Turkey Brine for 10-12 pound turkey

24 hours before roasting turkey:

In 1 quart of water, simmer for 20 minutes:

* 3/4 cup maple syrup or sugar
* 3/4 cup salt
* 4 cloves crushed garlic, lightly sauteed in olive oil
* 20 crushed peppercorns
* 10 sprigs fresh thyme
* 10 leaves fresh sage
Add 3 quarts cold water. Put combination in refrigerator.

Remove neck and giblets from turkey and put in fridge. Rinse turkey in cool tap water. Put turkey and cooled brine into a trash compactor bag (a regular trash bag is not sturdy enough enough). Tighten bag until brine rises up around turkey. If brine won't cover turkey add a little more. Put turkey in its bag in a pan to catch leakage. Put pan in bottom of fridge. Forget about it for 24 hours.

Roasting directions

The following are very successful roasting directions for a small (10-12 pound) turkey:

The ideas of the previous steps is to minimize the amount that the wings and drumsticks stick out. Anything that sticks out into the heat of the oven is going to get done much more quickly than the core of the turkey. Additional steps that can be taken are to wrap the parts that stick out with foil.

This relates to the core challenge of roasting a turkey. By the time the interior meat reaches a don temperature, the exterior and especially the parts that stick out into the oven are overdone. However, the variations in doneness are also part of the wonderful roasted flavor (so don't try to avoid the challenge by doing anything drastic like wrapping the entire turkey in foil).

Next:

  • Rub the entire exterior of the turkey with butter. The butter is needed to prevent the turkey from drying out while roasting.
  • Place the turkey drumstick side down on a roasting tray (with slots to allow drippings through into a pan), or on a rack sitting in a pan. You will need a basting tool to get the drippings from this pan throughout the roasting process.
  • Place the turkey in the oven.

Next (basting, timing and checking for doneness):

  • To follow.