~Now I use the Wet Brine, and love love love it:

In medium pot boil together:
1 qt water
5 oz sea salt
2 1/2 oz sugar OR maple syrup
1 garlic head, halved crosswise
1 t peppercorns (I use tri color)
1 t red pepper flakes
1 lemon (peel the zest, halve the lemon, squeeze juice into pot, then add halves and zest)
6 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 large sprig fresh rosemary, 12 fresh sage leaves
1 yellow onion (peeled and sliced)
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
Simmer until salt and sugar have dissolved.
Remove from heat and add 1 qt ice and mix well as you chill it. Pour over the bird and add another 1 qt as needed to cover it.

*Be generous with the spices, I haven't yet had a brine be too spicy!

*In my 12 qt Cambro immerse the prepared bird for 48 hours.

Prepare the bird: I cut out the backbone, wing tips, and any other bones that easily come out and save these for broth. I cut the legs and thighs from the breast, and try to flatten the breast as much as possible.

I will be smoking the turkey this year (2021). Probably 225* for 2 hours, directly on the grill rack. Then in the oven in a hotel pan at convection roast 200*- 300* until it reaches 160* for the thighs and 150* for the breast. Watch carefully as it gets close to temp, it climbs quickly.

Then allow an hour or more to rest. Planning on 5 hours for smoking and resting.

~Dry Brine:
I like to use a 20+ lb turkey or so.
Cut the dark meat from the white meat at the backbone. There is a spot where you don't cut through any bone.

Rinse it well. Cut off the wing tips. The broth is better made using a lot of raw bones.) Use backbone, neck, etc raw for the broth.

Using two 10x14 baking dishes, or baking sheets to allow more hot convection air to blow on it, put the breast in one and the legs in the other.

Sprinkle salt and pepper everywhere, quite a lot of it. Roughly 1/2 t per pound. Loosen the skin from the breast and rub salt under it. Leave the breast standing on its cage with the skin all tucked in around it.

**From reading my new cookbook - leave this salted turkey lightly covered in the fridge for a day or two to allow the salt to go all the way into the meat to season it from within. This is called dry brining.

Roast at convection roast 425* for 30 minutes. The skin should be golden not really pale.

Turn heat down to convection roast 250* or lower for about 1-2 hours.

Check the temp in the thickest part of the thigh. Roast the dark meat until it registers 160*. Check the temp of the breast, which should finish at 150*.
Temp can climb quickly after 130*. Watch it or slow it down.

It should look deep golden and the skin should be pulling back from the bones. You want the meat to not be overdone but also to come off the bones easily enough. Underdone turkey is just not a pleasant texture!

When bird is at finished temp leave it at room temp at least 40 minutes, uncovered, to let the juices redistribute.

~Don't short the rest period, otherwise the juices will run out when you slice it. Rested they absorb and are trapped in the meat - where you want them!

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