Favorite way to cook turkey

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Brining the turkey before cooking is suppose to make the meat really tender, less dry.

.....

Brining is a pretreatment in which the whole turkey to placed in a salt and water solution known as brine. This pretreatment produces a wonderfully moist and well-seasoned bird. Brining should be done in the refrigerator or in a cooler with 5 to 6 ice packs to keep the turkey and brine at 40 degrees or below during the entire brining process. Brining is more manageable with a rather small turkey from 12 to 14 pounds.

Table salt or kosher salt can be used to make the brine. Crystal kosher salt is recommended since table salt contains additives such as anti-caking ingredients, iodine and other additives. Table salt is also very finely ground and more is required to produce good results.

1. Start the brining method the day before you plan to cook the turkey. Start with a fresh or completely thawed turkey. Wash the bird inside and out and remove the giblet bag and neck.

2. In a large stockpot, plastic tub or cooler dissolve 4 cups kosher salt or 2 cups table salt in 2 gallons cold water. Add 1 cup sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Water will look clear, not cloudy.

3. Herbs and spices may be added to brine to enhance the flavor. Add several crushed bay leaves, several sprigs of dried thyme, or other dried herbs, if desired.

4. Place the turkey in the brine solution, breast down. Cover and chill for 6 to 8 hours. Or use the overnight method by reducing the salt and sugar amounts by 1/2 so the turkey does not retain too much salt.

5. Remove the turkey from brine, rinse inside and out under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place on a shallow pan and refrigerate overnight. This allows the skin to dry out so it becomes crisp during roasting. This step may be omitted if desired.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/turkey/techniques.html

[Marilyn. 340]

i have done the brine thing before... I got a real good recipe from Alton Brown.. it was really yummy.. you could really taste the effects of the brining in the leftovers

and instead of stuffing, you made this mixture of cinnamon and apple etc that you microwaved for a bit and then stuffed the apple along with some fresh rosemary and sage into the turkey.... it was good.. of course you don't eat the apple but it really flavours the turkey....

here is a link to Alton's recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_8389,00.html

Edited November 4, 2007 by MarilynP

[mybackpages 0]

I always use the bag meathod. It cuts the cooking time, it makes a nice tender turkey and the skin still comes out crispy (mmm my favorite part YUMMY)

Now how do people get the skin crispy when it's in a bag? Doesn't the steam make it go soft?

What REbecca says...i think because you slit the bag- the steam escapes. Beieve me the big bite of crispy skin when it comes oven...Im not giving that up!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

i have done the brine thing before... I got a real good recipe from Alton Brown.. it was really yummy.. you could really taste the effects of the brining in the leftovers

and instead of stuffing, you made this mixture of cinnamon and apple etc that you microwaved for a bit and then stuffed the apple along with some fresh rosemary and sage into the turkey.... it was good.. of course you don't eat the apple but it really flavours the turkey....

here is a link to Alton's recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_8389,00.html

Awesome, Marilyn! Thanks! This will be Jinky and Job's first Turkey dinner. She even asked me if we couldn't just eat chicken for Thanksgiving instead...LOL I want her to really TASTE the difference.

[MissStacey 1]

i have done the brine thing before... I got a real good recipe from Alton Brown.. it was really yummy.. you could really taste the effects of the brining in the leftovers

and instead of stuffing, you made this mixture of cinnamon and apple etc that you microwaved for a bit and then stuffed the apple along with some fresh rosemary and sage into the turkey.... it was good.. of course you don't eat the apple but it really flavours the turkey....

here is a link to Alton's recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_8389,00.html

I love Alton Brown!!

I am a Food Network addict.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

I'd deep fry it, but truly, I prefer other poultry. Goose and duck come to mind.

[eau_xplain 2]

i have done the brine thing before... I got a real good recipe from Alton Brown.. it was really yummy.. you could really taste the effects of the brining in the leftovers

and instead of stuffing, you made this mixture of cinnamon and apple etc that you microwaved for a bit and then stuffed the apple along with some fresh rosemary and sage into the turkey.... it was good.. of course you don't eat the apple but it really flavours the turkey....

here is a link to Alton's recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_8389,00.html

Thanks for the link Marilyn!! I might try it this year. Have done it the traditional way for two years now and have not heard any complaint from hubby yet. We were thinking of taking a break from preparing a big Thanksgiving dinner this year but this recipe is inviting enough for me to do it again!

