Butterflied, Dry Brined Roasted Turkey with Roasted Root Vegetable Panzanella

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Most amazing turkey ever!! I ran into several issues (not having anything to do with the recipe and it still worked out! I had an 18 lb turkey and THEN looked for recipes. I found this one, quickly defrosted the turkey days earlier than intended, wrestled into its more or less flattened, butterflied shape and left to age with the dry rub in the fridge for days. It looked a little weird by day four, but no matter! The second problem I ran into was my digital thermometer BROKE and it was too late to get another one so I had to guess at timing and doneness the old fashioned way. As a result I'm pretty sure I could have taken the turkey out at least 30 minutes earlier than I did BUT it was still amazing!!! Tasty, moist, crispy skin. My grown up kids and I were practically swooning from tasting bits before it even got to the table. Every year we love the turkey we make better than the last but this is THE one that we'll make from now on.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Fabulous turkey! We cooked the turkey directly on the racks, as directed, which does make a mess, but my sister-in-law had a good cleanup tip: slide the oven racks in a large garbage bag, put a cup of ammonia in a soup can, set the can in the bag with the racks, seal tightly and leave on the garage floor (cool concrete overnight. The racks cleaned up really easily the next morning. Rather than the veggies, we baked the stuffing in pans under the turkey. VERY good. Definitely using this method again.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This turkey recipe was great. I made two 14 lbs birds for my family of 23, they brought the sides. One bird was cooked the traditional way of brining for 24 hours in water. But for the other, a much cheaper store brand turkey, I followed this recipe, dry brined and allowed it to dry in frig for 4 days. My family loved it. We cut the bird and transferred to the serving platter and while I had my back turned family members had picked the carcass clean. The traditional bird was still good, but lots was left over. The dry brined bird was gone. Raves all around.

I didn't make the panzanella. I put a disposable heavy aluminum tray on the rack under the bird to catch the droppings. The droppings were very salty. I added low salt broth to the gravy to decrease the salt.

I loved preparing the bird on Sunday for Thanksgiving. It made the holiday less stressful for me.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Spectacular! Did Alton's wet brine last year, and the spatchcock dry brine this year, and no comparison, the dry brine bird was the best we've ever had. I only had time to let it sit two days in the fridge (instead of four, but it was still great: moist, juicy meat & lovely, crispy skin.

We had a smallish 12 1/2 lb bird, and I found Alton's suggested timings just about perfect (though I did pull it when it temped at 155 with the probe oven thermo. The panzanella was also great, though it didn't seem like that many juices drained from the bird.

Couple of suggestions: (1 put a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil under the pan to catch any stray drippings. (2 cook the bird on a half sheet pan cooling rack instead of directly on the oven rack so that it's easier to get out (and also doesn't coat the oven rack with turkey fat.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Thank you, Alton Brown. My husband hates turkey...always has. This was my last shot at keeping the turkey in our Thanksgiving feasts...he prefers ham, which I prefer to have at Christmas. But he agreed to give this recipe a go. We ALL loved, loved, loved it!! The meat was so moist and flavorful, the skin nice and crisp. We also loved the panzanella (my husband also hates brussel sprouts, but had second helpings of this. Thanks to you and this recipe, turkey will be heartily welcomed for many years to come.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Every year I try something different with my T-Day turkey. Usually it's an AB brine. This year I was determined to try his swan song Thanksgiving recipe.

I'll be honest, I was super scared of this. It didn't make any sense that the turkey could hold onto moisture if there was t any water to introduce. But AB hadn't ever let me down, so I forged ahead. And everyday as I gazed at my turkey I had to steal myself for the possibility of turkey jerkey. The turkey looked frighteningly dry as it roosted in the fridge.

But when I carved that thing it was hands down the most delicious, flavorful, moist turkey I've ever made. I'll never experiment again. Nor will I ever doubt AB's science.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Just prepped this for a Saturday Thanksgiving feast. Can't wait to try it. Anyone else have a hard time breaking the breast bone?

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I made this recipe for the first time last Thanksgiving. I had never used a dry brining method before, so I was taking a bit of risk for Thanksgiving dinner with guests! It was delicious...in fact, we had no leftovers! I'm making it again for this Thanksgiving. My only change will be to simply serve the roasted vegetables according to the recipe, but to leave out the bread and cider vinegar and not make a panzanella. The roasted veggies are so flavorful all on their own!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I used this recipe last year and it was the most amazing turkey I have ever roasted. It came out juicy, succulent, the skin was crispy.....so I am doing it again. The turkey roasts evenly and in far less time than cooking the bird whole. Carving the bird is so much easier as well. the hardest part of this recipe is getting the backbone out....after that it is smooth sailing.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I just want to thank AB for 11 years of making my families meals better. We did the wet brine Turkey back when we hosted our first Thanksgiving in 2001 and it was awesome. This year we were not in charge of the Turkey so we tested this out on a smaller chicken with great success. At Christmas we followed the recipe with a turkey for friends and it was amazing. Especially, loved the vegetables and how moist the turkey was, but it took about 45 minutes longer to get to temp at our house. I was almost full just from my inability to avoid temptation when carving. Now it's Easter and we are doing again for family. I can't wait for them to be impressed with our magnificent skills : Thanks again AB