Thanksgiving Turkey

We used a 16-lb fresh turkey and it was delicious - moist and flavorful!

Brine
-Allrecipes.com

2 gallons water
1-1/2 cups canning salt (sea salt)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

In a large bucket or container large enough to hold your turkey (5 gallon bucket), mix together the water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Store in a refrigerator, and soak turkey for 2 days (1 was fine) before smoking or roasting.

Good Eats Roast Turkey
-Alton Brown

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, quartered
1/2 onion, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 leaves sage (or 1 tsp. ground)
(I added 1 celery stalk)
Canola oil

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
(Our 16 lb. took 2 hours)