Recipe from Yankee Magazine
Adapted by Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 4½ hours, plus brining
- Rating
- 4(319)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This adaptation of an old Yankee Magazine recipe for classic New England roast turkey is solid and unfancy, the sort that has adorned tables from Portsmouth north for generations. Old-line New Englanders may be tempted to soak an old cotton button-down dress shirt in butter and drape it over the bird for the first two hours. But this is not necessary. —Sam Sifton
Featured in: The United States of Thanksgiving
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Ingredients
Yield:12 or more servings
- 112- to 14-pound turkey
- 2¼cups kosher salt, more as needed
- 1cup white sugar
- 3bay leaves
- 1tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked, more as needed
- 3sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
- 1large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 2ribs of celery, roughly chopped
- 2carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
584 calories; 20 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 76 grams protein; 1261 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Rinse turkey under cold water and place on a rack in its roasting pan while you make the brine.
Step
2
For the brine, combine salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and herbs with 2½ gallons water in a pot or cooler large enough to hold turkey comfortably. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Put turkey in brine and refrigerate or ice overnight, at least 12 hours.
Step
3
When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove bird from brine, drain well and pat very dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Set turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set into a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then fill the cavity with onion, celery and carrots. Fold wings under the bird and tie its legs together with butcher’s twine. Roast for 30 minutes.
Step
4
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast approximately 3 hours more, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings and tenting it with foil if skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
319
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
kniterati
I roast a whole chicken once a week and stuff the cavity with the same mixture (plus half a lemon). They are not attractive so I don't serve them but I leave them in the cavity until the bird goes for its swan song - chicken soup. Those roasted vegetables bolster the flavor of the stock. Take them out if you must but save them for the soup-making.
Michael
It's never been a problem for me. I brine all day Wednesday and remove it Wednesday night. Then place it in the refrigerator to let the skin dry and pull taut.
The bird is crispy and meat tender, perfect each time.
Michael
16 hours is fine. In fact you can brine it anytime before cooking it, there's nothing special about pulling right out of the brine and putting it in the oven. In fact I like to pull it out of the brine on Wednesday night and let it dry overnight in the refrigerator.
One note: boil the brine and refrigerate it overnight. That way any sugar you have in the brine is dissolved, not suspended like it would be if you made it the way the article prescribes.
Sam Sifton
That'd be ideal, yes. You want the bird immersed in the brine. (Weight it down with a plate if you can.)
No Victim
Sam, you've got it right. Never, never, never use garlic on a Thanksgiving turkey. The use of garlic on turkey and in mashed potatoes is a frank abomination.
Alan
Are these temperatures with the ove in standard bake or convection
mdurphy
Apparently I just needed to do a little research to answer this myself. Here's a link to a pretty good salt comparison. http://dadcooksdinner.com/2012/02/salt-by-weight.html/ The gist of it is that Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs 1.59 oz./1/4 c. So that's just about 14.3 oz. weight for 2 1/4 c. Morton's kosher salt would be 19.7 oz. 14.3 oz. of fine sea salt it comes to a bit over 1 1/2 c. So 2 1/4 c. DC kosher = 1 1/2 c fine sea salt. Yeah!
Liz
This is the classic way to cook turkey--indeed the only way. Over the years I have tried many methods but it is a simple bird, requiring a straightforward preparation. Brining a must and not to be over complicated. Otherwise turkey is too dry and bland.
Jim
Do you discard the internal veggies (i.e., they are just for flavor) or would we serve them?
Daniel Pedersen
If you have a kosher turkey, you don't need to brine it. Salting and soaking (intended to draw out all of the blood) is part of the kashering process.
Karen B
I use butter-soaked cheesecloth instead of an old shirt.
Mary
This was an amazing recipe. So good! Tasty and delicious.
Megan O.
Is 24 hours too long to brine a 13 lb turkey with this recipe?
Faye R.
As previously noted, boil the salt and sugar to dissolve in a minimum of water then cool and add the rest of the water. I have also used apple cider instead of sugar but not sure it made any difference. I brine 2 days in advance then the day before Thanksgiving I leave the turkey in the fridge to dry. On T day, I make sure the turkey is room temp. before roasting. I like to baste with butter that's full of fresh herbs and add cider or water if the pan gets dry. Cheers.
