Thanksgiving Part 2: Maple Brined Turkey

The first thing I would recommend when brining a turkey is to actually read the entire recipe a few days in advance of undertaking the process.  Sadly, I didn't do this and now I have realized that it it really a two part process.  First making the brine and cooling to room temperature, then secondly adding in more water to the brine to actually brine the bird.  Whoops!  Oh well, guess I'll just have to go with it....here's the brine recipe I will be using:

Canadian Maple Brined Turkey:

11-15 lb fresh turkey

1 cup kosher or sea salt (we used sea salt)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp mulling spices

2 tbsp Epicure's Maple Spice Fruit Dip Mix (got this with the brining bags)

2 whole apples cut into quarters

16 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar have dissolved.  Bring water to a boil, then cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

I must say the brine looks beautiful and autumnal and smells absolutely amazing thanks to the mulling spices. 

When ready to brine the turkey (which will be as soon as the brine has cooled off) we'll get out our large roasting pan and lay out the brining bag in it.  This will make transporting the turkey and its liquid in the bag much easier.  When ready, we will put the turkey in the bag, pour in the cooled brine, and then add and additional 16 cups of ice water.  The bag is then sealed and the turkey goes into the fridge until we are ready to roast it, which will likely be around 2:00 tomorrow afternoon.  With a 13 lb turkey it looks like it will take about 3.5 hours at 325 degrees. Before it goes into the oven, I will rub the bird down with a compound butter incorporating sage and 3-4 tbsp maple syrup to bump up the maple flavour a bit.

So that's it for the bird until tomorrow.  Before then I will have to look up what to do once it comes out of the brine, because my recipe seems to stop there.  Hrmph!   I am assuming you'd need to rinse the turkey off before it goes in the oven, but who knows right now.  I hate incomplete recipes!!   Like I said, it probably would have helped if I read the entire recipe over a few days in advance to avoid such little hiccups.  

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Addendum to yesterday's post:
I found the following instructions on Epicurious.com to help complete the recipe I posted yesterday for brining:

Once in the brining bag, turn the  turkey is breast side down in the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours. Turn the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.  Remove the turkey from the brine. Discard the bags, brine, and any cured herbs or spices remaining on the bird. Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey back in the roasting pan and refrigerate, unwrapped, for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. This resting period allows the skin of the turkey to dry a bit so it is crisp when roasted.