Thanksgiving Turkey

This turkey recipe was adapted from America's Test Kitchen. It's my favorite way to cook a turkey. It's simple and it turns out super juicy every single time!

First thaw the bird in the refrigerator, this can take up to 4 days if frozen solid.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY
Start with a brine in a clean 5 galon bucket, consisting of:
1 C. Salt
1/2 C. Sugar
2 Tbs. Pepper Corns
1-2 Gallons of cold Water (add more once the turkey is added to cover the bird)

Mix the ingredients in the water. Then drop Tom the Turkey in the water.

Cover Tom with more water if necessary. Cover and place in a cold (50-35 degrees) location for 24 hours. In my case it was the garage.

Once the turkey has brined for 24 hours, remove from brine bath and place turkey on a cookie sheet and pat dry with paper towels.

Use a Roasting Pan with a "V" Rack. Cover the rack with Tin Foil and poke several holes in it. This will allow the juices from the turkey to seep to the bottom of the pan. Fill the bottom of the pan with the following:

Turkey Gravy Prep:
2 Carrots cleaned and roughly chopped
3 ribs of celery chopped
2 onions chopped
1-2 cans of chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried Thyme
2 Bay leaves
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place Tom breast side DOWN on the tin foil:

Brush with butter and salt and pepper.

Cook at 275° until the turkey is golden brown. I had a 19 pound turkey so this took 3 1/2 hours. Once the bottom is brown the and temperature reads 160°, take out of the oven and flip the bird. :) That's right, turn it over. Now you will butter the breasts and legs and salt and pepper and I used a little bit of rubbed sage on the top. Cook the bird until the top is golden brown and reads 160°-165°, another 3-4 hours.

Remove the bird, wrap in tin foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

This is the juiciest turkey. It's so yummy.

The gravy is made from the drippings. Strain everything through a mesh strainer and squeeze the juice out of the veggies. Mix 1 C. Water with 3 Tbs. flour to thicken gravy.