[redforever]

I brined my turkey as well. I put 1 gallon of chicken broth, a small handful of peppercorns, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup coarse pickling salt, 6 cloves smashed garlic, 1 Tbsp dehydrated onion, 3 good sized sprigs each of rosemary, thyme,sage, and parsley, and a couple of bay leaves in a large stock pot and brought it to a boil. Then I let it cool to room temperature.

I bought a really nice fresh tureky from Sunterra, removed the neck and giblets, and rinsed it welll. Then I put the turkey in an extra large freezer bag and put the turkey, inside the bag, inside a large rectangular roasting pan.

Once the ingredients in the stock pot had cooled down, I added it to the bag with the turkey, along with 8 cups of cold water and 8 cups of ice cubes. I tied the bag shut and started brining the turkey (in the fridge), breast side down. After 8 hours, I rotated the turkey and let it brine, breast side up for another 8 hours. I rotated the turkey one more time and finished brining it, breast side down, for another 8 hours.

I removed the turkey from the bag and discarded the brine. I rinsed the turkey well and dried it off, inside and outside, with paper towels.

Then I mixed about 1/3 cup butter (room temperature) with 2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage and stuffed and rubbed that under the skin of the breast of the turkey. I also rubbed some butter all over the outside of the bird. At that point, I roasted it. It took about 4 hours in total for a 19 pound bird.

I made dressing but never stuffed or cooked it in the bird. I always make a lot of extra dressing and cook it in a couple of slow cookers.