|
 Forget
brining solutions and all that hubaloo about free range this and
organic that; this is all you need to do to roast the perfect
bird.
For every four pounds of poultry, measure out one tablespoon of
salt. Take your thawed bird, rinse, then pat dry with a paper
towel. Sprinkle the inside cavities, then the entire breast side
with salt. Turn the bird sideways and sprinkle with salt. Turn
bird to other side and do the same, finishing with the
underside. Take a plastic bag (I use a 13 gallon kitchen trash
bag) and place the bird inside. Squeeze as much air as you can
from the bag and seal it up tight. Place it in your refrigerator
for THREE days. The night before you're going to cook your
turkey (or 8 hours before you're going to start cooking it), remove it from the plastic bag and place it in a large
dish breast side DOWN. Remove the bird from fridge when the 8
hours has passed, stuff it,
and let rest at room temperature for one hour prior to placing
it in your pre-heated 425 degree oven. Throwing a little butter
and/or your favorite herbs
on it won't hurt.
Assuming you use a roasting rack, place the turkey breast side
DOWN and let bake for ONE HOUR at 425 degrees. Remove from oven, flip the bird
breast side UP (I use oven mitts), and bake at 325 degrees until the little
thermometer pops out or your oven thermometer reads 165 degrees.
For extra golden skin, baste occasionally with butter.
Once finished, remove the turkey from the oven, tent loosely with
foil, and let rest at least 30 minutes. Carve and serve.
I SWEAR this will be the best turkey you'll ever
taste. |
