This is the brine recipe my sister makes every year for her holiday turkey, give it a try.
1 1/2 cups, Kosher salt*
1 1/4 cups, brown sugar
10 whole cloves
3 teaspoons, black peppercorns
1 1/2 gallons (6 quarts) apple juice or cider (non-alcoholic)
the peel from one orange or one tangerine (colored part only - not white pith)
[optional: 3 teaspoons, dried thyme and/or 3 teaspoons, dried sage]
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive pot, bring mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes (partly covered). Allow brine to cool completely.
Rinse turkey under cool running water, inside and out (remove giblets from body cavity). Pat turkey dry with paper towels, then immerse turkey in cooled brine.** Turkey should be completely submerged in liquid (place a plate on top of the bird if necessary to keep it covered with the liquid).
Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-10 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove turkey, rinse, pat dry, and roast as usual. [See note under “basic technique” for extra step to get crispiest skin.]
* Kosher salt is the ONLY type of salt to be used in making brine (it is sweeter and more pure than ordinary table salt).
**Be sure the container used for brining turkey is non-reactive: use enamel, glass or crockery or stainless steel - never cast iron or aluminum. The pot should be just large enough to contain the turkey (so the brine will be sufficient to cover the bird).
Saturday, November 14, 2009
BRINING YOUR TURKEY
To get a flavorful turkey, you must start with a brine. Brining adds moisture and flavor to the turkey and helps to keep it from drying out
Supplies: To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. You will need a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need *Kosher salt, water, sugar, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose the turkey needs to have enough room to be turned so it should be big. Both Reynolds (Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys) and Ziploc (XL Storage Bag) make very large food safe sealable bags that are great for brining.
Turkey: Now let's get to the turkey. Wash the bird, inside and out, in cool running water, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. A fresh turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work just as well.
Brine Ingredients: To make the brine, mix 1 cup of Kosher salt in 1 gallon of water. You will need more than 1 gallon of water but that’s the ratio to aim. Add up to 1 cup of sugar per gallon of brine, then bring the whole thing to a boil for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Make sure that the salt and sugar is completely dissolved. Be sure to allow it to cool before immersing the turkey.
Set-up: Place the turkey in a bucket or pot (plastic, stainless steel or enamel – not aluminum or other “reactive” metal) pour in enough brine to completely cover the turkey with an inch or two to spare. You do not want any part of the turkey above the surface of the brine. Now you put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Cover the pot and refrigerate for 6 hours - or up to 24 hours
Keep it Cool!: Don't have room in the refrigerator? Try a cooler. A cooler big enough to hold your turkey and makes a good container for your turkey and brine. If the weather is cool, but not freezing you can put the whole thing outside until you need the turkey. If the weather is warm fill a a zip top bag with ice. Place this in the cooler with the turkey and brine and it will hold down the temperature during the brining process.
Rinsing: When you are ready to start cooking your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface inside and out. pat dry with paper towels, and roast as usual. Safely discard the brine.
Brining makes an exceptionally moist and juicy (but not watery) turkey. This is way I have the Perfect Turkey year after year, just follow my steps and you will to.
* Kosher salt is the ONLY type of salt to be used in making brine (it is sweeter and more pure than ordinary table salt).
Tips: After rinsing your turkey, allow the turkey to stand, refrigerated, for 6 hours or overnight. This resting period has the added advantage of evening the degree of brininess throughout the meat (it will be less salty on the surface of the meat, more evenly brined throughout), and resting produces a slightly more tender result.
If salt is a concern (the entire turkey will absorb only 10-15% of the brine)
Supplies: To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. You will need a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need *Kosher salt, water, sugar, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose the turkey needs to have enough room to be turned so it should be big. Both Reynolds (Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys) and Ziploc (XL Storage Bag) make very large food safe sealable bags that are great for brining.
Turkey: Now let's get to the turkey. Wash the bird, inside and out, in cool running water, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. A fresh turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work just as well.
Brine Ingredients: To make the brine, mix 1 cup of Kosher salt in 1 gallon of water. You will need more than 1 gallon of water but that’s the ratio to aim. Add up to 1 cup of sugar per gallon of brine, then bring the whole thing to a boil for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Make sure that the salt and sugar is completely dissolved. Be sure to allow it to cool before immersing the turkey.
Set-up: Place the turkey in a bucket or pot (plastic, stainless steel or enamel – not aluminum or other “reactive” metal) pour in enough brine to completely cover the turkey with an inch or two to spare. You do not want any part of the turkey above the surface of the brine. Now you put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Cover the pot and refrigerate for 6 hours - or up to 24 hours
Keep it Cool!: Don't have room in the refrigerator? Try a cooler. A cooler big enough to hold your turkey and makes a good container for your turkey and brine. If the weather is cool, but not freezing you can put the whole thing outside until you need the turkey. If the weather is warm fill a a zip top bag with ice. Place this in the cooler with the turkey and brine and it will hold down the temperature during the brining process.
Rinsing: When you are ready to start cooking your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface inside and out. pat dry with paper towels, and roast as usual. Safely discard the brine.
Brining makes an exceptionally moist and juicy (but not watery) turkey. This is way I have the Perfect Turkey year after year, just follow my steps and you will to.
* Kosher salt is the ONLY type of salt to be used in making brine (it is sweeter and more pure than ordinary table salt).
