This year for Thanksgiving try a new recipe brought to you from the past by Mr. Peabody and Sherman. This Time Travel recipe takes Turkey to a whole new level! And why not, it did almost become the national bird thanks to Benjamin Franklin’s love of Turkey.
It takes about 10 hours total to make this turkey from prep to finish, so be sure to start your Turkey prep ASAP. If your turkey is frozen give it a good few days to thaw. Unlike John Arbuckle’s grandma, who can apparently make a miraculous dinner from a frozen turkey, we need a thawed Turkey to cook a Thanksgiving dinner.
Once the Turkey is thawed, you are ready to begin the preparations and the cooking! Grab the ingredients, follow the recipe and have a marvelous Thanksgiving!
Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey Recipe
Servings: 8-10
Prep Time: 20 mins
Inactive Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
– 1 (10-12 pound) defrosted turkey (thaw a frozen turkey 3 days before roasting in a refrigerator below 38°F)
– 3/4 cup salt
– 1/4 cup light brown sugar
– 3/4 gallon vegetable stock
– 1 tablespoon black pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
– 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
– 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
– 3/4 gallon iced water
– 1 red apple, sliced
– 1/2 onion, sliced
– 1 cinnamon stick
– 1 cup water
– 6 sprigs rosemary
– Canola oil
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Directions
– The night before you roast the turkey, make the brine by combining vegetable stock, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, and ground cumin; stir over medium heat until it reaches a boil – smells good, doesn’t it?
– Remove from heat, and allow the brine to cool to room temperature
– In a 5 gallon bucket, combine the cooled brine and iced water. Gently submerge the thawed turkey with neck and innards removed. If the turkey is not fully immersed, rotate the turkey halfway through brining to ensure all parts of the turkey get covered
– Cover the turkey and set it in refrigerator for at least 8 hours (but no more than 16 hours!)
– On the day of roasting, preheat your oven to 500°F
– Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it with cold water so it won’t be too salty
– Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave the mixture for 5 minutes
– Tuck the mixture of apple, onion, cinnamon stick and rosemary into the turkey’s cavity
– Take a triangle-shaped foil that is large enough to cover the turkey breast and press it lightly against the turkey breast to form a foil mold. Remove and coat the inside of the mold with canola oil so it won’t stick to the turkey skin. Set the mold aside, you’ll need it later!
– Brush the outside of the turkey with canola oil for that crispy golden brown finish
– Roast the turkey in the oven for 30 minutes at 500°F
– Take the turkey out carefully and place the coated foil triangle mold we made earlier on the turkey breast – this is the shield that helps the white meat from getting overcooked
– Turn the oven down to 350°F and roast the turkey for another 1.5 hours
– If the legs of the turkey are browning too much, you can make another foil shield and place it carefully over the legs – careful, it’s really hot!
– The turkey is done once the thickest part of the breast reaches 161°F
– Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving, and enjoy!
Download and print the recipe by clicking the following link: Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey Recipe
Keep it, use it, and wow your family and friends this Thankgiving! Nom Nom Nom
