To brine or not to brine is the question for some cooks, while others are just looking for a way through their first time hosting such a large event. There's just so many takes on how to cook the Thanksgiving turkey.
With some help from Bryant Gumbel, Martha Stewart brined her turkey. Martha's also pushing cheesecloth and white wine to get that lacquered turkey look. (I just might try that this year.) Meanwhile, Epicurious offers a Gourmet recipe they promise is "the simplest roast turkey" but if that simply won't do for you, they have 66 other roast turkey recipes to browse. The turkey is served roasted, fried or in meatballs over at The Food Network. The government, The Leonard Lopate Show, and of course big, bad Butterball have their thoughts trained on turkey too.
It's overwhelming.
In the midst of all this over-stuffed blather, don't miss two pieces of common-sense Thanksgiving advice coming out of Brooklyn, home of one big bridge and thousands of small kitchens.
#1 Measure your oven & make a list: If you're hosting Thanksgiving, A-Train reminds everyone to gather up extra silverware, extra paper towels and lots of heavy cream. A-Train and Ann encourage everyone to buy a roasting pan, but measure the oven first. Smart! Visit Grocery Guy to see the full list.
#2 Remove the bones: The Brooklyn Kitchen shop suggests removing the bones from your turkey before you cook it "allowing the bird to cook faster, and bringing the stuffing within to a safe temperature before the bird dries out," they say. Boneless, even a heavyweight turkey could squeeze into an apartment-sized oven. The Brooklyn Kitchen will demonstrate how to remove the bones from your Thanksgiving turkey this Sunday at 5 p.m. at their store, 616 Lorimer Street in Brooklyn. Like Martha, The Brooklyn Kitchen advocates brining, but in keeping with New York City's pickle trend, they will be brining their boneless turkey in McClure's pickle juice. Hmm.
Any more turkey tips? Do you plan to brine or use another one of these trendy recipes? The big day is less than a week away.
[image: New York Public Library]
I don't plan on brining. Nor do I plan on stuffing the the bird with anything beyond herbs and other aromatics. I might do an herb butter to squidge under the skin but that's about it. I'm going to keep it pretty basic, er classic.
I think we are going to brine our bird this year. My boyfriend has been reading up on it and what we need. As a tip for anyone with a small kitchen/tiny fridge (us on both parts) we are picking up at the hardward store a strong plastic 5 gallon bucket with a lid to brine the turkey and then we are putting it in the bathtub on Wednesday night, instead of trying to find space for it in the over-crowded tiny fridge.
Grant is correct - the simpler the better. Brining does wonders for those dried out frozen turkeys - and I have done this in a tiny kitchen/fridge (5 foot width-including counters!).
For a small crowd I would do a bone in turkey breast - easier to handle and less space taken up. I brined it overnight, and took it out the next morning. If you plan to go to the parade (like I did that year), let the turkey soak in fresh water to remove excess salt (See: Osmosis!).
BUT - if you have a wonderful fresh turkey as I did this year, the ONLY thing I did was massage butter, salt and pepper into the skin of the turkey, bake at 500 for approximately 30 minutes to allow browning. THEN, placed foil over the breasts, changed the temp to 350 and DID NOT open that door.
This is a space saving site, so I think this method really helps when you don't want to open that door, and have the stove/counters cluttered with anything turkey related....until it's eatin' time!
Sarah, are you using ice in the bathtub to keep the turkey cool? What's your brine recipe?
If you don't have time to brine or can't be bothered, Kosher turkeys are always brined. It's part of the koshering process. We had a kosher turkey last Christmas and it was the most delicous thing I ever ate.
I brined last year and it rocked...used fresh herbs and juniper berries as well as salt in the brine. It was moist and lovely.
This year though it's gonna be venison on the table.
I'm brining a fresh turkey this year. Even though more recommended for frozen birds, I brined a fresh turkey last time I was on turkey-duty two years ago and I loved it. I used Alton Brown's recipe (available on foodtv.com) and found the brining method and roasting method great. I'm planning on doing everything the same as last time, however this year I have a new stove with convection baking - I'll need to time things a bit differently but I've got my trusty probe-digital thermometer to count on for temperature accuracy.
The only "dish" I haven't decided upon yet is the gravy...w/ brining, the drippings are too salty for converting into gravy. I may simply make a gravy w/ rue and chicken stock - a bit of the saltry turkey drippings for added flavor. Any of you briners have a good gravy solution?
Soaking the turkey in fresh water helps (as previously mentioned), but I always make a light gravy, which does not have to include the drippings.
Don't have the actual measurements, but it includes turkey/chicken stock, white wine, melted butter, peanut oil, lemon juice and chopped parsley, s&p - thickened with a bit of cornstarch solution. Check out William Sonoma book for Thanksgiving...I got the recipe for brined lemon parsley turkey breast there.
Why do you use peanut oil? Does that oil in particular do something to the gravy?
I never go for trendy at Thanksgiving, for me it's all about tradition so I cook my turkey like my mother used to (and I cook it for myself only, since I don't go out for Thanksgiving dinner). No brining, no primping, nothing fancy ... Thaw the turkey, clean out the insides, make stuffing from fresh bread (and eggs, celery, onion, poultry seasoning, butter and a bit of the liver cut up), stuff the turkey in the cavities, put in a roaster with a bit of water, and cook - for a 12-15 lb. turkey I cook it about 5-7 hours until it falls of the bone. The key to keeping the meat tender is to start it out at a bit higher temp (about 350) and then turn down the heat a bit and cook it slow at the lower temps. About 1/2 to 3/4 through, I take the lid off the roaster to brown the turkey. High temps will dry your turkey out fast! I've never dried out a turkey and I always cook it until it falls apart - it doesn't make for a pretty presentation, but it sure is moist and tasty!
And yes, I do love the leftovers - especially the stuffing with leftover mashed potatoes and gravy.
And speaking of gravy, leave the water in the pan go *almost* dry at the beginning of your roasting and then add more water after that point, you'll have some nice drippings for a virtually fat free gravy (if you pick a good turkey and cut off the excess fatty pieces around the cavity openings)
Minipana,
I think you're on the right on with your gravy plan.
I also start with a rue. But instead of chicken broth, I make a broth out of the neck & giblets (no liver) while the turkey is cooking and use this in the gravy. Use the pan drippings from the brined turkey in place of salt. You just need to taste as you add the pan drippings. I find that I can use more drippings than you'd expect without over-salting the gravy, since it's the only source of salt.
Oh, and I make the gravy in the bottom of the roasting pan from the turkey while the turkey is resting. Just drain the drippings, make your rue in the roasting pan over two burners, add the stock and flavor with drippings plus pepper.
Does anyone know or tried brandy as a marinade for turkey? I don't remember exactly when but a few years ago I saw Martha Stewart introduce a Cuban woman who I believe marinated her turkey in brandy. I remember Martha Stewart had never heard of this but did actually comment on how delicious and tender this bird came out. I was wodering if anyone knew this recipe? I'd appreciate your responses!
Hi Chris,
We are going to put some ice around the bucket yes, and open the bathroom window which is right next to the bath, so between the two it should stay cool.
The brine recipe we are using is from Alton Brown, just printed it up actually.
1 14-16 lb. Young Turkey
For the brine:
1 Cup Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup light brown Sugar
1 Gallon Veg. Stock
1 Tbls. Black Peppercorns
1/2 Tbls. Allspice Berries
1/2 Tbls. Candied Ginger
1 Gallon Iced Water
As minipanda said it is on foodnetwork.com