Thanksgiving Prep

This marks the first year I am cooking nearly the entire Thanksgiving Day feast, including the bird.
I've never cooked a turkey before, and encountered serious challenges earlier this year when trying to roast a chicken, so in preparation for this important occasion, I've done quite a bit of research on the best way to go about cooking the perfect turkey.

While there are many ways to make a tasty turkey, I've opted for soaking my turkey in a salt brine which, if done correctly, should produce the most succulent gobbler.

I reviewed countless of turkey brine recipes and finally settled on one that consists of brown sugar, maple syrup and soy sauce, as well as a few other seasonings. After assembling the first batch of brine, I realized I didn't have enough brine to cover the 20 pound beast we're going to roast on Thursday, so I headed back to the kitchen and made another batch.

As I prepared the brining bag and made room in the fridge for the turkey and brine, it occurred to me that Thanksgiving is probably not the best time to start experimenting with new techniques.

Too late now, I'm in way too deep.
At least the brine smells yummy!

The first batch of brine; turns out this won't be enough.

A second batch of brine to ensure we have enough to cover the entire bird.

I'm using Reynolds Oven Roasting bags (turkey size!) for brining. I've double bagged in case of leakage.

The BIRD. 20 pounds of succulent yumminess. Unless, of course, my "experiment" goes horribly wrong.

Feel free to say a little prayer for me and the gobbler. It's okay.

I won't mind.

Tune in tomorrow for the cooking of the sides!