Has anyone tried brandy as a marinade for turkey? On an old Martha Stewart show I recall Martha Stewart was in the home of an elderly Cuban woman who showed her how she prepared her turkey.The woman either marinated it or basted it with brandy.She placed the turkey in a roaster with the breast part laying down basting in the brandy. Martha had never heard of this before but did comment on how delicious and tender this bird came out.
I was wondering if anyone knew this recipe?I'd appreciate your responses! - Cielo
This sounded delicious, but I had never heard of it either. I did some reading and searching but found very little in the way of instructions for basting a turkey with brandy. I did come across some promising recipes that included brandy in a glaze or in the gravy, like these: Apple Cider Turkey Breast and Apple Brandy Turkey.
This wasn't very satisfying, however, and I just could not find the specific Martha show you mentioned. So I decided to try it myself. I bought a six-pound turkey breast, rubbed it liberally with kosher salt and some pepper, slipped some sage under the skin, then put it breast down in the pan and poured about a cup of brandy over it.
It roasted at 325F for about an hour and a half, and then I flipped the breast over and raised the temperature to 400 for another 45 minutes, to brown the skin. I basted every half hour or so. When the breast reached an internal temperature of 170F I took it out.
The verdict? A very moist turkey breast with some nice glazing and flavor from the brandy on the skin, but I am unsure whether the moistness was due to the brandy or not. Ultimately, I would advise trying one of the above recipes, which look very good. Or perhaps someone has some other advice - does anyone remember that Martha episode? Does anyone else baste their turkey with brandy?
For all that you may know - martha will have this
recipe in her book and claim it as her own. I have seen many such indian recipes copied by martha and claimed it is her own.
so much about her copying skills and her marketing skills
Thanks Faith. I actually tried it myself also. I marinated it two days before I also added in some black ground pepper, a squeeze of half a lemon, and also a clove of garlic with a sprinkle of oregano. The turkey did come out moist but I've never really made a dry turkey. As far as a taste test I didn't think it was bad but my husband did not care for it. He simply told me it didn't taste like the year before. This is his way of letting me know he hated it. I will continue to search for that recipe - and hope if anyone out there has heard of it to please share it here!! Thanks! Will try the Apple Brandy Turkey thanks Faith!