about 30 minutes before serving, tented under some aluminum foil.
The basic time-per-pound for this high heat roasting method is as follows:
10 pounds = 1 hour 15 minutes
12 pounds = 1 hour 20 minutes
15 pounds = 2 hours
20 pounds = 3 hours
**Add a half hour if you stuffed your bird**
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This is an interesting recipe. We usually do Cajun deep fried turkeys that take less than an hour to fry.
Does anyone know the origin of this method?
Hi Carol-
A little bit of digging came up with these brining facts from kitchenproject.com:
THE HISTORY OF BRINING
Probably the first type of preservation ever done was with salt.
The practice of putting meat in crocks layered with salt has been used since recorded time. This is how Corned Beef was made, “corns” being salt that were the size of kernels of corn.
Jewish people practice this method and call it “koshering” with all of their meat. If you see Kosher salt in the grocery stores, this is just a larger grained salt that has not had iodine added. The purpose of Koshering is to draw out the remaining blood in the meat that remains. This is for health reasons.
At a 300 year old site in France called Terra Amata
remains were found that show that shell fish were preserved in a salt water brine.
Since 1775, Smithfield (in Virginia) hams have been soaked in a brine and then smoked.
Christopher Columbus carried pork in a salt brine to the new world in 1492.