Rosemary Roast Turkey Recipe
The juiciest roast turkey recipe with a crispy exterior! Tips to make sure this turkey is cooked to perfection! Time to get your brine on.
Ingredients
Brine:
- 8 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic crushed with the side of your knife, skin can remain on
- 1/4 cup dried juniper berries optional
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary sprigs
- 12 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt
Turkey:
- 17-18 lbs turkey
- 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 6 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tbsp dried juniper berries optional
Instructions
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24 to 72 hours before cooking the turkey, ready a bucket, cooler, etc. to brine the turkey (post above to tips on how to house a large turkey that is in a brine)
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In a medium sauce pan, heat 4 cups of water with sugar and salt to a boil. Add celery, garlic, onion, rosemary, and peppercorns. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3-5 minutes (to allow flavours to meld). Remove from heat and allow contents to cool.
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Place turkey, brine mixture, and remaining (cold) water in container. Refrigerate (or keep very cold) until ready to use.
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When ready to cook turkey, remove from brine, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
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Preheat oven to 500° F.
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Place a ring of aluminum foil (take a very large piece of aluminum foil and roll into a snake like length and then make a ring out of it) in the bottom of your large roasting pan. Alternatively, if you're an adult with a proper roasting pan with a v-shaped rack use that.
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Place turkey on foil ring and rub (aggressively) the butter into the turkey skin with your hands. Use rubber gloves if the thought of touching raw meat grosses you out.
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Loosely fill the cavity with celery, onion, rosemary and juniper berries. (You don't want to stuff the cavity too full as it will prolong cooking time and possibly dry out parts of the bird. The goal here is a super juicy turkey that will go the extra mile for those turkey sandwiches we all look forward to).
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Place turkey in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Check the skin for crispiness, you want it deep golden brown and crispy all over. Cover the breast portion of the turkey with aluminum foil (sprayed with non-stick spray or buttered on the portion touching the turkey) to prevent the breasts from drying out.
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Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and return turkey to oven for 2-2.5 hours. Check the turkey every 15 minutes after this mark. The turkey needs to reach a temperature of 185° F when a meat thermometer is placed in the thickest portion of thigh or 165° F when placed in the breast. It's recommended to remove the turkey from the oven when your thermometer reaches 181° F in the thigh or 161° F in the breast. The meat will continue to heat up slightly while it rests.
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Allow the turkey to rest! A bird of this size will need 20-30 minutes.