My Second Turkey

So last year was my first turkey. This makes two.

I did things a bit differently this year. 

I got a 20 lb bird and put in the fridge to thaw Friday night.

Brining is all the rage but I read this year that you shouldn't brine a turkey that comes injected with a saline solution, as that is already pre-brined. Of course, all the frozen turkeys I've ever seen are like that. So I'm not sure how everyone and their mom is talking about brining--is everyone really paying big bucks for a fresh turkey?

I think this turkey was around $14 and it was a Honeysuckle premium brand and huge. 

Brining is a pain in the ass, spilling liquid everywhere. Plus, I heard that trash bags aren't good to use as they can leach chemicals, so I didn't really have a plan for doing it in the fridge anyways. 

So no brine. Also, no roasting bag. Going old school. But with an Alton Brown twist. 

The night before I opened the turkey, pulled out the crap, and let it sit in the fridge overnight exposed. The idea was to let the skin get nice and dry so it would crisp better. 

In the morning, I pulled it out, rubbed canola oil all over, salt, pepper, a little herbed chicken rub. Put it in the oven with the legs to the back. And put in at 500 degrees. For half an hour. That's the Alton Brown method.

After 30 minutes, drop the temp to 350 and add foil to cover the white meat. At this point the turkey's already got a nice color. I roasted it for another 3 hours. I did flip it over with twenty minutes to go to brown the bottom a bit. 

I pulled it out before the thermometer popped up as Mr. Brown says you can't trust it. That by the time it's popped it's already drying out. 

Let it rest for a long time, then carve. Then top it with hot cider/butter/honey glaze right before serving. 

Turned out excellent, without the need to brine. Easy peasy. 

Though I do need a roasting pan, as the shallow pan I used was overflowing with grease and burning on the bottom of the oven, making a bit of smoke. So yeah. Turkey was great though.