Turkey...yum.

So, we had Thanksgiving at our home this year with the Housley side of the family. We all pitched in with the cooking (and cleaning!)and I took on the all important task of cooking the turkey. Kindof daunting, but I'm pretty handy with the internet and its full of ideas on how to and what to cook a turkey with, so I wasn't too worried. Can I just say how great it turned out?! Not that everything else wasn't fantastic, cuz it was seriously ALL delicious, but the turkey was so moist and tasty, I was just so happy with how it turned out. The beauty of it all is that it was sooooo easy and if I can do it, ANYONE can! The secret is to brine the turkey. Its just a mixture of water, salt and seasonings and you actually soak the turkey in it for 10-12 hours before cooking. (the recipe says 1 hour per pound, but we had a 20 lb. turkey and I did it for 12 hours and that was plenty of time) After soaking for that long (I buy those Reynolds oven bags and use that to hold the liquid and the turkey) you rinse off the turkey, (very important to rinse it off because otherwise it will be way too salty)pat it dry, rub a stick of butter all over the skin and then put salt and pepper all over the skin. Put into a new bag, close it up, put 2 slits in the top of the bag and cook according to directions. I mean, you don't have to even cut the turky! It's literally falling off the bones it's so moist! So, here's the brine recipe....try it, you'll like it!

1 gallon water
1 cup salt (kosher is best)
1/2 cup white vinegar
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. pickling spice
1 t. black pepper
1 t. allspice
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. tarragon

Dissolve salt and brown sugar in water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Allow to cool. Add vinegar and spices.