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Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Do you want the juiciest turkey ever? You should brine it. I started brining turkeys a number of years ago, and never looked back. I have written out the instructions lots of times, but never seem to save them, so nowdays I just copy it from the Food Network site. It's virtually identical to what I do, although his insrucitons are more precise- I just poke at the thing and say "yup, it's ready":razz:
I make the stuffing in a pan on the side- It's easy to do and if you use some good chicken stock nobody will know it's never seen the inside of a turkey!
Anyway, if you want the juiciest turkey for Christmas, forget the old recipes of stuffing, cooking all day and whatever else grandma used to do...Use the brine! :)
How to Brine and Roast a Turkey
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Try brining for the best tasting, juiciest holiday turkey ever! It?s a centuries old trick that the pros use. Best of all it?s very simple and it really works. Brining encourages the tightly wound proteins in meat to uncoil, bump into each other and form a web of sorts that sets with the heat of the oven and traps moisture.
Ingredients:
How to Brine and Roast a Turkey
- See Directions (below) for Ingredients as they vary depending on size of bird
Directions:
How to Brine and Roast a Turkey
- You will need an accurate meat thermometer to gauge exactly when the meat is done. Don’t rely on the pop-up thermometers; they are calibrated so high that they guarantee dried out meat!
- For a standard 12 to 25 pound turkey you will need 2 pounds of salt, ideally sea salt and 2 cups of brown sugar. You will also need a clean picnic cooler large enough to hold the turkey when completely submerged in water.
- Place the turkey, salt and sugar in the bucket. Cover with 4 gallons of cold water and submerge the turkey upside down. Turn the turkey a few times to mix the salt and sugar. Place the bucket in a cold place for four hours for a smaller turkey and as much as six hours for a larger one, no more no less. If necessary to keep the brine cold replace some of the water with a few bags of ice or even throw in some freezer packs.
- Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Let rest uncovered overnight in the refrigerator. This will drain any excess moisture and help dry out the skin so it will brown better.
- Rub the turkey with butter, ground pepper and your favourite herb or spice mix. Stuff the turkey with fresh herb sprigs, garlic cloves and large chopped pieces of carrot, celery and onion. Place breast side down on a clean well oiled roasting rack in a roasting pan. Add two cups of water to the pan.
- Place the turkey in a preheated 400° oven. Roast one hour then, without opening the oven, turn the heat down to 250° and continue roasting for two hours longer. For a 20 to 25 lb. turkey or larger roast for three more hours. If you have a convection oven only roast for 45 minutes first before turning down the oven heat, no other adjustments are needed.
- Flip the turkey breast side up and baste it thoroughly. Add two cups of water to the roasting pan. Turn the oven back up to 400° and continue roasting until the breast meat is exactly 165° and the thigh reads 170°. Baste and check the temperature every 15 minutes or so. This finishing heat will help brown the skin. Let the turkey rest covered with foil for 20 to 30 minutes before carving then serve immediately.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Hey Gate...
I am going to give this a try this year as I have heard it works very well.
Question for you.....is there a reason with a brined turkey that you don't stuff it? I know the carrots, herbs, onions etc are going to add excellent flavour but just curious if there was a specific reason for not stuffing it? Does it have to do with the cooking time specified being shorter with a "non-stuffed" turkey?
Cheers.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
I have been doing frozen turkeys this way for about 10 yrs, its the only way to go, I add whatever spices I feel like to the brine and soak overnight. However if the turkey is fresh I just roast it.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
How come you dont just invite us all over for Christmas dinner? :idea:
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MB_Boy
Hey Gate...
I am going to give this a try this year as I have heard it works very well.
Question for you.....is there a reason with a brined turkey that you don't stuff it? I know the carrots, herbs, onions etc are going to add excellent flavour but just curious if there was a specific reason for not stuffing it? Does it have to do with the cooking time specified being shorter with a "non-stuffed" turkey?
Cheers.
Witht he water you put into the pan, the stuffing may get soggy. It will certianly be very salty. Also, you brined it to keep it moist- So why stuff it full of bread that will suck out moisture?
Those are my resoans, but I admit I've never tried to stuff a brined turkey. You never end up wiht enough stuffing if you just use wht fits in a turkey, anyway.
