ghostguy123 said:
23 pound Turkey if that matters. I am sure there are videos and links all over the internet, but I would prefer to ask you fine gents instead.
We are basic. We do not do fancy. I am really just looking for a nice simple and easy way to prep.
We never had to make the turkey before, but some unforeseen circumstances have forced our hand.
If you have a good link that fits what we are looking for lemme have it. Thanks.
take 1 cup kosher salt, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 TBS italian seasoning mix in a bowl set aside
with a thawed turkey, unwrap- remove the giblets inside the cavity should just have a bird with nothing in the cavity at this point. Rinse and pat dry. put on a baking sheet, use the salt mixture now, and pat it liberally all over the outside of the bird and the inside, spread it around. pull up the skin on the breasts from the cavity area, put some of that salt mix on the breast meat under the skin. take the entire thing and put it in the fridge over night, do not cover or wrap- just open.
next day when its time to cook, preheat oven to 500, when you get to temp, put in bird, set timer for 30 minutes. (works even better if you have a convection oven, if you do, then use the convection function) after the 30 minutes, reduce temp to 325, for a 23lb bird using Convection you'll need 2 to 2.5 hours of cooking time. for a 23lb bird using regular oven you'll need 4 1/2 hours approx.
take bird out, lightly cover it with tinfoil, then a couple of kitchen towels and let it sit for 60-90 minutes on the counter. use this time to prepare whatever other foods you are going to eat.
ETA: forgot to say to butter the bird all over the breast and thighs and then lay 6-8 pcs of raw bacon over the breasts before you throw it in the oven. THis will keep the breast meat from over browning while also adding flavor.