Cider-Brined Turkey With Gravy

By Soo Kim and The Test Kitchen

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Cider-Brined Turkey With GravyBrining marinates to the bone, ensuring a juicy turkey every time. We've created a lower-sodium brining option by replacing salted water with apple cider.8 user reviews.

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This recipe makes 14 servings

Nutritional Info
Per each of 14 servings: about	-
cal	323323 cal
pro	43 g43g pro
total fat	12 g12g total fat
sat. fat	5 g5g sat. fat
carb	8 g8g carb
fibre	00 fibre
chol	121 mg121mg chol
sodium	428 mg428mg sodium
potassium	621 mg621mg potassium
% RDI:	-
calcium	44 calcium
iron	2121 iron
vit A	33 vit A
folate	88 folate

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Brining marinates to the bone, ensuring a juicy turkey every time. We've created a lower-sodium brining option by replacing salted water with apple cider.

Ingredients

12 lb (approx) fresh turkey , (10 to 13 lb)12 12lb lb(approx) fresh turkey, (10 to 13 lb)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 1/2cup cuppacked brown sugar
8 cups apple cider 8 8cups cupsapple cider
15 sprigs fresh thyme 15 15sprigs fresh thyme
7 sprigs fresh rosemary 7 7sprigs fresh rosemary
6 cloves garlic 6 6cloves garlic
5 bay leaves 5 5bay leafbay leaves
1 large onion , sliced1 1large oniononions, sliced
1/4 cup butter , melted1/4 1/4cup cupbutter, melted
1-1/4 tsp salt 1-1/4 1-1/4tsp tspsalt
3/4 tsp pepper 3/4 3/4tsp tsppepper
Gravy:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 1/4cup cupall-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sodium-reduced chicken broth 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupssodium-reduced chicken broth
1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 1tsp tspapple cider vinegar

Preparation

Discard giblets from turkey; reserve neck for gravy.

In stockpot, stir 1 cup boiling water with sugar to dissolve; stir in cider to cool. Add turkey, breast side down.

With rolling pin or heavy saucepan, pound thyme, rosemary and garlic until crushed. Add to pot along with bay leaves, onion and enough cold water to cover. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Remove turkey from brine; pat dry.

Tie legs together with kitchen string; tuck wings under back. Brush butter all over turkey; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut neck in half; place in roasting pan. Set turkey, breast side up, on rack in pan.

Roast in 325°F (160°C) oven, basting occasionally and tenting with foil if browning too quickly, until digital rapid-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reads 185°F (85°C), 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Transfer to serving platter and tent with foil; let stand for at least 15 minutes or for up to 30 minutes before carving.

Gravy: Discard neck from pan. Drain off all but 2 tbsp fat. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat, scraping up browned bits. Sprinkle with flour; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in broth, 1/2 cup water and vinegar; bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain through sieve. Serve with turkey.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: October 2011