Tomorrow is our national holiday to make a dry, overcooked bird. But we want to make it as un-dry and un-overcooked as possible. Salt pork to keep it moist, cheesecloth soaked in broth. I’ll do that. But there is a brining controversy. Yes or no?
This is your open thread on better bird-making. Help out all your fellow Sloggers with the best techniques.
Brining makes the juiciest, most flavorful bird. I am using a maple brine. My turkey makes a beautiful, tasty red skin.
@40 the brine helps. It’s also done so cold that the moisture can’t evaporate. I use one of those big old meat safe things. Can’t remember the brand name. I think most people’s smoked turkeys are dry due to too high of heat for too long. Like I said, keep it at 170-180 for roughly 24 hours.
Oops. That was for 50 not 40.
No brine. BACON!
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11130-bacon-…
Always brine UNLESS your turkey is already brined or injected (yuck, I know) with a salt solution OR it’s a kosher turkey, which means it’s already salted.
If you choose not to brine, barding it with salt pork (I love bacon but that smoky thing might not be what you want) can be a way to not have to brine it.
In the end buy a GOOD turkey. A $5 turkey from Safeway is going to taste like a shitty $5 turkey no matter what you do to it.
Right then.
If you routinely roast more than two turkeys a year, I will take your opinion under consideration.
An exception will be granted for anyone who has roasted a goose. Ever.
OK, further exception granted for anyone who has roasted four or more species of fowl, total, lifetime.
Those who have already posted recipes or opinions may simply post an amendment detailing any of the credentials mentioned above.
Make the brine: 1 cup salt, 1/2 gallon apple cider, 1 quart of chicken broth, fresh rosemary and sage brought to a boil then left to steep for an hour. Combine brine with enough ice so that you end up with about 2 gallons total. Brine the bird overnight in the fridge. In the a.m. remove from brine, wash it inside & out, pat dry, let it come to room temp. Wrap it with bacon. Quartered apple & onion and lots of fresh rosemary and sage go into the cavity. Breast side down into an oven bag and shoved into a 500 degree oven. After 15 minutes turn down the heat to 325 degrees. Pull it out when the thigh meat reads 165-170 on an instant read thermometer. Leave it in the bag and cover it with a few large folded towels to act as insulation…it’s still cooking that’s why; Here’s the tricky part……leave it alone for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes unwrap it, debag it, carve it up, platter it and serve, use all the liquid in the bag to make the gravy. I’ve done it this way for nearly a decade with nothing but high praise from all who have eaten my turkey. I concede that the skin is a wash but the meat is so moist and flavorful giving up the skin is worth it. Gravy: 1 stick butter and 4 T flour in a saucepan on high heat until brown whisking constantly, slowly incorporate the still warm/hot reserved bag liquid whisking constantly until desired consistency.
I brined for the first time this year. Took minimal effort and the result was fantastic. I will never, EVER go back to basting or any other method. FYI, I used the ever-popular Alton Brown method which is easily found online (cheap bucket, veg stock, salt, brown sugar, allspice, candied ginger, peppercorns, water and ice to cover). The most nerve-wracking part of it was trusting my probe thermometer when it told me the turkey was done after a total of two hours of cooking.
My aunt (from Ecuador) used tequila with garlic and other herbs thrown in, for the beer can method. Yummy!
And I don’t even like tequila.
That picture is possibly the most unappetizing looking carcass I’ve ever seen. Seriously, a burnt turkey butt? I’m not a vegetarian, but come on.
Brine removes meat juices and the natural flavor they contain and breaks down cell walls, ruining the texture of the meat. Yes, it will put DIFFERENT flavors in your meat, but at the cost of much of the natural flavor. It will also season your meat with salt. If you think brine makes your turkey (or pork or any meat) better, it is because you over cook and/or under season it.
Properly cooking, carving, and salting your turkey will give you better turkey flavor and moist meat. Brine is never the solution!