Brined Turkey Day!

So Judd has all the choice Thanxgiving brined bird tips... my Mom has a damned fine brined bird recipe (I think it may be Chez Panisse's) that calls for a slightly different brine:

• 2.5 gallons of H2O
• 2 cups of kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 bay leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 bunch thyme (4 Tbsp. dried)
• 1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 5 allspice berries, crushed
• 4 juniper berries, crushed

I find that it's not essential to warm the brine, but not doing that means you've got to stir for a while. Also, if you find that you're running out of room in the refrigerator (how americanly perverse is that?!?!), you can put everything in a couple garbage bags and then in an ice chest packed with ice.

I've got some other killer Thanx recipes. If anyone's interested, I can share a simple roll recipe and a couple of dynamite cookie recipes (gingersnaps and chocolate chip cookies). So much tacit knowledge, so little thyme.