Salted Roast Turkey
How many times do you want to make a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and try a different way than usual? Well I finally got that chance. I am not hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and we bought this 13 pound turkey for only 47 cents a pound! I have always wanted to make a liquid salt brine and brine the turkey over night. However, I didn’t have a container or bag to fit the turkey in so I could keep it covered in the refrigerator.
After watching some cooking shows I remember seeing where they prepared chicken with just a dry Kosher salt. After some research I found that my 13 pound turkey should be salted with 13 tsp of Kosher salt, refrigerated for 24-48 hours and you don’t rinse the salt off before you bake it. That seemed like a lot of salt but since this was just for us I went ahead and tried it. I also sprinkled the turkey with pepper.
Why make a Salted Roasted Turkey? Because the salt penetrates the skin and meat which turns the skin a crisp golden delicious flavor. The turkey was very moist but keep in mind, I kept a close eye on it with the thermometer. I do not use the pop up button they put in the turkey, I pull it out and throw it away before I prepare the turkey. I find my turkey is never at the right temperature with the button pops up and I prefer a thermometer. I check the turkey breast and thigh at the thickest parts with the thermometer and when it is 165 degrees it’s cooked perfectly.
Turkey
Kosher Salt and Pepper
Ingredients
Place the turkey on a plate in the sink.
Remove the outer wrapper.
Remove the neck from the cavity.
My turkey had a bag of
gravy in the cavity too!
I was really disappointed to see
that they cut the skin on the breast.
In the neck cavity there
was another paper bag.
Inside this bag you will find
the heart, gizzard and liver.
You can save these for homemade
stuffing, discard them or do like I do and
rinse them off and put them back
in the cavity without the bag.
Rinse the turkey inside and out
removing any pin feathers they
may have missed. Pat the turkey
completely dry with paper towels
inside and out. Place the turkey
in a roasting pan.
Tuck the wings under.
Salt and pepper all of the skin
of the turkey, both sides.
It will seem like a lot of salt
(1 tsp Kosher salt per pound of turkey)
but it will be delicious.
********************
Cover and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
********************
Remove the pan from the refrigerator.
Set the pan on counter for 1 hour
without the lid before baking,
or until it’s room temperature.
Pour about a cup of water or chicken
broth in the bottom of the pan.
Don’t pour it on the turkey.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree
oven without a lid. If it starts
to get too brown before it is
165 degrees, put the lid on.
Continue to bake until a thermometer
inserted in the thickest part of the turkey
reads 165 degrees. Below is a chart for
approximately how long to bake your
turkey but use your thermometer
so it is not over or under cooked.
If you stuff the turkey, make sure
the stuffing is 165 degrees too.
Remove from the oven and let it
sit for 20-30 minutes then slice.
Salted Roast Turkey
http://www.InDianesKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey, thawed or fresh
- kosher salt, 1 tsp per pound of turkey (Do not use table salt)
- pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
Directions
- Place the turkey on a plate in the sink. Remove the outer wrapping.
- Remove the neck, bag of heart-gizzard-liver, and anything else inside the cavity. I even found a bag of gravy in mine! Make sure you check the neck cavity too.
- You can save the bag with the heart, liver and gizzard to chop up and put in your stuffing if you want to. Otherwise, rinse them and put them in the turkey cavity to cook or just discard.
- Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water from the faucet then drain. Using paper towels, pat completely dry inside and out. No wetness should remain on the turkey.
- Place the turkey into a roasting pan. Tuck the wings under so they don’t dry out.
- Rub the salt and pepper on the turkey covering all of the skin on both sides.
- Put the lid on the pan and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and remove the lid.
- Let the turkey sit in the pan on the counter for one hour or until it is room temperature. Do not rinse the salt off of the turkey.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth or water into the bottom of the pan being careful not to pour it on the turkey or you will wash off the salt & pepper.
- Put the turkey in the oven without the lid and cook until the thickest part (breast and thighs) read 165 degrees on a thermometer. If any part of the turkey skin starts to get too dark, put the lid on the roaster pan.
- Remove the turkey from the oven. Place the turkey on a cutting board. Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes, slice and serve.
Categories: Turkey
Looking forward to turkey sandwiches!!
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Try the recipe I post tomorrow…….so good!
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Looking forward to it!
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I’ve had brined turkey before and it was pretty tasty. This sounds wonderful!
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Thanks Robin! Now to make all the good leftover recipes!
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Turkey leftovers are the best! 🙂
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GREAT POST! I am not much of a turkey fan but I do eat a lot of chicken. I prefer it cooked in the rotisserie. I also use the NuWave oven with BBQ sauce or curry. Yummylicious! 🙂 I have a secret chicken recipe I have only cooked for a few people… 🙂
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Thank you! So what is your secret recipe?…….lol
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Hmmm…
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🤫
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Beautiful bird!
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Thank you it was really good
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You are timely with this post Diane – hard to believe one week from today is Turkey Day!
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I know and I get the day off from cooking to enjoy the family! They may not be happy with that but I am! 😂🤣
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Now that sounds like a plan – good for you. You’ll just have a picture of a turkey (the bird before it meets its fate) and say “Happy Thanksgiving”?
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Oh no….I will post a recipe…lol
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This is really interesting 👍
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Crispy skin and delicious moist turkey! Thanks Jyo!
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Yum! My son is grilling the turkey (in a pan) this year. I’m very excited to see how it works out. 🙂
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How exciting! I have never tasted a turkey grilled. Sounds delicious!!!
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It does sound delicious…we’ll see if it tastes delicious.😁
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I really REALLY like your blog, lady! I’m always in search of a better, easier way to roast a holiday turkey. This looks like a winner. If it turns out awesome, my real problem will be to remember this method for next year.
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Aw thank you so much Connie! I actually print every recipe out and I am keeping them in a binder for my kids when I’m gone. Have a great weekend!
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I brine my chicken to keep it moist and for a crispy skin, this sounds so easy, will try it with chicken
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I swear I am going to figure out a way to brine one. I will have to wait until it gets colder so I can put it outside in the garage. I just can never fit it in my refrigerator! They are so tasty brined!
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Putting the innards back in again to cook is such a great idea! Chop them up and put them in the stuffing–no one would even have to know and be grossed out by it. 🙂 I wonder why turkey cos. put these things in, as I’ve never before known anyone to eat them. Good for you! I need to share this tidbit.
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You would not believe how much flavor the stuffing has with the chopped up parts in it. Thanks and have a great weekend!
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I can imagine. I sent the link to my mom, saying as much. Oh, I should tell my sister too… 🙂
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You do realize now you might have to eat it sometime..right? Hahahahaha
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My mom and sister live in Ohio. I’m in CA. I think I’m safe. 😉 If I weren’t just cooking a turkey breast for my family, I might give it a try. Actually, I would definitely do it. I’ll try to remember it for future reference. Thank you again. 🙂
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I’m in Ohio too!
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I’m all about crispy skin. And, a drive up certainly is a lot less messy. Thanks for the good directions.
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You’re welcome and thank you! I think the next time I make a turkey I am going to try it the spatchcock way.
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