Thanksgiving 2011 - Turkey Part I

Last year I posted how we smoked our turkey for Thanksgiving. This year is round II.  I soaked the turkey last year in a brine this year I took it up a notch and changed up the brine.

I started with
1 C Cider vinegar
1 Medium Onion, peeled and quartered
8 Small Cloves Garlic, no need to peel I just cut them in half
3 Granny Smith Apples - peeled, cored, and quartered
1 C Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp Peppercorns
1 1/2 tsp Thyme leaves
2 Tbsp Rosemary
1 Tbsp Orange peel
I placed all of these in a pot and brought them to a boil, poured it into the cooler with 2 quarts of water. I then prepared the turkey (removed the neck, gizzard package as well as the gravy pouch), rinsed and patted dry my turkey (24 Lbs). I placed then placed the turkey into the cooler and added 2 quarts of ice and enough water to cover the turkey. Through out the day as anyone was walking past the cooler I had then give it a jiggle just to circulate the flavors.

Note on some of these I did not peel them  - they will not be cooked into the turkey - and will be rinsed off.

Let the Turkey sit in the brine for 24 hours. Rinse and pat dry.

That's all for now - Part II to come tomorrow...
Have fun Cookin'