Gill Meller’s brined barbecued turkey with a rich gravy

Method

1. Put all the brine ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring regularly to stop the salt and sugar catching. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and cool. Pour the brine into the plastic food box/bucket, then chill until ready to use.
2. Remove the giblets from the turkey (if applicable) and lower it into the brine. Set a plate over the top with a weight on it to keep the bird is submerged. Cover the tub or bucket and leave for 48 hours. The bird needs to be kept cool while in the brine – depending on the weather it may pay to leave the tub  outside, somewhere cool and secure, or in a spare fridge (see Know How).
3. After 48 hours, lift the turkey out of the brine, rinse it carefully in fresh cold water and pat dry. It’s best to let it sit uncovered in the bottom of the fridge for 12 hours or overnight to dry off.
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4. When you’re ready to cook the turkey, light your barbecue. You’ll want to use sustainably produced lumpwood charcoal alongside a few small hardwood logs or handfuls of smoking wood chips. Let the charcoal burn until you have a good bed of glowing coals – you’ll need plenty of them. Add the logs/wood chips. As the wood smoulders it’ll create an aromatic smoke, which will flavour the bird beautifully. Set an indirect cooking plate over the fire or move the hot coals and wood to one edge of the barbecue so the heat isn’t directly underneath the bird. Adjust the air vents to set your barbecue’s internal temperature to around 180°C. It may fluctuate and you might need to add more fuel (see Know How).
5. Put the chopped onions, carrots and celery in a suitably sized roasting tin. Put the thyme and bay in there too and set the bird down over the top of all the veg. Pour in about 500ml water (or cider). Rub the bird all over with the soft butter, then put the roasting tin on the barbecue grill and close the lid. Cook the turkey, basting it every 25-30 minutes with the buttery juices from the tin. You may need to top up the liquid once or twice. The bird will take 2-2½ hours to cook (or longer depending on its size and heat from the barbecue), but it’s key to take temperature readings from the deepest parts of the bird before you remove it. The thickest part of the breast as well as the thigh should have reached 65-72°C. If it’s lower than this, shut the lid and keep cooking. Once the bird has got to this temperature, you can carefully lift it out and rest it somewhere warm for an hour.
6. To make a simple yet gorgeous gravy, lift the turkey out of the tray onto a large plate/platter. Set the tray of vegetables and roasting juices over a low heat. Sprinkle in the plain flour and stir well, cooking gently, for 1-2 minutes. Crush the onions and carrots with the back of a spoon and scrape up any dark sticky patches on the bottom of the tin. Add the red wine along with enough really tasty chicken or beef stock to give you a good consistency. Bring the gravy to a simmer, stirring regularly until it begins to thicken. Pass the gravy, along with all the veg, through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing out all the flavour with the back of the spoon or a ladle as you go. Set the pan over a low heat and add the red wine vinegar and redcurrant jelly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir well.