Turkey Day

[Mikey]

In case nobody knew it, Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow.

Please use this this topic to post your favorite turkey recipes, other recipes for Thanksgiving foods, or anything else related to Thanksgiving.

We're having T-day with the OL's family at her bro-in-law's house. I'll be cooking the turkey and dressing and taking it over (about 30 minutes away). The wife is making pies and her family tradition of baked pears with cornflake crust on top.

I'll be brining and roasting a 23 or 24 lb free range bird. I'll post the brine recipe as soon as I decide which one to use.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Thanksgiving was last month, buddy.

[Mikey]

Did you forget to change to standard time or something?

[smackaholic]

The OL did a practice turkey last weekend. About a 20 lb bird. I usually steer clear of turkey breastusus as it always comes out bone dry.

Not this time.

She found a recipe that called for cooking at a lower temp, forget what it was, but I think under 300, and cook it longer and jam about 20 sticks of buttah under the skin.

The breastus meat was fabulous. Didn't even bother with reaching for the cranberry sauce or gravy, which generally is a must with it.

Rack the OL.

[Dinsdale]

I usually steer clear of turkey breastusus as it always comes out bone dry.

A deep fryer solves that problem.

[Mikey]

Fried turkey may be awesome and stuff but I would never fix it that way for Thanksgiving. It would be sacreligious.

Roasted or not at all for Thanksgiving. Deep fried turkey is like tailgate food. How would you make gravy?

[indyfrisco]

I'm not big on roasted turkey. It's not bad, but it's not great to me. I still prefer a fried bird.

That being said, if I were to go roasted, I prefer a brine with 1/2 gallon each of Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice and Cranberry Juice. 1 gallon water, 2 parts sugar to 1 part salt and a lot of rosemary. cut up some orange and lemon slices and throw in the brine as well. Soak the bird for 2 days.

Once ready to roast, load up the cavity with orange and lemon wedges, rosemary, peppercorns. Roast at 375 until internal temp is 160 and remove from oven. Let rest. Carve and enjoy.

Now, if you want to avoid the fried turkey, smoked turkey is the way to go. Smoke on a mixture of apple and cherry woods. Now that sounds good. Gravy? I'll go with BBQ sauce on that version.

Now I want to go smoke a bird.

[Dinsdale]

How would you make gravy?

Now I want to go smoke a bird.

Did someone declare this "Softball Thursday" without telling me?

[Mikey]

I'm not big on roasted turkey. It's not bad, but it's not great to me. I still prefer a fried bird.

That being said, if I were to go roasted, I prefer a brine with 1/2 gallon each of Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice and Cranberry Juice. 1 gallon water, 2 parts sugar to 1 part salt and a lot of rosemary. cut up some orange and lemon slices and throw in the brine as well. Soak the bird for 2 days.

Once ready to roast, load up the cavity with orange and lemon wedges, rosemary, peppercorns. Roast at 375 until internal temp is 160 and remove from oven. Let rest. Carve and enjoy.

Now, if you want to avoid the fried turkey, smoked turkey is the way to go. Smoke on a mixture of apple and cherry woods. Now that sounds good. Gravy? I'll go with BBQ sauce on that version.

Now I want to go smoke a bird.

I read an article about "dry brining" yesteday. Supposed to be better than the wet method. I may try that this year.

[Mikey]

Started brining the turkey this morning.

22 lb free range bird,
4 tbs kosher salt
~1 tbs poultry seasoning
zest from one large lemon.

I ground the poultry seasoning into the salt, and mixed in the lemon zest.

Pat the salt mixture all over the bird, and into a sealed plastic bag. This will sit in the fridge until Thursday morning, probably turning it over a few times. I'll roast it unstuffed, prolly putting 2 or 3 well pierced lemons in the cavity while it roasts.

[indyfrisco]

Let us know how it turns out. It seems odd that dry brining would result in a juicier bird than the wet method, but I haven't tried it so no frame of reference. Would like to hear the science behind it that explains why.

[indyfrisco]

Never mind...I know how to google. Here's what I found. Interesting. So the salt pulls the moisture (which I expected) but over time it is reabsorbed into the meat.
========================
"A Thanksgiving turkey worth its salt - Russ Parsons"
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20061117/AE/111170066

Here is a paraphrased version of the final, successful technique used by Russ Parsons to Dry Brine a Turkey:

Dry Brined Turkey

Buy an unprocessed or non-enhanced turkey of about 12 to 16 pounds.

