Brining with kosher salt and herbs ensures every slice is tender and juicy.

Apple-Sage Brined Turkey

Reserve two sage sprigs and one bay leaf for stuffing inside turkey cavity. Remove and cut up peel from lemons; juice lemons. In a 16-quart stockpot, combine lemon juice and peels, water, cider, sugar, salt, remaining sage sprigs, garlic, peppercorns and remaining bay leaves. Cover; heat over high heat until mixture is steaming, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat. Add the ice; let stand until ice melts and mixture is cool.

Remove neck and giblets from turkey; discard. Rinse turkey cavity. Place turkey in stockpot with cooled brine. Cover and chill for 8 to 12 hours.

Remove turkey from brine, pouring excess brine from cavity; discard brine. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Stuff reserved sage and bay leaf inside turkey cavity. Tie drumsticks together with 100-percent-cotton kitchen string. Place turkey, breast-side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with oil; sprinkle with chopped sage. Insert an ovenproof thermometer into the center of an inside thigh muscle. Thermometer should not touch bone. Cover turkey loosely with foil.

Roast turkey for 2 1/2 hours. Remove foil; cut kitchen string between drumsticks so thighs cook evenly. Continue roasting 1 hour more or until internal temperature of innermost part of thigh, the wing and thickest part of breast is 165 degrees and turkey is no longer pink. Juices should run clear and drumsticks should move easily in their sockets.

Remove turkey from oven. Cover with foil; let stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with sweet cherries and additional sage sprigs. If desired, serve turkey with recipe Apple Cider-Mushroom Gravy, optional.

Nutrition cannot be accurately calculated for brined foods.