Cooking Instructions
1.
Peel the
Orange (1)
to create 4 long strips of orange peels. Remove the leaves from the
Fresh Rosemary (4 sprigs)
and discard the stems.
2.
For the brine, place
Salt (2 1/3 Tbsp)
,
Simply Organic Garlic Powder (1 Tbsp)
,
Fresh Rosemary (2 sprigs)
, and orange peels in a coffee grinder. Pulverize.
3.
Remove the giblets and neck from the
Whole Turkey (14 lb)
. Rinse the thawed turkey, and place on a tray. Pat it dry thoroughly, and rub with the salt mixture, concentrating on breast and thigh area, and including the cavity.
4.
Place the dry brined turkey in a clean garbage bag, and seal it well. Place it on a tray, and put it in the fridge overnight. On day two, take turkey out, and rub it without removing from the bag. Return to fridge.
5.
Repeat on day three, leaving it breast side down. Return to fridge until the night of day three. Remove turkey from bag, and discard any liquid that may have been rendered. Dry well with paper towels.
6.
Place in the cleaned tray, and put it back in the fridge overnight, uncovered. This will dry the skin so that the turkey crisps when you cook it.
7.
Remove from refrigerator, and pat dry. Place on a rack in a roasting pan, and let sit 1 hour, until it reaches room temperature. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
8.
Deseed and quarter the
Apple (1/2)
. Quarter the
Orange (1/2)
. Melt the
Unsalted Butter (2 cups)
and let cool.
9.
Place the
Celery Leaves (2)
tops,
Fresh Sage (1 sprig)
,
Fresh Rosemary (2 sprigs)
,
Fresh Thyme (2 sprigs)
,
Garlic (4 cloves)
, orange, apple and
White Onion (1/2)
inside the cavity of the turkey, and tie the legs together.
10.
Brush turkey with the
Unsalted Butter (1 cup)
, making sure to get under the wings, and between the thigh.
11.
Flip it over, and brush the back side. Put a few cups of water into bottom of the pan. Leave it on the breast, and roast 45 minutes.
12.
Remove pan from the oven, and flip over the turkey. I used several clean dish rags. Be very careful not to burn yourself. Baste the turkey with the liquid in the pan. Make sure to close the oven door after every time you remove the turkey.
13.
Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C), and return the pan to the oven. Roast another 45 minutes. Remove turkey, and brush with more melted butter. Do not worry about the bottom side. Roast another 45 minutes.
14.
Remove pan from oven, and baste turkey with the pan juices one more time. Loosley cover the pan with aluminum foil, and return the turkey to the oven for an extra 30 minutes.
15.
Remove the pan from the oven one more time, and insert a meat thermometer in the thigh area, close to the bone. Check to see if the internal temperature is 170 degrees F (75 degrees C). Brush turkey with butter, and roast, uncovered for 30 more minutes.
16.
Remove from oven, and retest temperature. If you are at 170 degrees F (75 degrees C), cover with aluminum foil. Turn off heat in the oven, and place turkey back in oven, leaving the door open. Let rest 20 minutes.