[Sca-cooks] A Turkey Success (a bit late, but whatever)

[April Page]

For a bit of an introduction, I am Papa Gunthar's lady, and I have been lurking on the list for quite some time now without actually entering the fray.  Since he posted what we would be doing for Thanksgiving, thus intiating the huge discussion about Thanksgiving in general, I thought I would share with you what exactly we did with the turkey we cooked on Friday for ourselves.
   
  Wer initially decided to brine the turkey a'la Alton Brown, but Gunthar found an article in the Vail News where a team tested several methods of turkey roasting, including brining, heat induction and plain 'ole salting.  The results?  The team liked the salting method the best and Papa and I were intrigued enough to try it ourselves.
   
  The method is a very simple one:  one tablespoon of salt per 5 pound of bird rubbed over the skin, concentrating on the breast and thighs.  Place the bird in a large plastic bag (I had no idea they made Ziplock bags this big, but they do), seal it and let the bird sit in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.  It will extrude liquid for the first day or so and then reabsorb it the last day.  The night before you plan on roasting it, remove the bird from the plastic bag and let it air dry in the refirgerator overnight.  The skin will be a little tough when you are ready to cook it the next day, but that is perfectly normal.
   
  Preheat the oven to 425, place the turkey breast side down on a rack in an uncovered roasting pan, insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh (I finally got to use my fancy talking thermometer from Williams Sonoma), baste it with melted butter and cook for 30 minutes.  Then, reduce the heat to 325, flip the bird on its back, baste once again with melted butter and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165.  Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest about 30 minutes.
   
  The meat was tender, juicy and flavorful.  We did find it a little salty for our tastes, but I'm not sure if it was the fact that I used a coarse kosher salt rather than fine.  Next time, we'll probably reduce the salt just a tad and add some herbs, just because we like them.
   
  Gunthar probably has some amusing comments about our travails in flipping the bird after the first roasting and how I burned my fingers trying to keep the pan from slipping off the stove top, but I don't feel I've had a good day in the kitchen unless I've burned myself.
   
  April