Apple-brined roast turkey
Guaranteed moist, this turkey is soaked in an apple-infused brine before roasting. The result is luscious and tender meat with crispy skin. A brined turkey cooks 20-30 minutes faster; keep that in mind when consulting roasting charts and calculators. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Serves: 15
- 1 (7kg) whole turkey
- 5L water
- 3L cloudy apple juice
- 340g coarse sea salt
- 200g granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Method
Prep:45min ›
Cook:4hr ›
Extra time:8hr ›
Ready in:12hr45min
- Mix water, apple juice, salt and sugar in a large pot or food-grade bucket, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Submerge the turkey in the brine, cover the container, and place in fridge for 8 hours or overnight
- Preheat oven to 170 C / Gas 3.
- Remove turkey from brine and discard used brine. Place turkey with breast side up into a roasting tin; pat turkey and cavity dry with kitchen paper. Loosen turkey skin over the breast and thighs with your fingers.
- Mix olive oil, thyme and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Rub the seasoned oil over the turkey and underneath the loosened skin. Cover turkey loosely with aluminium foil.
- Roast in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 75 to 80 degrees C, 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Remove foil tent about 45 minutes before end of roasting time to let the skin brown. Let turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes before carving.
Note
Always brine foods in a food-grade, nonreactive container such as a stainless steel or enameled pot, a brining bag or a food-grade plastic bucket. Never use ordinary plastic bags, plastic bins or metal buckets or containers not meant for food use.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(22)
Reviews in English (17)
I tried it on two turkey breasts at half the recipe and man was it delicious. We're looking forward to trying it on the whole turkey this Thanksgiving! - 25 Nov 2014 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
Ive made this brine for my fresh Turkey for the past 3 or 4 years. I will never make a Turkey any other way. It's the juiciest Turkey I've ever made. I don't t change the recipe at all except to add rosemary and sage. Thanks so much for posting this recipe and this year will post a picture of my bird!! - 22 Nov 2016 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
I made the brining liquid for the turkey and it was OK--can't say that it added any taste to the bird, but the turkey was nice & moist. I did find that the unstuffed 16lbs turkey was cooked in 2.5 hrs, rather than 3.5-4.5 hrs @ 325º. I pulled the turkey out at 160º (though really wanted to pull it out at 155º) and because it was done so early, I let it rest for over 2 hrs. Still very hot when we finally cut into it, so don't think you have to time it so perfectly. The turkey was very moist and cooked through. - 01 Dec 2015 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)