Salting works like brining, without the water. Just sprinkle the turkey with kosher salt, then store it in the fridge for 4-days for a 12- to 16-pound bird. At first, the salt pulls moisture from the meat, but as time passes, almost all of those juices are reabsorbed, bringing the salt along with them.

Salt a 12-16 lb thawed turkey with 1-Tbs kosher salt for every 5-lbs of bird. Concentrate the distribution of salt on the thickest parts of the meat, the breast and the thigh.

Store salted turkey in fridge in a 2-1/2-gallon sealed plastic bag.

After three days, remove turkey from bag. There should be no salt visible on the skin surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place turkey, breast side up on a platter. Return to fridge and allow the turkey air-dry in the refrigerator overnight, prior to cooking.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Brush melted butter over all of the turkey and cook bird uncovered. Do not stuff turkey. Do not baste the turkey during cooking.

Start the salted bird at 425 degrees, breast-side down. After 30 minutes, flip the bird right side up and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees for the remainder of the cooking.

For doneness, you are aiming for a final temperature of 165 degrees measured in the deepest part of the thigh.

A 15-lb turkey should take roughly 3-hours to cook.

Let the bird sit and rest for 30 minutes after removing from oven, to finish cooking and enable the juices to redistribute evenly through the meat prior to slicing and serving.

[Mikey]

The food writer at the LA Times has done some experimenting and wrote these two articles in the past week:

Ahhh...I see it's the same guy you're quoting.

A more flavorful dry-brined turkey
By Russ Parsons

November 18, 2009

Thanksgiving is a holiday built on tradition. And, much to my surprise, I seem to have found a new one of my own -- writing about dry-brined turkey.

After more than 20 years of Thanksgiving stories, I didn't think there was much left that could be said about turkey. But three years ago I wrote about a new technique I'd fallen in love with. And judging from the hundreds of happy e-mails I received, readers shared that affection.

I tweaked it a bit last year, to similar reaction, and now here I am writing about it again, with even more improvements.

At first glance, the recipe is so simple it's hard to believe there could be anything to add, but it's in the nature of cooking (or at least of recipe tinkering) to always move forward. We're like great white sharks that way -- that and the whole eating-just-for-recreation thing.

In its most basic form, dry-brining is nothing more than salting turkey and letting it sit for several days. I based it on the Zuni Café chicken my friend Judy Rodgers has made famous at her San Francisco restaurant.

Dry-brined turkey is, if anything, even more remarkable. While turkey sometimes can be dry and bland, after dry-brining, the meat is moist and flavorful. And in an improvement over wet-brining (which I enthusiastically practiced for several years), the texture of the meat stays firm and muscular, with none of the sponginess that can result from added moisture.

Brining the bird

It couldn't be simpler to do. Here's how it works: Sprinkle the bird with salt, allowing about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt for every 5 pounds of turkey. That's not a lot -- it won't look like much more than what you'd normally apply just before roasting. And contrary to some published reports (I'm looking at you, Cook's Illustrated!), you can sprinkle the salt right onto the skin; you don't need to lift the skin and salt the meat.

Then stick the turkey in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate. After a day or so, you might see some liquid in the bag. Don't worry. Salt naturally pulls moisture from meat. Give the turkey a light massage through the bag to make sure the salt is distributed evenly and stick it back in the fridge.

After three days, you'll see that the moisture has been reabsorbed by the meat, pulling the salt with it. At this point, if you're a perfectionist, you can remove the turkey from the bag, put it on a plate and let it dry in the refrigerator for several hours (the fan in the refrigerator works very well as a skin-dryer). If you haven't yet reached that level of obsession, you can just pat the skin dry with a paper towel; the skin may not be quite as brown or crisp, but few will notice.

Then you roast it. Start at 450 degrees to get the browning going, then after a half-hour or so, reduce to 325 to cook through. In the past, I've called for rotating the turkey during cooking so it browns more evenly. No more, it's just too big a hassle considering the modest improvement in color.

So simple, how could you change it? Ha! You don't know the power of a motivated tinkerer . . . or of curious readers.

My first major discovery came after several e-mails asking whether it could be done with frozen turkeys too, rather than adding three days of defrosting time onto the three days of dry-brining. It seemed like a good idea, so we tried it in the test kitchen and it worked perfectly.

So no longer do you have to buy your turkey a week in advance. Just rinse the frozen turkey in cool water (to start the defrosting process), pat it dry and salt it. Then proceed just as you would with a fresh turkey. By the time it's defrosted, it'll be seasoned and ready to go.