Daniel Pedersen
If you have a kosher turkey, you don't need to brine it. Salting and soaking (intended to draw out all of the blood) is part of the kashering process.
nwyrktodd
I've made this bird for Thanksgiving with a bunch of Russians in London who have never even heard of the turkey feast.They all loved it as did I.I definitely agree about the wet brine whatever fresh herbs you have add to it.I filled the bird with homemade stuffing made of assorted stale breads, mixed with tons of ground mushrooms, sausage and fresh broth - lots of porcini.YUM!
No Victim
Sam, you've got it right. Never, never, never use garlic on a Thanksgiving turkey. The use of garlic on turkey and in mashed potatoes is a frank abomination.
Jonathan B
All the turkeys I see at my supermarkets are already injected with a salt solution, therefore ineligible for brinig. Where does one find turkeys that are not pre-injected?
Kim
Trader Joe's and Whole Foods always carry non-injected birds. No antibiotics, either!
Lynda
I am roasting a 20 lb. turkey. What should the timing/temperature be for an unstuffed turkey? for a stuffed bird??
Lucy
15 min/lb unstuffed, 20 min/lb stuffed
Barbara
Sugar is mentioned in the cooking instructions but not on the ingredient list. How much sugar?
mdurphy
I'm having a hard time finding a weight conversion for the kosher salt. Some of us may use different types of salt that don't have equivalent volumes. What does 2 1/4 c. kosher salt weigh, so that we can use an equivalent amount no matter what the salt type?
mojo risen
it calls for kosher salt, use that. iodized table not much different.
mdurphy
Thanks Mojo,
I don't use kosher salt, and I particularly don't use Morton's, and I know that different salt types occupy different volumes by weight (that's the point of kosher salt, after all). As it was, I guestimated that 2 1/4 c. kosher salt might weigh about 10 oz., which was about 1 1/4 c. fine grained sea salt. It worked fine for my brine, but I'd still like to know if someone has a more accurate number. Thanks.
mdurphy
Apparently I just needed to do a little research to answer this myself. Here's a link to a pretty good salt comparison. http://dadcooksdinner.com/2012/02/salt-by-weight.html/ The gist of it is that Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs 1.59 oz./1/4 c. So that's just about 14.3 oz. weight for 2 1/4 c. Morton's kosher salt would be 19.7 oz. 14.3 oz. of fine sea salt it comes to a bit over 1 1/2 c. So 2 1/4 c. DC kosher = 1 1/2 c fine sea salt. Yeah!
Alan
Are these temperatures with the ove in standard bake or convection
Risa
Can you brine a turkey for more than 24 hrs (and what is the longest period of time) refrigerated? How long can it sit out of the brine (refrigerated) before roasting?
Jesse
I have brined for 3 days. I would cut back on the sugar. You can change the spice mix, I do not like the rosemary. sage thyme and marjoram are the mix I like. I have done both wet and dry. This year, wet.
Barbara
How would you adjust for a 20 lb turkey?
David Look
Sam says for a 20 lb bird, simply cook longer -- until the internal temperature of the meat is 160 at the thigh. Then pull from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Betsy
We will be driving for 5 hours to a cabin, then putting the bird in the oven as soon as we arrive on Thanksgiving day. I could brine the turkey 16 hours, or 6 hours since I don't want to get up in the middle of the night. How important is the number of brining hours? Or I could brine it at home and drain it before we start our drive . Any suggestions? PS 11# turkey
Michael
16 hours is fine. In fact you can brine it anytime before cooking it, there's nothing special about pulling right out of the brine and putting it in the oven. In fact I like to pull it out of the brine on Wednesday night and let it dry overnight in the refrigerator.
One note: boil the brine and refrigerate it overnight. That way any sugar you have in the brine is dissolved, not suspended like it would be if you made it the way the article prescribes.
murphy
for a fast roast~ 20# in 90 min: Rub w S&P & herbs BUT cook breast down in a V rack (1/2"water in 2"pan) in a hot oven. For 20#, 90 min: 425* for 30 min then down to 350* for 30 min, then turn breast up (re-season as needed) for 30 min at 350* Internal thigh 160* Rest covered 30-60 min. before carving. Adjust time for yr size of turkey. Crisp brown all over. Juicy inside. No stuffing no basting, low salt. use Quality bird, not cheap bird. Great Grandma's method. The best!
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