November 21, 2006
THANKFUL FOR A.B.:
Salty brines add sweet tenderness to turkeys (Margi Shrum, November 20, 2006, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
We cooks have roasted the turkey, grilled it, deep-fried it.Posted by Orrin Judd at November 21, 2006 8:41 AMThis year, I thought, let's brine it.
Brining, experts will tell you, makes a moister, more tender turkey because the imbalance between salt in the bird and in the brine pulls salt into the turkey, and the salt denatures, or breaks down, proteins. Turkeys are lean and therefore high in protein.
"The protein is sort of like a coil, and what the salt does is it opens up that coil," said Linda Kragt, technical service manager for Morton Salt. "That's the term you hear, denature. In opening up the coil, it provides more sites [in the lean turkey meat] for the water to bind, so it tends to lock in the moisture." [...]
GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY
This comes from Food Network guru Alton Brown via PG architecture critic Patricia Lowry, a foodie if there ever was one. She made her vegetable stock from scratch, which added a day to the process.
But this was so good, she said, she'll make it again. She used a fresh turkey.
* 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
* 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
* 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
* 1 gallon ice 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
Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking (or late the night before), combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket.
Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Turn turkey over once, halfway through brining.
A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside a wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage.
Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees.
Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14- to 16-pound bird should require a total of 2 to 21/2 hours of roasting.
Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
-- Food Network
Good Eats did a show this year on deep-frying turkeys (without killing yourself); it was hilarious, and enough to dissuade me at least from ever attempting it.
Posted by: Mike Earl at November 21, 2006 11:44 AMAnother very good "marinade" for poultry is buttermilk.
Posted by: Bartman at November 21, 2006 11:48 AMAlton Brown's Good Eats is the best thing on television. I love the gadgets. Reminds me of my other first love, Norm Abrams, on the old, "This Old House."
A recent episode featuring an array of rolling pins mounted upon the inside of a cabinet door almost did me in. I was in the process of drinking a hot liquid at the time. Won't make that mistake again.
Posted by: erp at November 21, 2006 12:21 PMAlton Brown's "Good Eats" is the best thing on television. I love the gadgets. Reminds me of my other first love, Norm Abrams, on the old "This Old House."
A recent episode featuring an array of rolling pins mounted upon the inside of a cabinet door almost did me in. I was in the process of drinking a hot liquid at the time. Won't make that mistake again.
I have not tried brining a turkey, but I'll vouch for brining working wonders on pork chops.
Posted by: ken at November 21, 2006 1:09 PMA.B. rocks. I'm Just Here for the Food is essential cookbook shelf material. Brining is worth the effort. We do it every year on the dozen or so birds we custom smoke. The brine helps them stand up to the long, slow cooking time.
Note the temp at which to pull the bird. Even the USDA finally capitulated on safe final temp for turkey. However, at risk of contradicting the Master, 15 minutes rest time would be seriously rushing things, plan for more like 30 for a juicier bird.
[Rick T, it's your cue to chime in here]
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Posted by: John Resnick at November 21, 2006 1:11 PMI saw this episode last year and tried it, and the result was the best cooked turkey I've ever had. The secret is the brining and the roasting method. The problem is that the white and dark meats require different final temperatures -- the pop-up thermometer is set for 185ºF to make sure the dark meat is properly cooked, but this overcooks the white meat, making it too dry. The foil covering shields the white meat, so that when it reaches 161ºF, the dark meat is at around 185ºF and both are properly cooked. (Note -- the instructions should be slightly modified: shape, size and oil the foil breast covering and insert the thermometer before starting to roast -- messing with a turkey which has been in a 500ºF oven should be done carefully and quickly.)
Note also that stuffing or basting are verboden.
Posted by: jd watson at November 21, 2006 2:15 PMI saw this episode last year and tried it, and the result was the best cooked turkey I've ever had. The secret is the brining and the roasting method. The problem is that the white and dark meats require different final temperatures -- the pop-up thermometer is set for 185ºF to make sure the dark meat is properly cooked, but this overcooks the white meat, making it too dry. The foil covering shields the white meat, so that when it reaches 161ºF, the dark meat is at around 185ºF and both are properly cooked. (Note -- the instructions should be slightly modified: shape, size and oil the foil breast covering and insert the thermometer before starting to roast -- messing with a turkey which has been in a 500ºF oven should be done carefully and quickly.)
Note also that stuffing or basting are verboden.
Posted by: jd watson at November 21, 2006 2:21 PMJohn:
You said it all re brining and resting.
My wife has latched onto an Emeril recipe with a stout brine. Good turkey I like a more traditional one due to the gravy.
Posted by: Rick T. at November 21, 2006 3:54 PM