Brined from Frozen & Roasted Whole Turkey

If you are anything like me, you are scrambling to get your groceries on time for Thanksgiving dinner. You pick up your frozen turkey and realize that thawing the turkey can take a long time, let alone brining it before cooking and you are under the wire. The best news is that you can brine & thaw your turkey at the same time! You’ll need a vessel big enough to hold your turkey in liquid (I used a cooler), and a probe thermometer with an alarm built in, so you can be sure your turkey is always within food safe temperatures.

BRINED FROM FROZEN & ROASTED WHOLE TURKEY

Prep time: 15 minutes + 48 hours inactive
Cook time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (or more depending on the size of your turkey)
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes + 48 hours inactive
Yield: 1 whole turkey

INGREDIENTS

For the Brine

• 1 cup kosher salt

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 8 cups hot water

• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns

• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stems

• 18 cups cold vegetable stock

• Whole frozen turkey

• Additional cold water (optional)

For Roasting

• ½ a large onion, roughly chopped

• 6 cloves garlic

• Handful fresh rosemary

• Handful fresh sage

• Handful fresh thyme

• Grape seed or canola oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

To start, you will need to ensure you have a vessel large enough to hold your frozen turkey and it’s brining liquid. Pour the salt and sugar directly into said vessel. Add the hot water, and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the whole peppercorns, rosemary and vegetable stock, and place your frozen turkey in the brine, breast-side down. If the turkey is not fully submerged, add more cold water until it is. The salty water and the frozen turkey will keep the temperature of the water low, allowing you to not have to continually switch out the water as the turkey thaws. Cover the vessel and let the turkey thaw and brine at the same time, 24-48 hours at room temperature, depending on the size of the turkey. My turkey was 9 pounds, and was done after 24 hours. Place a thermometer with an alarm in the brining liquid, with the alarm set to sound if the water reaches above 4 degrees celsius. If the alarm sounds before you are ready to start cooking, place the turkey in the refrigerator until you are ready to go.

Preheat your oven to 500F and place the rack on the lowest setting.

Once thawed & brined, remove the turkey from the brining liquid, rinse it thoroughly with cold water and discard the brine. Remove the giblets, discard, and pat the turkey dry with paper towel. Place the turkey, breast-side up on a wire rack-lined brimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the onion, garlic, rosemary, sage and thyme. Coat the outside of the turkey generously with grape seed or canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Tuck the wings under the bird and tie the legs together and roast for 30 minutes at 500F.

After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F. Continue to cook the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F. This should take approximately an additional 1.5-1.75 hours for a 9 lb. turkey. Let the turkey rest, covered for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

Reserve the drippings to make this delicious White Wine Turkey Gravy.