Roast Muscovado Brined Turkey
Ingredients
Turkey
- 5kg turkey
- 3.8 litres water
- 1 cup non-iodised table salt
- 2 cups dark muscovado sugar
- 1½ cup brown sugar
- 6 juniper berries
- Prune and Bacon Stuffing
Method
The turkey needs to be fully thawed before brining. You will need to brine turkey overnight and then dry turkey overnight before roasting. You can brine for up to five days for more flavour. Dissolve sugar and salt in a third of the water over a medium heat, then turn heat off and add the rest of the water. This helps cool the brine a little quicker. Let brine cool to room temperature. Put turkey into a pot or bucket and cover with brine. Put a plate on turkey to keep it submersed and put in the fridge. Alternatively, you could put turkey in a zip-lock bag and pour in brine. Soak turkey overnight, then take out of brine, rinse well and dry with a tea towel. Place on a baking rack uncovered in the fridge overnight, so skin can dry. This is so you can still get a crispy skin.
The next day, take turkey out of the fridge and bring to room temperature. Place stuffing in turkey. Then oil the skin and place turkey breast side up. Bake at 170˚C, usually about 40 to 45 minutes a kilogram, or about three hours for this turkey. Ideally, we want the temperature in the thickest part of the breast to be 66˚C. Start cooking turkey breast side up until golden, then turn over and finish breast side down. This will help keep breast meat moist. Put meat thermometer into the thickest part of breast. Once the breast is 66˚C, leave turkey covered with foil for 20 minutes before carving. Chef's tip: It's nice to serve the stuffing in mini Yorkshire puddings. This brine recipe also works well on chicken, goose and pork.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 250g prunes, pitted and sliced
- 1 cup sherry or port
- 1 cup chicken stock
Method
Put the prunes in a roasting tray with the sherry or port and stock, or water if you don't have stock. Put on to heat and bring to a simmer. Be careful, as the sherry may flambé, so don't lean over the tray while the alcohol burns off. Then just simmer until it naturally concentrates to your preferred thickness. Taste and check if it needs salt. Serve in a jug alongside turkey.