Tips: After rinsing your turkey, allow the turkey to stand, refrigerated, for 6 hours or overnight. This resting period has the added advantage of evening the degree of brininess throughout the meat (it will be less salty on the surface of the meat, more evenly brined throughout), and resting produces a slightly more tender result.
If salt is a concern (the entire turkey will absorb only 10-15% of the brine)
Friday, November 13, 2009
TURKEY TALK
Let's get started preparing the perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
How Much to Buy
Buy 1 pound per serving when buying a bird 12 pounds or less. Buy 3/4 pound per serving if a bird is more than 12 pounds.
Buying Fresh Turkey
Fresh turkey is highly perishable. Buy fresh turkey just one or two days before you plan to cook it. Prestuffed fresh turkeys aren't recommended because you have no way of knowing if sanitary methods were followed when the bird was stuffed.
Buying Frozen Turkey
Choose one that's solidly frozen, has no damage to the package, and no pockets of frost under the wrap.
Thawing Frozen Turkey
To thaw in the fridge, place the bird on a tray and allow 24 hours thawing time for every 5 pounds (3 to 4 days). You can also thaw in cold water, allowing 30 minutes thawing time per pound. Be sure to change the water every 30 minutes.
How Much to Buy
Buy 1 pound per serving when buying a bird 12 pounds or less. Buy 3/4 pound per serving if a bird is more than 12 pounds.
Buying Fresh Turkey
Fresh turkey is highly perishable. Buy fresh turkey just one or two days before you plan to cook it. Prestuffed fresh turkeys aren't recommended because you have no way of knowing if sanitary methods were followed when the bird was stuffed.
Buying Frozen Turkey
Choose one that's solidly frozen, has no damage to the package, and no pockets of frost under the wrap.
Thawing Frozen Turkey
To thaw in the fridge, place the bird on a tray and allow 24 hours thawing time for every 5 pounds (3 to 4 days). You can also thaw in cold water, allowing 30 minutes thawing time per pound. Be sure to change the water every 30 minutes.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is the day America sets aside for family and friend for remembrance. It’s a day of turkey and pumpkin pie but if it was not for a persistent female magazine editor, we may not have the day to celebrate today. It was Sarah Josepha Hale who really pushed hard for a permanent national Thanksgiving celebration.
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Indians that took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the autumn of 1621. The next ‘thanksgiving’ celebration did not occur until 1623.
In 1668 the Plymouth General Court tried to bring some order to the celebration by declaring November 25th to be Thanksgiving. It was a proclamation that only lasted within the colony for five years.
The first national celebration of Thanksgiving occurred in 1777. This one-time only event occurred at this time also as a way to celebrate the American defeat of the British at Saratoga.
In 1789 George Washington made the first Presidential proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national event. The first Thanksgiving held under this proclamation occurred on November 26 of that year. The pattern was set.
When Thomas Jefferson’s was President, he decided against the idea of Thanksgiving. At this time, many were against the idea of taking a day to honor the hard times of a few pilgrims. And so it went for nearly sixty years, until Sarah Josepha Hale came to bat.
Sarah Josepha Hale was a magazine editor, Hale wrote strong editorials in many of the popular magazines of the time she also wrote letters to anyone and everyone (including Presidents, Governors, Congress members and others) who might help her cause. She was concerned with her belief that the country needed to set aside a day to give thanks ‘unto him from who all blessings flow’.
Finally she struck the right chord with Abraham Lincoln and in 1863, Hale saw her dream realized as the President declared the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
During Roosevelt’s administration, in 1941, Congress declared the fourth Thursday in November to be the legal Holiday known as Thanksgiving.
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Indians that took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the autumn of 1621. The next ‘thanksgiving’ celebration did not occur until 1623.
In 1668 the Plymouth General Court tried to bring some order to the celebration by declaring November 25th to be Thanksgiving. It was a proclamation that only lasted within the colony for five years.
The first national celebration of Thanksgiving occurred in 1777. This one-time only event occurred at this time also as a way to celebrate the American defeat of the British at Saratoga.
In 1789 George Washington made the first Presidential proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national event. The first Thanksgiving held under this proclamation occurred on November 26 of that year. The pattern was set.
When Thomas Jefferson’s was President, he decided against the idea of Thanksgiving. At this time, many were against the idea of taking a day to honor the hard times of a few pilgrims. And so it went for nearly sixty years, until Sarah Josepha Hale came to bat.
Sarah Josepha Hale was a magazine editor, Hale wrote strong editorials in many of the popular magazines of the time she also wrote letters to anyone and everyone (including Presidents, Governors, Congress members and others) who might help her cause. She was concerned with her belief that the country needed to set aside a day to give thanks ‘unto him from who all blessings flow’.
Finally she struck the right chord with Abraham Lincoln and in 1863, Hale saw her dream realized as the President declared the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
During Roosevelt’s administration, in 1941, Congress declared the fourth Thursday in November to be the legal Holiday known as Thanksgiving.
LET'S TALK TURKEY
Thanksgiving is time when family and friends come together for a great home cook meal, this year let's do it right with a great Thanksgiving Dinner. okay for all you cooks who only cook on Holidays and for everyone who loves great tips. I will cover how to prepare the perfect Turkey and a few of my favorite holiday sides. Let start with the history of Thanksgiving, and get ready to take notes for the best home cook meal.
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