Bobby, I use to brine until I came upon the "presalting method". I think it is superior and no more dealing with a container of water. When I did brine, I used salt, but never added sugar. I hate sweet meat and sugar contributes a sweetness that I don't like. I would also add lots of cracked garlic cloves, pepper corns and sprigs of herbs, such as fresh rosemary and parsley. You might want to give pre-salting a try. I use it now for just about everything. Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Prime ribs, steaks etc... James, here is what you are looking for. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pre-Salting =========== Judy Rogers' Zuni Cafe method Servings: 11 to 15 Note: This is more a technique than a recipe. It makes a bird that has concentrated turkey flavor and fine, firm flesh and that is delicious as it is. But you can add other flavors as you wish. Minced rosemary would be a nice finishing addition. Or brush the bird lightly with butter before roasting. ADVERTISEMENT 1 (12- to 16-pound) turkey Kosher salt 1. Wash the turkey inside and out, pat it dry and weigh it. Measure 1 tablespoon of salt into a bowl for every 5 pounds the turkey weighs (for a 15-pound turkey, you'd have 3 tablespoons). 2. Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon. It should look liberally seasoned, but not over-salted. 3. Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. You should use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the opposite side. 4. Place the turkey in a 2 1/2 -gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, turning it onto its breast for the last day. 5. Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place the turkey breast-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours. 6. On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 7. Place the turkey breast-side down on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so the breast is facing up (it's easiest to do this by hand, using kitchen towels or oven mitts). 8. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 3/4 hours total roasting. 9. Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve. Each of 15 servings: 564 calories; 77 grams protein; 0 carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 26 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 261 mg. cholesterol; 856 mg. sodium. . Notes: This same method can be used for chicken, chicken pieces, pork roasts, ribs, chops, etc.. With the smaller cuts just pre-salt 4 or five hours in advance. Even this short period of presalting makes an amazing difference. Don't cover, just refrigerate and then remove from the fridge in time for the meat to come to room temperature before cooking.

Hi Brina's Mom- Welcome! I'm a very proud mom tonight too! My DD and her best friend cooked their very own Thanksgiving dinner tonight, their first one ever! I have to tell you that they also had a 22 lb bird, they stuffed it too and without a doubt it was the best turkey I've ever eaten!! Definitely better than mine, better than most of my mother's and without a doubt it was better than the woman whose house we go to each T-day! So don't be afraid, just dive right in. The girls used Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and cooked it about 5-6 hours until they thought it was done-- risky-- I'd have preferred that they had a meat thermometer. I'll be buying them one each for the holidays! Good Luck!

I research pretty well and don't buy things often on impulse so I I don't have many things I could whose performance I would surprise me. But I do have an exception. I was in a store once and started conversing with a guy and he brought up the fact that he had a presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven. It's that turntable one that goes around under and over the heating element. He raved av bout the thing. I thought it was a pretty ridiculous appliance since it was good for just one thing and pizza isn't high on my list. Plus they were around 40 to 50 dollars. Well saw one on clearance for 19 bucks one day. DH is always doing frozen pizza so i figured I'd spend it on him and maybe he could do his own without mess. That thing is fantastic! It makes frozen pizza taste almost as good as chain take-out. Just slap the frozen pizza on the tray and 16 minutes late you have hot pizza cooked the way you like it. You can adjust the lower and upper cooking times separately if you like crispy crust or well done topping. DH can do it and clean up after himself. No hot oven in the summer. Well spent $19.00.

>>>"Also, I think injectors are pretty much a tool kit standard with the smoking/ pit BBQ crowd.<<<" Yup, but there are different kinds of injectors with different uses. Not knowing which kind Islay found in the UK, I'll comment on the two most commonly seen varieties. One kind looks like an oversized disposable plastic syringe with a thickish hypodermic needle. That's what I recall Tony Chachere company selling with their buttery turkey/poultry marinade. Rather than, say, soaking a turkey in a bucket of brine for a couple days, you can quickly make a lot of rather shallow injections to quickly spread the brine or flavoring marinade. (Shallow because poultry meat usually is not very thick.) You can inject oily flavorings which might not penetrate past the surface of your meat or poultry. (Sound like "Butterball" turkeys?) Also, you can get much better marinade penetration without the odd textures that are sometimes the result of a long external soak in a marinade that is acidic. The other kind of injector is a larger cylinder of nickel-plated steel or stainless steel which comes with a much thicker nozzle more like the thickness of a knitting needle than a hypodermic needle. Here in the states, the most common brand names seem to be "Weston" and "Morton Salt." Not familiar with what they sell in England these days. These models are used for deeper injections in thicker cuts of meat such as hams. These metal models come with two different kinds of nozzles/needles. One has has the outlet hole in the tip and looks like an embalming tool. These are optimized for injecting the cure/marinade through an artery to flood the meat through the vascular net. This gives very good penetration and absorption, particularly (IME) when curing hams, large pork shoulders and beef tongue. The other kind of nozzle has outlets along the shaft. Kind of like a sprinkler which is why they are called "spray injectors." These are used when the arterial injections won't work. The "pumps" are also made in larger and more elaborate models for pros by the likes of F. Dick Company, but I'm guessing Islay didn't buy one of those. >>>"When you inject meat, most of the liquid comes out and very little stays in the meat, and the surface area of meat created by the thin needle is very small to make contact with the liquid. . . . I don't use my meat injector."<<< My experience is somewhat different. The larger "pump" types of injectors are meant to inject the cure or brine deep into into thick, dense meat. I use mine mainly for curing hams and beef tongues. I've found that when used with a bit of care, even the spray injectors can pump brine/marinades for pretty good distribution. When not used carefully, and particularly with the "spray" injectors, they result in more of a flush than an injection. Much marinade/brine may just get pumped back out precisely as dcarch describes. Also, these pump injectors are not desirable for use on poultry because the big nozzles leave a pretty big hole which can be a bit of drain during cooking as well as when injecting. The idea is to speed up the process of curing/flavoring thick cuts while also avoiding the possibility of interior meat starting to spoil before a surface brine or cure can penetrate to that depth.