Outside of politics aka TRUMP, debating the merits of brining a turkey might be the most controversial topic around your Thanksgiving table this year.

I've tried both ways in Thanksgivings past: oven-roasted turkey after brining and oven-roasted turkey without brining. I can't point to one year's bird being superior to another's, but that's probably due to the 10 whiskeys consumed during the stressful prep of the old dirty bird itself.

Love it or hate it the turkey is like Santa at Christmas, the tooth fairy when you need money, 5 and hustling hard or that cheeky little bunny at Easter, its just part of the day. So here are a few options for ya, Martha is the queen no doubt about it, here recipe is intense but packed with flavor and made for the people. Her wet brine is an easy win if that is the road you wish to take.

Fancy saving the absolute hassle of trying to fit a massive mid brine turkey in your fridge?? give the dry brine method ago from the team at chowhound.

If in doubt try this one out, our simple roast turkey thats is sure to win over your guest. Try this using wet brined, dry brine or no brine at all, pure naked bird.

Ingredients

• 5 kg turkey , preferably free-range or organic

• olive oil

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 clementine , halved

• a few sprigs fresh rosemary

• 2 onions , peeled and roughly chopped

• 2 sticks celery , roughly chopped

• 2 carrots , roughly chopped

   

  For the stuffing

   

• olive oil

• 2 onions , peeled and finely chopped

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• a few sprigs fresh sage , leaves picked and roughly chopped

• 300 g higher-welfare pork mince

• 1 large handful breadcrumbs

Method

1. Take your turkey out of the fridge about an hour before you’re ready to cook it so it comes up to room temperature before roasting. Give it a good rinse then pat it dry with some kitchen paper, making sure you soak up any water in the cavity. Drizzle the meat with a good lug of olive oil, add a few good sprinkles of salt and pepper and then rub this seasoning all over the bird, making sure you get in to all the nooks and crannies.

2. Preheat your oven to full whack then get started on your stuffing. Pour a lug or two of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and fry off your chopped onion for about 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper, the ground nutmeg and your chopped sage leaves, then continue to fry and stir for another minute or two.

3. Spoon the onion mixture into a large bowl and let it cool completely. Once cooled, add your pork mince and breadcrumbs and use your hands to really scrunch everything together. Once it’s mixed really well, bring the stuffing together into a ball, then cover and chill until you’re ready to stuff your turkey.

4. Pull the skin at the neck-end back so you can see a cavity and push about half of your stuffing inside your turkey. Not too much: you don’t want to pack it so tightly it slows down the cooking. Once done, pull and fold the skin over the opening and tuck it under the bird so it looks nice.

5. Turn the turkey around and drop a few small pieces of stuffing into the larger cavity along with your clementine halves and a few sprigs of rosemary. Place your roughly chopped veg in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilo. The 5kg bird in this recipe will take about 3 to 3½ hours.

6. Check on your turkey every 20 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan. After 2½ hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy.

7. When the time is up, take your turkey out of the oven and stick a small sharp knife into the fattest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear and the meat pulls apart easily, it’s ready. If not, pop the turkey back in the oven to cook for a bit longer then check again. When you're confident it's cooked, rest the turkey for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds. Meanwhile you can get your veg and gravy ready.