Time to Brine.......

The best brine for your Thanksgiving Turkey.......

Thanks to The Pioneer Woman, Daddy K's first attempt at cooking our Thanksgiving turkey was a success!  After brining for 24 hours, then roasting in the oven, pure perfection was created!!  It would be a sin for me not to share this recipe!!   

What you will need:

3 cups of Apple Cider

2 Gallons of Cold Water

4 Tablespoons of Fresh Rosemary

5 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1-1/2 Cups of Kosher Salt

2 Cups of Brown Sugar

3 Tablespoons of Peppercorn

5 whole Bay Leaves

Peel of 3 Large Oranges

(You can see the step by step guide here!!)

Combine all ingredients into a large pot.  Stir the mixture until the salt and sugar dissolve.  Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat......

After the mixture has completely cooled pour it into a large brining bag, pot, or in our case a huge cooler!  Place the uncooked turkey into the brining solution, then refrigerate for 24 hours......

When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it with cold water....(Don't worry....you will not rinse any of the flavor away!)....

Now, to cook this bad boy......Our turkey was a hefty 14 pounder......

We first cooked it for 30 minutes at 500 degrees.  This gives the bird that nice golden charred look.  We then lowered the temp to 350 and continued to cook the turkey for about 2 hours.  Make sure to check the temp of the turkey.  It should read 165 when done!

I can honestly say this is the most moist, flavorful turkey I have ever eaten.....and I'm pretty sure Julia feels the same way......

Oh yes!!!  She got her own turkey leg!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

To see the parties I'm linking to go HERE!!