The simple secret to a truly juicy roast turkey is to season the turkey with a rub a couple of days before roasting. Dry brining is the best path to juicy roast turkey! Easier and more practical than wet brining, making the flesh beautifully moist, and you can even do it while the turkey is still frozen!
It cooks faster, has crispy golden buttery skin, and your turkey is going to be so amazing that will be so unforgettable!
A frozen turkey is a formidable block of ice that takes days to thaw. So you must factor this into your turkey-feasting timeline.
Ingredients:
-Whole turkey
-Salt
-Dried thyme or mixed herbs
-Paprika
-Garlic powder
-pepper
-Unsalted butter - melted
-Freshly chopped sage, rosemary and thyme
-Garlic cloves
-Garlic heads halved horizontally
-yellow onion - halved
-1.5 Cup of white wine or water
Gravy:
- 1 liter of chicken broth / stock
- Plain / All purpose flour
- salt and pepper
DRY BRINING PREPARATION:
- Mix together the Rub.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels, inside and out. Remove giblets or anything else inside the turkey.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt inside and use you hand to spread it (roughly is fine). Turn the turkey upside down, then rub 1 teaspoon of the salt mixture on the underside.
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Turn the turkey upright and rub the remaining salt on the turkey, using most on the breast - even some under the skin if you can.
- Wrap in lots of cling wrap or place the turkey in a sealable plastic bag
BRINING:
- Place turkey upside down in baking pan. Refrigerate.
- 24 hours later: Flip turkey so it's right side up.
- 24 (to 48 hours) later: unwrap turkey. The skin should be moist but not wet. If wet, pat dry. Leave out for 30 min before roasting.
PREPARE FOR ROASTING:
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- Use a tea towel to turn the turkey over. Brush with butter, sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt and pepper.
- Turn oven down to 165C/325F (standard) or 150C/300F (fan). Roast turkey 45 minutes.
- Mix remaining butter with garlic and herbs. Brush turkey generously with butter.
- Roast turkey for a further 30 minutes or until a) the thermometer that comes with the turkey pops up (America) b) a thermometer inserted between the breast and leg reads 165F/75C.
- Cover loosely with foil if browning too much.
- Remove turkey onto serving plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 minutes before transferring to platter for presentation and carving.
- Serve turkey with gravy and/or Cranberry Sauce.
TURKEY GRAVY
- Place roasting pan with garlic and onion on the stove over medium high heat. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add broth and use a potato masher to mash the onion and garlic into the mixture. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Strain into a bowl, pressing down to extract all the flavor out of the onion and garlic. Transfer to gravy boat.