Delicious Thanksgiving turkey

INGREDIENTS

1 frozen turkey

For the brine

• 1 cup of fleur de sel 
• ½ a cup brown sugar
• about a gallon of vegetable stock (home-made is always better !)
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 and ½ tsp allspice
• 1 and ½ preserved ginger
• about a gallon of very cold (ice) water

For seasoning

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup of water
• 4 rosemary sprigs
• 6 sage leaves
• vegetable oil

METHOD

Defrost the turkey in the fridge for as long as it takes.

Mix the vegetable stock with the salt, the brown sugar, the pepper, the allspice and the ginger in a large pot over medium-high heat. You can stir everything to help dissolve all the solid ingredients and bring everything to a boil. Remove the brine you made from the heat and let it cool off to room temperature. Keep it in the fridge.

The night before the dinner happens or early in the morning of :

Combine the brine you cooked, the water and ice in a very large bucket. Place the turkey in the brine with the breast side down. If you need to, do not hesitate to weigh the turkey down with whatever you need to make sure it is immersed in the brine. Put it in the fridge for 8 to 16 hours turning it when it is half-way through.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it with cold water. Get rid of the brine. Put the bird on a roasting rack and pat it dry with however many paper towels you need.

Put the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and cup of water together in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 5 minutes. Add everything into the turkey’s cavity with the dry herbs (rosemary and sage) and coat it with your vegetable oil.

Roast the turkey on the low rack of your oven for 30 minutes and reduce the heat to 350°F. A 6 to 7 kilo turkey should take about 2 and ½ hours to cook. If the juices run clear, you are ready.

Once it is done, let the turkey rest with some tin foil on top for 15 minutes. Serve with some roasted vegetables, for example. Bon appétit !