Dry Brined Roast Turkey

I cannot end the year without posting about Christmas! Sorry for the long silence, I had been cooking but just been forgetting to take pictures! Terrible excuse I know but I hope this post will make up for it. I will share a very successful recipe for a roast turkey I did for a pre-Christmas party last week.

The inspiration came from the Dec 08 delicious magazine, with some modifications from Martha Stewart's website which provided an alternative of "dry brining". The result was a very tender, nicely browned and yummy turkey that left a lot of the guests wanting more. In fact, it was one of the dish which was polished off first! Coupled with the turkey, a delicious Leek and Celery stuffing and some white wine infused gravy made with the remnants of roasted root vegetables from the turkey.


Dry-brined Turkey with Orange and Thyme Butter
Brine the turkey a day ahead. Brining helps keep the turkey moist.

7-8 kg turkey
120g softened butter
1 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tsp chopped thyme leaves, plus 1 small handful thyme sprigs
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally
2 onions, each cut into 8 wedges
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup organic vegetable stock
Flat leaf parsley sprigs and leek & celery stuffing

Brine
80g rock slat
80g caster sugar
1 small handful thyme sprigs
Zest of 1 orange
4 garlic cloves, grated

For the brine, combine all ingredients in a mortar and pestle and ground them all together until you get a "greeny orangy" colour. Spread the brine mixture all over the turkey and into the cavity. Cover with a plastic bag (I double bagged just to keep the juices in place) and refrigerate for 18-24 hours.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse the brine off (including the cavity). Pat dry with paper towel.

Preheat oven to 180C. Place softened butter, parsley, thyme leaves ands orange zest in a bowl, season and combine well.

Beginning at the neck end of the turkey and using your fingers, carefully make a pocket under the skin on the turkey breast. Gently slide the all but 2 tablespoon butter mixture into the pocket under the skin. Spread remaining butter in the cavity and all over the turkey.

Stuff turkey cavity with garlic, thyme sprigs and a quarter each of the onion, carrots and celery. Tie the legs with kitchen string and tuck the wings under.

Place remaining onion, carrot and celery in a large heavy-based roasting pan (I used a disposable aluminum pan but beware of the soft base). Pour 1 cup stock over vegetables and place turkey on top. Cover breast with foil and roast for 2 hours, 30 minutes. Remove foil for the last 30 minutes, until skin is golden and juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a skewer. Rest turkey for 15 minutes, then garnish with parsley.

For gravy, pour out excess oil from the roasting pan. Add 1 cup white wine and 2 cups vegetable stock. When gravy comes to boil, put pan aside and using a hand blender, blend all the vegetables together. Mix them into the gravy. You can either thicken with flour (or cornflour) for the preferred consistency or boil till it reduce in portion.

Above: Stuffing waiting for the oven

Leek and Celery Stuffing

(recipe from delicious Dec 08 issue)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 leeks (which part only), finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small dried chilli, halved, seeds removed
1 small rosemary sprig
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
150g unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbs chopped thyme
1 1/2 baguettes or 1/2 sourdough loaf (350g in total), cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 egg, beaten

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 2-3 mins until soft. Add the leek, celery, chilli and rosemary sprig and cook, stirring for 8 mins or until leek starts to soften. Add the garlic and cook for further 4-6 mins or until leek is soft. Transfer leek mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Return the frypan to the stove over high heat, pour in the white wine and bring to boil. Add the chopped butter, chicken stock and half the thyme and cook for 6-8 mins until liquid reduces by half. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 180 C, in a large bowl, combine the bread and cooled leek mixture, discarding rosemary and chilli. Add chopped parsley, egg and remaining thyme and mix well. Slowly start drizzling in the butter mixture and stir in thoroughly, adding just enough liquid to moisten the bread. Once the mixture is nice and moist, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the mixture in a 4-liter dish, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake further for 15-20 mins until top is golden brown. Stand for 5 minutes before serving with the turkey.