Suzi's Roast Turkey

My mother-in-law is a wonderful cook and gracious hostess. She not only makes delicious things but she is unfailingly generous with her skills. She makes many things, especially for the holidays, which I look forward to every year. I'll be posting at least one more of these in the coming month. A few years back, I had her roast turkey for the first time and was totally hooked. But it seemed somewhat complex and while Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I plan for it with a passion bordering on the absurd, the bird is never my greatest focus. I think I was pretty resigned to it being a little dry and a little bland no matter what concoction I rubbed it with, injected it with and so forth. Suzi's turkey however, had a truly moist breast. That is the part I most remember and desired to replicate. Moist, more like cutting into beef tenderloin. Perhaps time has caused the memories to plump a bit, but I'm confident that her bird was the best I've had.

So, for my bi-weekly women's Bible study/dinner party the theme was Thanksgiving Test Kitchen and I decided to give Suzi's bird method a try. It really is a method more than a recipe and I thought the results were excellent. First, a couple things you should know. One - it wasn't as good as hers, but it WAS moist and better than any bird I personally had made before. Two - This is no fancy free-range fresh turkey. This was an 11 lb, 27 cents a lb bird from Safeway. I am not about to spend $60 on a fresh expensive bird when I can get one for $2.97 and it tastes this good. I know, how terribly NOT politically correct I am! Not that I have any problem with those that buy the expensive boutique birds, but I'll do my eating local from the produce table at my Farmer's market, where I can really taste the difference in the end product and it doesn't break the bank. Okay, back to the matter at hand.

First, start by soaking your turkey in brine. For the science behind why this is a great idea, check this out, but simply, brining your turkey forces salt and flavor into its cells, which allows the turkey to be flavored from the inside and not just during roasting with whatever you put on or under the turkey's skin.

Full-Flavored Roast Turkey
Adapted from USA Weekend magazine, from Suzi Hubert's warm and cozy kitchen.

Start this process 15-18 hours prior to roasting. And don't forget to put your turkey in the fridge 48 hours before that, if it's a frozen one. The total roasting time for a 11 - 14 lb turkey by this method will be 2.5 - 3 hours. Do not stuff your bird, it will dry it out and extend the cooking time by quite a lot. Allow 25 minutes for the bird to rest before carving. Don't cover it when its resting! It will decrease skin crispness and cause it to overcook.

Special Equipment: A roasting pan with a V-rack (easy to get at Fred Meyer, Target, all over) and a meat thermometer

STEP 1: Turkey Tea - Here is the one divergence I did from Suzi. Adds more flavor to the brine.

20-25 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
2 tbl dried thyme
2 tbl fresh sage
2 cups boiling water

Allow the herbs to steep in the hot water for 30 minutes or so.

STEP 2: Brine

1 1/2 cups kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 gallons of cold water
Turkey Tea
1 turkey (thawed, giblet bag, neck and tail removed)

Mix water, sugar and salt together until dissolved. Add your cooled turkey tea and your turkey - breast side down. You'll need a 5 gallon bucket or very large stockpot for this. Put this in fridge now for 15-18 hours. OR, like I did, pour 2 cups of ice over the turkey and put it in your garage if you're doing this overnight and the temperature is going to be 45 degrees or below. Cover the pot and don't worry, it will be fine.

STEP 3: Roasting

Remove your turkey from the brine, rinse thoroughly with cool water and pat very dry. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place oven rack on the lowest position.

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
3 tbl butter, melted
grey salt or kosher salt

Loosely stuff the cavity with 1/2 the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Scatter the rest on the bottom of the roasting dish under the V-rack. Add 1-2 cups of water to the pan, depending on how large it is. This helps the vegetables not burn. They are there to improve the flavor of the drippings.

Tie the turkey legs together and secure the wings, with kitchen twine wrapped around the bird. Now, place V-rack in the roasting pan and place turkey breast side DOWN, on V-rack. Brush back and sides with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with grey salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place in oven now and roast for 50 minutes.


Remove pan from oven, close oven door. Baste turkey's back with drippings. Now, with two towels, turn the turkey until it is on its side with one leg and wing up. This is why you need the V-roaster. Brush the exposed side with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with grey salt and fresh cracked pepper and place it back in the oven for 20 minutes.


Remove pan from oven, close oven door. Turn the turkey over so the opposite side is up. Brush the exposed side with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with grey salt and fresh cracked pepper and place it back in the oven for 20 minutes.

For the third time, remove turkey from oven, close door. Turn turkey breast side up and baste with drippings, melted butter and sprinkle with grey salt and fresh cracked pepper. Roast for 40 more minutes.


Remove the bird and check its temperature with a meat thermometer into the breast, but not all the way to the bone - just right into the meat about 1 inch down. You are looking for a temperature of 162-165. When you are there, remove the turkey and let rest. If you are not, put it in for 5-10 more minutes depending on how far you are away.

NOTE: My cooking times were for a 11 lb bird. Yours could very likely be bigger. You'll need to adjust, probably 30 minutes longer total time for a 14 lb one. The cooking of the turkey doesn't happen in a linear fashion. There is a point in the roasting of the bird where it starts to heat exponentially as it reaches doneness. So you could take it out after 2.5 hours and the breast could be at 150 and 15 minutes later it could be at 160-165, which is when you want to take it out. So watch it closely in the 15 minutes to ensure you don't overdo it. Use your kitchen timer!

As for serving portions, I think a 11 lb bird serves 8 people with plenty of back meat left for soups and leftovers.

The reasons for doing your turkey this way are many. The brining adds moisture and flavor, roasting it upside down keeps the most sensitive part of the turkey - the breast - from becoming overdone and too dry, and rotating the bird has the effect of establishing brown crusty skin all over the bird, which seals in moisture but also tastes delicious.

I hope someone gives this method a try, or I just spent way too much time retyping this recipe!