This is a recipe from the venerable America’s Test Kitchen, adjusted a bit to eliminate the parsley in the original version (we’re not big fans and I don’t tend to miss it).

What makes this recipe special is the application of an herb paste not just under the skin, which is a pretty standard method, but also inside the breast meat. This is done by cutting a little pocket in each breast and putting herb paste right inside. The result is a very flavourful turkey that also produces an exceptional gravy.

Ingredients

Turkey and Brine

Amt Ingredient
2 C Salt
4 L Water
1 12 to 14 pound turkey

Herb Paste

Amt Ingredient
4 t Fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 t Fresh sage, roughly chopped
1 1/2 t Fresh rosemary, minced
1 Medium shallot, minced (or 3 T)
2 Medium garlic gloves, minced
3/4 t Lemon zest
3/4 t Salt
1 t Ground black pepper
1/4 C Olive oil
1 t Dijon mustard

Instructions

Brining

  1. Dissolve salt in 4 liters of cold water in a large container. Submerge turkey in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours1.
  2. Remove turkey from brine and rinse very well, inside and out.
  3. Pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Place turkey breast side up on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Herb paste

  1. Pulse herbs, shallot, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper together in food processor until a coarse paste is formed.
  2. Add olive oil and mustard.
  3. Pulse until mixture forms a smooth paste.

Preparing the turkey

  1. Adjust oven rack as needed and preheat oven at 400F.
  2. Line a large V-rack with heavy foil. Then poke several holes in foil.
  3. Set foil wrapped rack in roasting pan and spray with vegetable oil spray.
  4. Remove turkey from refrigerator, wipe away any water collected on baking sheet, then set turkey breast side up on baking sheet.
  5. Use hands to carefully loosen skin around breast, thighs, and drumsticks.
  6. Slip 1/2 T of paste under skin on each side of turkey, then distribute the paste under the skin.
  7. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a 1 1/2” vertical slit into the thickest part of each turkey breast.
  8. Starting from the top of the incision, swing the knife tip down to create a 4 to 5 inch pocket in the flesh.
  9. Place 1 T more paste in each pocket, then use fingers to rub paste in a thin, even layer.
  10. Rub 1 T more paste inside the turkey cavity.
  11. Apply remaining paste to the entire outside of the turkey (making sure to use any paste that falls on the baking sheet).
  12. Tuck the tips of the drumsticks into the skin at the tail, and tuck the wings under the bird.

Roasting the turkey

  1. Place the turkey breast side down on the V rack and roast for 45 minutes.
  2. Rotate the turkey breast side up and roast until the thickest part of the breast registers 160-165F and the thickest part of the thigh registers 175F, 50-60 mins longer.
  3. Transfer the turkey to a carving board and rest for 30 mins.

Making it ahead

Roasting your turkey a day ahead is a great way to save time and make the event day a lot less hectic without significantly compromising the quality of the meat[^soggyskin]. Making the turkey the day before also gives you the opportunity to make up a batch of turkey broth that you can use in stuffing or gravy.

After allowing the turkey to rest enough to handle, carve the turkey using your preferred method and transfer the meat to a 9x13 baking dish or foil roasting tray. Then cover with foil and refrigerate.

The day of:

  1. Remove turkey from refrigerator, carefully remove foil and set aside, and pour 1 C of chicken broth over the meat (or, if you’re fancy, the home made turkey broth you made the night before).
  2. Cover with foil and heat in the oven at 325F until the turkey reaches your desired serving temperature (I like 135-140F).

  1. The important thing is the ratio, here. For a 4 to 6 hour brine you want a half cup of salt per liter of water, so depending on the size of your turkey, you might need more or less total brine. Adjust as needed.

    As for the brining container, I transfer the turkey to a roasting bag, place the whole thing in a non-food-safe bucket, fill the bag with brine, then close and secure with the supplied plastic tie. [^soggyskin]: Unless, that is, you like crispy turkey skin, which does not survive this process. ↩