Making it on the side is easy. I cut up bacon into small bits, and fry untl crisp, add chopped onions and garliic and a whole bunch of fresh thyme and fry until softened, deglaze with white wine, melt in some butter, add bread and mix up, then add chicken stock until fairly moist. Then I scape it all into a pan and bake it covered for a bit.
I do variations like adding sausage or different herbs, too.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MattB
How come you dont just invite us all over for Christmas dinner? :idea:
You're invited!! How easy was that, all you had to do was ask!:smile:
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MattB
How come you dont just invite us all over for Christmas dinner? :idea:
Great idea!!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BCrams
Great idea!!
You can come too!!:p
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gatehouse
You can come too!!:p
Such short notice!!
You ought to plan this for next year :mrgreen:
Right on the verge of the 2010 games!!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Thats a good idea inviting rams along. He's good at washing dishes! :D
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Can I get mine to go in a freeze-dried meal??...... just in case I'm out backpacking on Thanksgiving??
Rams may be good at doing dishes but he sucks at making Mtn Blueberry Cheesecake...but it was the thought that counted:smile:.
SSS
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gatehouse
Witht he water you put into the pan, the stuffing may get soggy. It will certianly be very salty. Also, you brined it to keep it moist- So why stuff it full of bread that will suck out moisture?
Those are my resoans, but I admit I've never tried to stuff a brined turkey. You never end up wiht enough stuffing if you just use wht fits in a turkey, anyway.
Making it on the side is easy. I cut up bacon into small bits, and fry untl crisp, add chopped onions and garliic and a whole bunch of fresh thyme and fry until softened, deglaze with white wine, melt in some butter, add bread and mix up, then add chicken stock until fairly moist. Then I scape it all into a pan and bake it covered for a bit.
I do variations like adding sausage or different herbs, too.
I stuff them all the time, stuffing is great from a brined bird. Just have your stuffing a little drier to start and no salt added.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tomahawk
I stuff them all the time, stuffing is great from a brined bird. Just have your stuffing a little drier to start and no salt added.
Well, there you go..:)
I've never stuffed mine since I suspect that the water I put in the pan woudl make it gooey...Do whatever works for you!
Keep in mind I usually do about 10 turkeys at a time, so stuffing each one and retrieving stuffing etc isn't very efficient from my standpoint. :)
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Anyone tried to BBQ a brined bird?
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
My wife has been brining our turkeys for about 3 years now and they are definately moister. The point of not stuffing the cavity is to keep the cooking time short, and prevent drying out the bird. Defeats the purpose of brining. Myself, I think the bird and dressing both improve in flavour when cooked together. :D
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mrdoog
Anyone tried to BBQ a brined bird?
BBQ as in Low and Slow smoked?
I've done them on a spit.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
I usually Inject and Deepfry em ... but will hafta try this method to ..
Thanx gate
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mrdoog
Anyone tried to BBQ a brined bird?
Yes, chicken though not turkey. Brine and butterfly the bird then bbq it over indirect heat, flip it once starting with skin side down then over to skin side up if using a gas bbq charcoal heat requires skin side up then over to skin side down. This is one of my favorite meals to serve company.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Gatehouse,
I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, perhaps you are familiar with the periodical and they have been espousing brining poultry for years.
I have done turkeys this way and normally do chickens in a brine first prior to roasting but the November issue came out with a technique where the bird is basically quartered prior to going in the oven and then roasted high initially and then turned down for the balance of the cooking period.
I would be happy to recount more of the recipe as I would have to look it up but it might be on the web. Just let me know if you want more details.
Having the bird quartered really reduces the cooking time and I found it to be the most tender turkey I have done. I roasted one for US Thanksgiving as my son was home from college in the states.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
I have brined two turkeys and have found they are moister and more flaver full then unbrined !
I will be doing more this way :)
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Heitsman
Gatehouse,
I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, perhaps you are familiar with the periodical and they have been espousing brining poultry for years.
I have done turkeys this way and normally do chickens in a brine first prior to roasting but the November issue came out with a technique where the bird is basically quartered prior to going in the oven and then roasted high initially and then turned down for the balance of the cooking period.
I would be happy to recount more of the recipe as I would have to look it up but it might be on the web. Just let me know if you want more details.
Having the bird quartered really reduces the cooking time and I found it to be the most tender turkey I have done. I roasted one for US Thanksgiving as my son was home from college in the states.
