By this point you may have gathered that I like for my food to have a lot of flavor. This includes warm spicy flavors, and every once in a while a real punch of heat. Why not let this bleed into Thanksgiving food? As I have said, well, too many times, I come from a large family that loves to gather around food. Needless to say, Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. We have always done our dishes for this meal fairly traditional and simple. For this recipe, I took my family’s favorite roasted turkey and turned it on it’s head to create this Cajun inspired turkey that has just a hint of heat.

Brine

First things first, brine your turkey!

This brine uses the vanilla, caramel and oak flavors of bourbon paired with complementary ingredients to flavor pack your bird. The end result of 8-12 hours in the brine is a subtle spicy and sweet profile that lends itself well to any herb and spice blend that you could dream up for your perfect juicy and tender turkey.

The recipe is built for a 7-8 lb turkey breast. Using ratios just modify the quantity of each ingredient to adjust for more or less protein being brined.

To get started with your brine, pour 1.5 gallons of ice cold water and 4 cups of bourbon into a 5 gallon bucket. 4 cups of bourbon is not a small amount of bourbon which can bring fear that this is quite expensive. Don’t fret, you don’t have to buy a crazy expensive bourbon! The simple flavor profile that we are hoping to pull from the bourbon is available even in the cheapest of options.

Next, in a dry pan lightly toast the black peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Once fragrant, but not significantly changed in color, remove the spices from the heat and place all but the cinnamon sticks in your brine liquid. Take the cinnamon sticks, break them into a couple of pieces, and toss them in.

All that’s left is sinking your protein into the brine, weighing it down with a dish if necessary, covering, and placing it in your refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

Preparation

After your turkey has finished brining, pull it out and let it drain over the bucket. Once it has stopped dripping, place it on a cutting board and pat the turkey dry with paper towels. DON’T FORGET: This is raw poultry, wash your hands between steps to prevent illnesses!!

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees before moving on with preparing your turkey.

Next you are going to gently lift the skin of the turkey to pack spices and butter between the flesh and the skin. Starting at the large cavity end of the turkey, use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the meat slowly pushing to prevent holes. Now you are ready to spread the butter/spice mixture under the skin.

In a bowl, combine all of the spices listed below with the butter. Using your hands, massage the butter across as much of the meat as you can being sure to spread it evenly. Season the internal cavity with salt and pepper, and place a quartered large sweet onion and apple inside the cavity.

Now for the fun part, roasting. A couple of years ago, I learned the flash roasting method in an issue of Better Homes & Garden and have never looked back. Roasting my turkeys this way has led to significantly crispier skin, and the most tender turkey I have had the luxury of consuming. Where you would normally roast a turkey low and slow on around 350 degrees, here we are going to roast at 450 degrees for less time. Don’t worry, the turkey will cook perfectly without needing to worry about burning!

Roasting

Move your turkey to the roasting pan, being sure to place it on the rack so that you can put water in the pan underneath to help ensure some moisture while cooking through the creation of steam. Pour two cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan. Tent aluminum foil over the top of the turkey, securing the front and back (length side), but be sure to leave the ends open so that the steam can escape and the skin can crisp up. Move your turkey into your preheated oven and let it roast. A 15 lb turkey will take approximately 3 hours to be done, but you will know for sure when the internal temperature hits 175 degrees. Be sure to check the temperature by placing the thermometer into the thigh near the bone without actually touching bone. Remove the turkey from the oven, tilt the large cavity end of the turkey down to drain excess juices and rendered fat before moving the turkey to a cutting board or platter. Loosely cover your turkey with aluminum foil and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

That’s it! A few process modifications and a seasoning overhaul gives us the succulent roasted turkey that screams flavor, has a hint of heat, and will change your turkey expectations forever.

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