That is the question.

And if you brine, how?

I’m sure we’ve talked about it before but thought I’d check in to see what people are doing these days.

I used to dread preparing turkey because it never seemed to come out right. Classic problem of overcooked breast if the legs and thighs are done. Or underdone dark meat if the breast is right.

My salvation has been using the America's Test Kitchen version of Julia Child's Deconstructed Turkey. It's foolproof; everything comes out perfectly. Most of the prep, including making the base for the gravy, is done ahead of time. Carving is a breeze.

Added bonus is that you get a huge pan of stuffing, way more than you can stuff in the bird. But it tastes like it was cooked in the bird. Win-win!

The ATK recipe calls only for brining the breast, but I throw in everything.

https://www.kcet.org/food-disc...hilds-stuffed-turkey

I’ve brined a few turkeys and they come out very well. Very juicy. Downside is that you really can’t use the juices for gravy. Too salty.

If you don’t need a Norman Rockwall setting with carving a whole bird, spatchcocking makes the bird cook a lot more evenly and more quickly.

This buttermilk brined, spatchcocked turkey from NYTimes Cooking (Samin Nosrat) was fun to do, and really delicious.

recipe here

I'm always way more interested in the side dishes than in the turkey. I tried brining the turkey once, and it made the dressing and gravy too salty, so no more for me.

I cook the turkey in a lidded roaster with a little water in the bottom. The water makes enough steam to keep the turkey moist and the lid holds it in. This method doesn't yield a crispy, browned skin of the Norman Rockwell variety, but it does brown. I usually take the lid off for a few minutes at the end of the baking time to brown it a little more.

We're in Florida and my son is doing the turkey. He deep-fries it using a method that doesn't burn up the drippings, so we still have the basis for dressing and gravy.

And we generally make our gravy with stock made from the giblets. I don’t remember if we used the pan drippings from the brined turkey, probably some but not all?

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
I used to dread preparing turkey because it never seemed to come out right. Classic problem of overcooked breast if the legs and thighs are done. Or underdone dark meat if the breast is right.

My salvation has been using the America's Test Kitchen version of Julia Child's Deconstructed Turkey. It's foolproof; everything comes out perfectly. Most of the prep, including making the base for the gravy, is done ahead of time. Carving is a breeze.

Added bonus is that you get a huge pan of stuffing, way more than you can stuff in the bird. But it tastes like it was cooked in the bird. Win-win!

The ATK recipe calls only for brining the breast, but I throw in everything.

https://www.kcet.org/food-disc...hilds-stuffed-turkey

I am gong to try this recipe. Thank you wtg!

Couple of other notes:

I'm a lazy bum and buy a cheap disposable roasting pan to make the turkey. I set it on a baking sheet to support it when I'm taking it out of/putting it in the oven; the cheap ones can collapse in the middle.

One of the great things about the recipe is that if the legs need a little more time, you can just pull them them out and put them in a small baking pan and stick them back in the oven, while letting the breast rest before carving.

And the stuffing will seem dry before you put it in the pan, but it will be perfect after it's baked.

I bought a package of chicken gizzards to make the stock with. I also pitch in the backbone, neck and the thighbone from the deconstruction process. Julia's original recipe calls for roasting the bones and bits with some vegetables (onions, celery, carrots) in a high heat oven to caramelize them, but I skip that step and just pitch everything in a small stockpot with water and some dry white wine and simmer for a couple of hours. We love gizzards, so we chop them in small pieces and put them back in the stock. You can do the stock a day or two before, and then thicken it with a roux on Thanksgiving.

I leave the wings on the bird and let them roast and use them and the rest of the cooked carcass (breast bone and drumstick bones) to make turkey noodle soup. America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook recipe:

I got more information on my son's plans for the turkey. He's not deepfrying it. He's using an infrared cooker that "fries" it without fat, and it has a tray to catch the drippings, which go into the traditional family cornbread dressing and giblet gravy.

He's planning to inject the turkey beforehand with a marinade made with lemon juice, garlic, maple syrup, and spices, and he's also making a dry rub for the skin.

In other words, he's going to engineer the sh*t out of that bird.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:
I got more information on my son's plans for the turkey. He's not deepfrying it. He's using an infrared cooker that "fries" it without fat, and it has a tray to catch the drippings, which go into the traditional family cornbread dressing and giblet gravy.

He's planning to inject the turkey beforehand with a marinade made with lemon juice, garlic, maple syrup, and spices, and he's also making a dry rub for the skin.

In other words, he's going to engineer the sh*t out of that bird.

My kinda chef!

The engineered turkey was amazing, truly one of the best I've ever had.

My son and I spent a lot of time cooking together today, and it was lovely.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been served a dry turkey. The bird last night was very conventional roasted. and was just perfect. I’m wondering if the new Frankenturkies, bread to contain some 90% breast, are also bred to be fattier, making them more juicy.

I’ll have a chance to test this theory later this week. I’m going to buy a turkey and roast it for the dogs. I’ll use the recipe Mom did - Betty Crocker 1958. Mom’s turkey was on the dry side - let’s see how this one comes out.

I've never brined a turkey, or anything for that matter, but my daughter did a salt dry-rubbed chicken for their Thanksgiving which she said was the best ever.

I'm not sure it never dawned on me that you could brine or dry rub a chicken. Duh. It seems like I've only heard it brought up around T-giving, discussing turkeys. I'm definitely going to try it with a chicken, which seems a bit easier to manage all the way around. Plus I'm not a huge turkey fan.

On that note, we had lobster for T-giving (since my anti-turkey stance has apparently passed to my kids) and it was fab. Lobster, baked potatoes, smashed brussels sprouts, prosecco and tiramasu cake.

I have the shells and will attempt my first bisque in the next few days. Eeeek.

Nina, that sounds great. Have you made the bisque yet?

Things to do with leftover turkey. Our turkey was way overcooked this year. I've been roasting it this way for the last 15 years and it's always been perfect. Talked to half a dozen friends and they complained about dry turkey, too. Guess it's just another bug going around with COVID, RSV, and the flu.

So we have some painfully dry turkey that needs something to moisten it and make it more palatable.
We used to make this all the time but for whatever reason we completely forgot about it until this morning. Not a recipe, but a list of things to make a curry turkey salad to serve on a sandwich, or maybe over some greens.

Curry Turkey Salad

Roasted turkey, diced into cubes the size you like.
Diced celery
Diced apple (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith are great, we don't peel them)
Raisins
Walnuts
Mayo
Curry powder

We mix some curry powder into the mayo about an hour before actually making the salad. Let's the flavors bloom a little. Then we just cut up everything and toss it all with the curry mayo.

Yesterday the turkey salad was with celery, pecans, and tarragon.

Last of it goes into turkey noodle soup; the broth is simmering as we speak.

Yum, curry turkey salad!