brine, Christmas, christmas recipe, meat tinsel, turkey -
Best Ever Christmas Turkey
Best Ever Christmas Turkey
Kelly Bramill
Rated 3.8 stars by 25 users
Category
Chicken
Servings
6
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
3 hours
Give this super simple brine recipe a try, you'll never want to cook your turkey any other way!
Ingredients
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5 Litres Cold Water
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125g Fine Seas Salt
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200g Sugar (Soft Brown preferably)
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Big bunch mixed herbs such as bay, thyme, rosemary, parsley
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2 Large Oranges
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2 Large Onions
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5 Garlic Cloves, peeled and bashed
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2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
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4 Heaped Tbsp Meat Tinsel Seasoning
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A Turkey
Directions
Put the water in your chosen container and add the rest of the brine ingredients. It’s good to squeeze the juice from your citrus slices into the liquid before throwing the skins in at this point, it releases the oils and adds great flavour. Stir this swampy solution until all the salt and sugar has dissolved.
Make sure your turkey is untrussed and giblets have been removed, then submerge the bird in the brine, making sure it’s fully covered.
Cover the container and keep it in a cool place overnight or up to 24 hours. If leaving in a garage, shed or out in the garden, make sure it’s securely covered.
Remove the bird from the brine a couple of hours before you want to start cooking. Drain off any liquid and thoroughly pat dry the skin. In my opinion, a brined turkey is best left un-stuffed.
Roast your turkey at 180°C (fan) if using your domestic oven, or indirect on the BBQ at between 180-200°C until the internal temperature hits 74°C. If choosing to BBQ your bird, which you really should, pop on a few chunks of a light smoking wood to add incredible flavour.
Baste the bird periodically with melted butter throughout the cook to get that beautiful bronzed skin. A 5-6kg bird could take around 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, but it’s all about that internal temperature, so keep an eye on it.
Leave the turkey to rest, covered with foil, for at least half an hour. Then just bask in the glory of being a turkey roasting hero!