Dry Brined Turkey

Mon, 18 December 2017

Derry Clarke shows us how to make a perfect Christmas turkey!

Dry Brin Mix
Ingredients;

6 Tablespoons Sea Salt
4 Tablespoons Chopped Sage
2 Tablespoons Chopped Thyme
2 Tablespoons Chopped Rosemary
1 Tablespoons Ground Black Pepper

Method;

Mix all the Brin ingredients together. Pat the Turkey dry with kitchen towel. Loosen the skin over the breasts and legs and gently separate from the meat. Sprinkle ¾ of the Brin mixture over the meat and under the skin. Place the Turkey on a tray in the fridge uncovered for 1 day.
*Before cooking, remove the Turkey from the fridge and leave out for at least 1 hour*

For the Turkey:

Place 1/2 lb of soft butter in a piping bag and pipe the butter under the skin over the breast and leg meat. Stuff the cavity with 1 orange and 1 lemon cut in half, 1 bulb of garlic cut in half, some thyme and some sage. Tie the legs together with Butcher’s twine, rub 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over the Turkey and season with the remaining brin mix.

Cut 2 Carrots lengthways, slice 1 onion, cut 1 bulb of garlic in half and cut 3 sticks of celery in half. Place them on a large roast tray. The place the Turkey on top. Pour 250ml of water, beer or apple juice into the roasting tray.

Place Turkey in the oven at 180°C. After 40 minutes, cover it with tin foil. Add more liquid to the roasting tray if needed. Remove the tin foil for the last hour of roasting to brown the Turkey. (Allow 15 minutes per lb cooking time).

Remove from the over and place the Turkey on a clean dish. Leave to rest in a warm oven at 60°C. NB: Turkey will hold for at least 2 hours at this temperature.

Meanwhile, place the roasting tray that you used for the Turkey on a low heat, at 150ml of Port or Red Wine to deglaze the tray. Scrape the tray with a wooden spoon and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 150ml meat stock or gravy granules and let simmer. Strain the Jus through a fine sieve.

Tips:

1. Do all of the food prep on Christmas Eve

2. Don’t do too many different vegetables or potatoes. A choice of 2 each is plenty.

3. After roasting leave the Turkey to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.

Watch how it's made below: