Yield: one turkey up to 18 pounds, serves up to 10 people
Ingredients
BRINE:
1 liter water
1 cup DDPK simulated chicken soup base
1 cup sea salt
1 cup brown sugar
5 DDPK bay leaves
½ cup DDPK Italian spice
9 liters iced water
1 fresh turkey up to 18 pounds
GRAVY:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup turkey drippings
1 cup water
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
GRAVY: In a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and drippings until smooth. Gradually stir in the water, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with turkey.
Cooking Instructions
In a medium stock pot, combine one liter water, chicken soup base, sea salt, brown sugar, bay leaves and Italian spice. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 20 liters bucket. Stir in the ice water. Wash and dry the turkey. Make sure all the innards removed. Place the turkey into the brine. Make sure it’s fully covered in brine. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine. Discard excess brine. Be sure to rinse the bird well before cooking. Do not salt the turkey before roasting in case too much salt seeps in, same for the gravy.
Preheat oven to 500oF. Transfer turkey, breast-side up, to rack in roasting pan. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500o F for 25 minutes.
Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350oF. Roast turkey for 2½ to 3 hours, or until thermometer reads 165oF. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.
