So how did your turkey turn out?

So I did it, I tried the brine. You can homemake your brine..there's lots of recipes on the internet or you can buy prepackaged brine. Williams Sonoma has their own that is a very popular one but I found mine at www.napastyle.com. It comes with the super duper large ziplock bag that the turkey and 6 gallons of liquid can hold.

So, the night before you put your prepared brine in with the turkey and all the gallons of ice water the recipe calls for. You can either put it overnight in your refrigerator or do what we did, in an ice cooler overnight covered in ice. The first time you put it in breast side down and then in the morning you flip the bird over. Nothing leaked out and I noticed that the liquid had been consumed by the turkey quite a bit.

Later that day right before I was ready to put the bird in the oven, you take the turkey out, rinse all of the brine off completely in cold water. Then you do what Alton Brown does...preheat your oven to 500 degrees (yes I know that is very hot) and you either wipe canola oil on, or spray canola oil all over the bird. Put it in the oven for 25 minutes. Lower the temp to 350 degrees, making sure you have inserted a thermometer in the deepest part of the breast, not touching any bones. Cook for 2 -2 1/2 hours (depending the size of your bird) but most importantly only until your thermometer reads 161 degrees. See..most people cook it until its 180..thats too long..that's why its dry. Once it reaches 161, turn off the oven and let the bird sit for 20 minutes..you must let it rest. Then..you carve. We could not believe the juices in this bird..they were all over the counter..and loads of flavor. You will not need to season your meat after you try it this way..it definately seasons the meat on the inside perfectly.

I will definately do this again next time I cook a turkey. It was delicious and so moist I couldn't believe it. Below you see Doug carving our bird. Note to self for next time..tuck the wings in better so they don't get so dark!