[Jamie76 0]

I'd deep fry it, but truly, I prefer other poultry. Goose and duck come to mind.

I like goose too but I've never had good luck with it. I did one this past Christmas and it was so fatty it just fell apart in the roasting pan.

[doodlebug 3]

I always use the bag meathod. It cuts the cooking time, it makes a nice tender turkey and the skin still comes out crispy (mmm my favorite part YUMMY)

Now how do people get the skin crispy when it's in a bag? Doesn't the steam make it go soft?

What REbecca says...i think because you slit the bag- the steam escapes. Beieve me the big bite of crispy skin when it comes oven...Im not giving that up!

Ok I'm baggin it but you're gonna get it bad if it doesn't come out brown and crispy!!! So far I have a total of 9 people counting on a nice brown crispy yet moist turkey!!!

[doodlebug 3]

i have done the brine thing before... I got a real good recipe from Alton Brown.. it was really yummy.. you could really taste the effects of the brining in the leftovers

and instead of stuffing, you made this mixture of cinnamon and apple etc that you microwaved for a bit and then stuffed the apple along with some fresh rosemary and sage into the turkey.... it was good.. of course you don't eat the apple but it really flavours the turkey....

here is a link to Alton's recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_8389,00.html

I'm going to try doing the brine thing but I have a question...here's his recipe for the brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1/2 tablespoon allspice berries

1/2 tablespoon candied ginger

1 gallon iced water

Where do you get the allspice berries and the candied ginger? I've never looked for these before but I've also never seen them in my normal Stop n Shop grocery store.

Also, is 2 1/2 hours really enough time for a 16 pound bird??? I haven't looked at other recipes yet but I remember my mom waking up at like 3am to put the thing in the oven. This seems really short time-wise without it being in a bag.

[Marilyn. 340]

you might need to go into a different store to find the allspice berries and the candied ginger... they should be with the spices....

as for the roasting time... I think the turkey would take a shorter time because it isn't stuffed...

But because there is much conflicting information about how long to cook a turkey, we decided to start from scratch in Sunset's test kitchens and run a series of carefully controlled tests. We roasted matching pairs of 10- to 26-pound unstuffed birds, cooking each in identical ovens; then we roasted more to compare times for stuffed and unstuffed birds.

Some of the results were very surprising. All the birds, no matter what their size, cooked in 2 to 4 hours, give or take a few minutes. Turkeys that weighed 20 to 26 pounds often cooked in the same amount of time--except 24-pounders often cooked more quickly, as the proportion of bone to meat appears to jump.

For unstuffed birds, allow about 2 hours for a 10-pounder, 2-1/4 hours for a 12-pounder, 2-1/2 hours for a 14-pounder, 3 hours for a 16-pounder, 3-1/4 hours for an 18-pounder, 3-3/4 hours for a 20-pounder, 4 hours for a 22-pounder, as little as 3-1/4 hours for a 24-pounder, and 4 hours for a 26-pound turkey.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m121...v173/ai_3497935

[mybackpages 0]

I always use the bag meathod. It cuts the cooking time, it makes a nice tender turkey and the skin still comes out crispy (mmm my favorite part YUMMY)

Now how do people get the skin crispy when it's in a bag? Doesn't the steam make it go soft?

What REbecca says...i think because you slit the bag- the steam escapes. Beieve me the big bite of crispy skin when it comes oven...Im not giving that up!

Ok I'm baggin it but you're gonna get it bad if it doesn't come out brown and crispy!!! So far I have a total of 9 people counting on a nice brown crispy yet moist turkey!!!

Trust me. Seriously it will come out moist on the inside and crisp on the outside in less time. The bag package will have an est time for the size turkey you cook.

BTW Candied ginger can be found at whole foods. Alwso is a good treat to bring when you travel if you are prone to motion sickness.

[Nessa 23]

bleh I'll have to start looking for recipes and all and buy all the food this weekend.

[chri'stina 190]

I've never cooked a turkey, my mommy still does it for our thanksgiving meals. Maybe one day I'll be the turkey cooker. But my fav way to eat one so far is in the bag in the oven, nice and moist! I've never had it deep fried though.

[ya falaha! 0]

I'm a bag person, too. It's pretty much fool proof. I cooked roasts in the bag, too. No more dried out roasts that way.

I agree with MBP, stuffing is a side dish. My experience with stuffing cooked inside turkey has been soupy stuffing. Yuck!