That makes dry-brined turkey much more convenient. Other reader e-mails prompted an idea that made it even more delicious. As originally constructed, with just plain salt, this recipe delivers a really deep, pure turkey flavor. It's not overly salty, more like seasoned all the way to the bone.

But what about adding flavors? Especially for readers used to marinades and wet-brining, the whole "deep pure flavor" thing can seem a bit austere. What about adding different herbs or spices to the salt?

To find out, I rubbed a turkey breast with a mixture of salt ground with minced fresh rosemary and grated lemon zest. Yup again, great flavor, with just a hint of rosemary suffusing the breast meat. The lemon zest was barely detectable.

Just to be sure the flavor had really penetrated the meat and wasn't just coating the surface, I cut some very wide slices, getting as much of the center of the muscle as I could, then tasted that by itself. The rosemary flavor was definitely there.

Aromatic options

I e-mailed Rodgers, to ask if she'd ever played with seasoning her salted meats. The answer was immediate and enthusiastic.

"YES! Salting early is a great trick on its own," she wrote back, "but it has another virtue that should get more attention. Add aromatics to the salt. It's a very big deal. A killer combo is black pepper and thyme on chicken or rabbit. Black pepper on steak makes the best pepper steak.

"In my testing, the approach works best when whatever aromatics you're using are crushed just before combining with the salt and then rubbing on the meat."

You can use a mortar and pestle, particularly if you're using fresh herbs, or you can use a spice grinder, which is especially good for mixtures that include hard whole spices or dried herbs such as bay. I use one of those little electric "coffee grinders" from the grocery.

Then Rodgers added that the technique works even better if you let the meat warm nearly to room temperature before salting. "The flavor absorption goes faster, simply because the osmosis/reverse osmosis goes faster at warmer temps."

She also shared very strong feelings about other kinds of marinades. "I rant regularly about the ineffectiveness of (non-)marinades (a marinade without salt is a 'non-marinade' in my book)," she wrote.

"Fancy non-marinades, full of pricey, photogenic aromatics promise, visually, to deliver exotic flavors to a dish, when, at best, they only leave fragile aromatic oils on the surface of things -- where they are likely to burn!

"But add salt to those aromatics and all those molecules of flavor piggy back on the salt and head right into cells of welcoming protein."

Welcoming protein, indeed. As much as I love turkey, even I have to admit that sometimes the flavor can seem, well, a little subtle. It's been accused of being non-vegetarian tofu, though I think that's both cruel and false.

But I will admit that turkey does adapt quite well to introduced flavors. I liked the rosemary-lemon combination so much I was tempted to stop after that. But you know how recipe tinkering goes.

The first thought that came to mind was a kind of barbecue dry rub based on the one I use for pork ribs. Based on smoked paprika, similar to Spanish pimenton de la Vera, it took a little adjusting to get the flavor just where I wanted it. The trick, it turned out, was a good amount of fresh orange zest and just a hint of brown sugar to smooth out the acridity of the spices.

That is good, especially if you like a little bit of smoke on your turkey. But it's far from traditional, so on this holiday above all others, that might not be appropriate.

So for my next seasoned salt, I used the most traditional Thanksgiving flavors I could think of -- sage and bay. And I learned that there is a very good reason these flavors are as widely used as they are: They add a really lovely undertone to the flavor of the turkey.

Once again, holiday tradition pays off. And I can't wait to find out what I learn for next year.

[Mikey]

[

b]Your questions answered about the 'Judy Bird'[/b]
The dry-brining technique for preparing roast chicken named for chef Judy Rogers of San Francisco's Zuni Café in San Francisco can turn your Thanksgiving meal into something special.
By Russ Parsons

November 18, 2009

We've been writing about dry-brining turkeys for three Thanksgivings now and the response from readers has been overwhelming. Most say it's the best turkey they've ever made. But there are always some lingering questions. Here are answers to some of those most frequently asked. If you've got one that's not covered here, drop me a line at russ.parsons@latimes.com and we'll add it to this list:

How did the turkey get its name? The "Judy Bird" is named for famed chef Judy Rodgers of Zuni Café in San Francisco. It was inspired by her method for preparing roast chicken, which is legendary among food lovers.

How much salt should I use? We tried various ratios, and 1 tablespoon per every 5 pounds of turkey turned out to be the best. Plus, it's easy to remember. Therefore, a 15-pound turkey will take 3 tablespoons, a 20-pound turkey will take a quarter cup, and so on. For weights in between, estimate and round down -- you'll be fine; this is not rocket science.