David, no, I dont' know Cooking Illustrae. I read some industry mags but most food mags are geared towards a house wife hosting a good dinner party, and not runing a restaurant (no offense intended!):smile:
I have no doubt that quartering a bird will speed up cooking time- It makes sense, since the pieces are smaller. I'm not surprised the meat stays juicy, too, since a long cooking time can dry out meat (depending on what you do)
Too many people stuff thier turkey then put it in the oven at 10 AM to serve at 7PM:shock:
Ican't tell you the amount of times I've gone for dinner to places and they ask me to "check the turkey/roast/chicken/salmon etc because they are "not sure if it is done yet."
Almost 100% of the time, I am like "WHOA, it's done" and I think "it was done HOURS ago" but I dont' say that of course :)
Only exception was a pre wedding dinner I attended, the father of the gorrom had a whole salmon in foil on the BBQ, everyone was seated to eat, and he wanted me to check it. I did, sliding a thin knife into the foil and into the middle of the salmon, then withdrawing it and pressing the knife to my lip, old school heat testing style. It was stone cold.
I said "Give it an hour"
But he insisted it was ready, and peopel wanted to eat, so he removed it and started to cut it open. It was sushi, of course, and then said "I guess you were right"
ha ha...no kidding...
By all means, post the recipe, I'd liek to see what the method is. There are about 100 ways to cook a bird!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Best tool in the out there for cookin ! A good thermometer ! preferably one that you dont have to open the door to check , It takes all the guess work outa cookin :) ( or for us rookies a lot of the worry )
Bruce
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jeeper
Best tool in the out there for cookin ! A good thermometer ! preferably one that you dont have to open the door to check , It takes all the guess work outa cookin :) ( or for us rookies a lot of the worry )
Bruce
I totally agree...Like I said before,I just poke at it, and I know, but I've ben doing it for some time. A thermometer still comes in handy some times. It's invaluable to anyone who cooks, IMHO.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Gatehouse,
A big THANK YOU from me and my family.
I used your turkey brine recipe tonight and our bird turned out perfect. I'm sold on brining now!!!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Yup, big hit here too 18 people for dinner this afternoon and experimenting with turkey cooking methods :eek:. I cooked two birds at the same time in the oven today one was 15 lbs and brined, the other 18 lbs and not brined. The 18 lb bird didn't taste dry untill you tried the brined turkey (wow).
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
will have to try that. sounds very good. We had a turkey smoked by the local meat shop this year and it was deliccous. didn't use it for the main meal but more for appetizers ,sandwiches etc
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
I saw this brining technique on At Home Chef or Chef at Home on the food network. It looked interesting, but we haven't tried it yet. My grandparents raise their own Turkeys at home and they are the juicest Turkey's ever. I wonder how they would taste brined? I have had smoked Turkey's too and they are mighty tastey.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
thanx Gatehouse we will be trying your brine in the next couple of days.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Glad to hear some people tried it out and were happy with the results!
Doing a side by side comparison like Midnight Run did is always a good eye opener! :)
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Might be a good technique for wild turkies come spring??..given that they tend to be drier than farmed birds.
SSS
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stone Sheep Steve
Might be a good technique for wild turkies come spring??..given that they tend to be drier than farmed birds.
SSS
Absolutely!:biggrin:
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stone Sheep Steve
Might be a good technique for wild turkies come spring??..given that they tend to be drier than farmed birds.
SSS
There's a good idea.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Great post Gatehouse!
Sounds very similar to the recipe I use from America's Test Kitchen cookbook I own. (You know the public television show).
The turkey is always perfect every time!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
uummm, uummmm, uummmmm, goooddddd. just finished a brined turkey meal & it was delicious. the bird was a small one so I had to adjust time accordingly. thanx again...
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
could u cook this bad boy on the rottiserry (sp)
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
3kills
could u cook this bad boy on the rottiserry (sp)
Sure, why not?
Try it out on a cheap chicken, first. But cut down the brine time.
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
I was asked to post this again, but I thought I'd just BTT this thread!
:)
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gatehouse
I was asked to post this again, but I thought I'd just BTT this thread!
:)
Great timing!!!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
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Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!
heres a great recipe as well....
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 gallon vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
- 1 red apple, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- Canola oil
Directions
Click here to see how it's done.
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.