How I make my turkey

Every year at this time, there comes the question: who will make the turkey? In my family, the answer is now my husband and I. We are devoted fans of Alton Brown. We've gained copious amounts of cooking knowledge from his show Good Eats on Food Network. His turkey cookin recipe on FoodNetwork.com is famous - but it's not the one I use. My favorite of his turkey recipes comes from his book I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0

I've modified it slightly.

15 ish lb bird thawed (smaller, bigger, the brine works either way...)
3 cups kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar (if all you have is light, go for it)
2 gallons water
12-oz container of orange juice concentrate
2 gallons of ice cubes
Canola Oil
A cooler big enough to fit your bird and two gallons of liquid
bleach (to clean the cooler when you're done. YES BLEACH!)

For the brine: dissolve the salt, sugar, and juice concentrate in 2 quarts of hot water. Cool the solution with 6 quarts of cold water.

Clean the turkey and place in the cooler. Pour the brine over the turkey. If it isn't completely covered with the brine, add some chicken or vegetable stock. (Don't add water - it will weaken the brine.) Cover the whole thing with ice, close the lid, keep the kids away and brine for 6 to 8 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees when there's about 30 minutes remaining in the brining process. 

Remove the turkey from the brine, and dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Rub it liberally with canola oil (get it good - every little cranny.)

Put the turkey in a roasting pan on a roasting rack (if you disposable pans - use two.) Cover the wing tips with aluminum foil.

Roast the turkey at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the bird from the oven, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cover the breasts with a double-layer of aluminum foil, folded in a triangle. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast (right through the foil) and set the thermometer to 161 degrees.

Depending on the size of your turkey, it will take about 2 to 2.5 hours.

Don't forget to let your bird rest before carving.

TO CLEAN THE COOLER: Take it outside if you can, or in your laundry tub. If you have to use the kitchen sink, clean it thoroughly when you're finished. Rinse the cooler several times with water, and then clean it with bleach (ok, I guess you could use lysol, but preferably BLEACH)