Maple-Brined Roast Turkey

Name: Maple-Brined Roast Turkey
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients: 1¼ cups kosher salt or ¾ cup table salt; 1¼ cups kosher salt or ¾ cup table salt; 4 quarts cold water; 1 cup maple syrup; One 16-pound turkey, rinsed; giblets, neck, and tail reserved for gravy; One 16-pound turkey, rinsed; giblets, neck, and tail reserved for gravy; Olive oil for coating turkey; One 16-pound turkey, rinsed; giblets, neck, and tail reserved for gravy; Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper; Olive oil for coating turkey; Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper; Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper; ⅓ cup maple syrup; ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Preparation info

Serves
8 to 10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

From the Earth to the Table

By John Ash

Published 1995

About

Brining is a great way to insure that your turkey is moist throughout, especially the breast meat, which seems to always dry out before the legs and thighs are cooked. Once you do this, I swear you’ll never roast or grill a turkey (or chicken for that matter) without brining ahead.

Ingredients

1¼ cups kosher salt or ¾ cup table salt
1 cup

Main course
Gluten-free

Method

In a large enamel or stainless steel stockpot that is large enough to hold the brine and the turkey, mix together the salt, maple syrup, and water until salt is dissolved. Add the turkey and brine, covered, in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. If you don’t have room in your refrigerator an alternative is to put the turkey and brine in an insulated cooler and add frozen ice packs to kee