What kind of salt? That's a very good question, because different salts have different flake sizes and so have different volume measurements. I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Other coarse salts will be close, but if you're using finely ground salt, reduce the amount used to 2 teaspoons per every five pounds. I'm sorry, that's harder to remember.

How does brining work? Without getting all Mr. Science-y: During cooking, the protein strands in muscles tighten, squeezing out liquid. The salt in a brine solution changes the chemistry of the protein in a way that allows it to retain more moisture during cooking.

How is dry-brining different than normal brining? Normal brining requires soaking the bird in a salt-water solution. While it does keep the turkey flavorful and moist, the added liquid makes the meat a little spongy. With dry-brining, the salt pulls moisture from the bird, which is then reabsorbed, so you get the flavor and moistness without any added water, improving the texture.

Do I need to do the full 3 1/2 days of brining, or can I shorten it? You can shorten it, though the brining won't be as effective. You'll need to watch the internal temperature more carefully. The final half day of drying is optional as well; if you're pressed for time, just pat the skin thoroughly dry with a paper towel.

Can I use a kosher turkey? Yes. Though koshering does involve salting, it's only for a very brief time, just long enough to remove any traces of blood in order to comply with religious dictates. There is little to no appreciable effect on flavor.

Can I use a frozen turkey? Yes, see this year's story. We experimented with this last year and found that salting a frozen turkey and letting it defrost and brine at the same time works just fine. Just rinse the bird in cool running water to start the defrosting (and to un-freeze the bag of giblets inside enough that you can pull them out). Pat the bird dry with a paper towel and you're ready to go.

Can I use an already brined turkey? No, that'll simply be too salty. If you've already bought it, save the recipe for next year.

Can I use just the turkey breast? Yes, simply allow the appropriate amount of salt for the weight. Since most turkey breast halves weigh 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, you should use about 2 teaspoons of salt.

What kind of bag should I use? Any sealable plastic bag will work. You'll need one that will hold about 2 1/2 gallons. Grocery stores usually start stocking these at the holidays and I've found Smart & Final to be a fairly reliable source. Note: This is also a perfect size for stowing clothes when you travel and for putting away your sweaters in the spring. Just remember to set one aside for Thanksgiving.

I've always used my mom's recipe for roast turkey; can I adapt that to use dry-brining? Yes. Simply dry-brine the turkey as described above, and then eliminate any salt from any further seasoning and cook according to your mom's recipe. If you want a treat, incorporate some of her seasonings into the salt for the dry brining (measure the amount of salt, then grind it with the seasonings). You'll find the flavoring penetrates the meat this way.

It's only been a day, but there's some moisture in the bag, should I worry? No. The salt pulls moisture from the turkey, but almost all of it will be reabsorbed. That's the way this thing works. If you're using a frozen turkey, there may even be a little moisture in the bag at the end of the brining.

Does dry-brined turkey taste salty? No, it merely tastes well-seasoned. You only use a little more salt than you normally would, and because the salt is absorbed into the meat rather than sitting on the surface, the saltiness is mitigated.

Can I make gravy from the pan-drippings? Yes. While the pan drippings from wet brining are usually too salty for gravy, that is not the case with dry brining.

Can I stuff a dry-brined turkey? Yes, though a warning is necessary: In order for stuffing to be safe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it must be heated to a temperature of 160 degrees at the center. By the time the stuffing reaches that temperature, the breast meat will almost certainly be above 170 degrees. Even dry-brined birds will begin to dry out at that point. But if you have always stuffed your turkey, dry-brining won't affect it.

Speaking of food safety, I notice that you call for a final temperature for the turkey of 165 degrees, but some of my cookbooks and my meat thermometer call for 180 degrees. Until last year, the USDA called for a final internal temperature of 180 degrees for turkey. But salmonella (the great health threat with poultry) is dead after 30 seconds at 160 degrees. When contacted about the change last year, no one at the agency was able to recall how the higher number had been reached in the first place.

[Dinsdale]

I've been tasked with gravy and cinnimon rolls (for a light brekky) at the Not So Little Woman's house.

Since I am Master Of All Things Gravy (a talent, if I do say so myself), no problemo.

And I'm thinking tossing a buncha poo in the bread machine will make pretty easy work of the rolls.


So, all things considered, I can be half in the bag by 11AM and still accomplish what I need to not be an asshole.

[Dinsdale]

I'm in the Time Zone That Matters -- but games still don't start until 9:30. I think I can muster my way to watching the second half of GB running practice drills.