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Thread: Brine a turkey for Christmas!

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Pemberton BC
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    1,521

    Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!

    Quote Originally Posted by David Heitsman View Post
    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!)

    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

    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!
    Knowledgeable shooters agree- The 375 Ruger is the NEW KING of all 375 caliber cartridges. ALL HAIL THE NEW KING!

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    288

    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

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Pemberton BC
    Posts
    1,521

    Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!

    Quote Originally Posted by jeeper View Post
    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.
    Knowledgeable shooters agree- The 375 Ruger is the NEW KING of all 375 caliber cartridges. ALL HAIL THE NEW KING!

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Coquitlam
    Posts
    352

    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!!!

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Vernon
    Posts
    210

    Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!

    Yup, big hit here too 18 people for dinner this afternoon and experimenting with turkey cooking methods . 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).

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    charlie lake, bc
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    3,817

    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

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    MU F-U
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    3,029

    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.
    The Rocky Mountains is the Marrow of the World
    "Ain't this somethin'? I told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. "Make your life go here, son. Here's where the people is. Them mountains is for Indians and wild men." "Mother Gue", I says "the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world," and by God, I was right. Keep your nose in the wind and your eye along the skyline."

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    On The Rock
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    Re: Brine a turkey for Christmas!

    thanx Gatehouse we will be trying your brine in the next couple of days.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Pemberton BC
    Posts
    1,521

    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!
    Knowledgeable shooters agree- The 375 Ruger is the NEW KING of all 375 caliber cartridges. ALL HAIL THE NEW KING!

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Yucatan Mexico
    Posts
    14,832

    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.

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