Brine turkey before roasting for beautifully tender, flavourful meat. This easy recipe is infused with bay, thyme and orange, making it ideal for Thanksgiving or Christmas
INGREDIENT :
200g coarse sea salt
100g light brown soft sugar
2 bay leaves
handful of thyme sprigs
10 peppercorns
1 orange, zest pared into strips
2 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted
RECIPE DIRECTION :
Fill a large container or stock pot with 1.5 litres cold water and set aside. The pot should be large enough to hold your turkey plus 3 litres water. Pour another 1.5 litres cold water into a large pan over a low-medium heat. Tip in the salt, sugar, bay, thyme, peppercorns, orange zest and coriander seeds, and whisk until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Remove from the heat, then pour into the container or stock pot and leave to cool completely.
Weigh the turkey and carefully add it to the container, ensuring it's completely submerged in the brine. Leave to brine for roughly 1 hr per 500g to ensure succulent meat and a flavourful bird, then drain well (discarding the aromatics), pat dry and roast.
