Turkey Tips?

[Devany]

I brine my turkeys in a heavy duty garbage bag inside of a medium cooler filled with ice. I have not bought a frozen turkey in over 20 years, and started brining after that, so I would say to brine the thawed turkey. Here is what I put in my brine:

2 Cups Smoked Sea Salt
1 Cup honey disolved in a quart of water
1/4 cup juniper berries
two gallons apple cider (or pineapple juice)
6 jalepeno or Hawaiian peppers cut in half
4 tablespoons rough cracked pepper corns
enough water to cover turkey

The turkey should be in the brine about 24 hours. When ready to bake, grill or smoke, rinse and pat dry. You can also do this method with turkey parts.

If baking your turkey, I use a roasting pan covered with heavy duty foil until the last hour. I bake it at a very high heat ~ 450 degrees. This ensures a more moist turkey. In the bottom of the roasting pan, I place carrots, celery, the neck and gizzards (which I throw out later) a few heads of garlic with the tops cut off and several onions quartered.

If grilling your turkey, cook it over a drip pan with indirect heat on a covered grill, fire around the drip pan. You can roast the neck with veggies to make the base for your gravy.

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com