Jive Turkey

This recipe produces the best turkey you will have ever eaten.

Giving me this recipe is about the only good thing my sister's turkey of an ex-husband ever did.

It's from a fancy pants restaurant in Berkley, California called Chez Panisse.

CHEZ PANISSE'S TURKEY BRINE

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 gallons cold water

2 cups kosher salt

1 cup sugar

2 bay leaves, torn into pieces

1 bunch fresh thyme, or 4 tablespoons dried

1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

5 whole allspice berries, crushed

4 juniper berries, smashed

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the water in a large nonreactive pot that can easily hold the liquid and the turkey. Add all the ingredients and stir for a minute or two until the sugar and salt dissolve.

Put the turkey into the brine and refrigerate for 24 hours. If the turkey floats to the top, weight it down with a plate and cans to keep it completely submerged in the brine.

This is how you bake it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter over the skin and sprinkle 4 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground pepper over the skin and in the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under, loosely truss the legs and place the turkey on a v-shaped rack in a roasting pan. Tent the breast with foil and place the turkey in the oven.

After about 1 hour, remove the foil and baste the turkey with 1/2 cup stock. Re-baste it with pan drippings and more stock, if desired, every 20 minutes.

Roast the turkey until the internal thigh temperature reaches 165 degrees, 1 3/4-2 1/4 hours.