Yes, my turkey was a bit salty
So my plan for a shortcut backfired a bit.
It's now my third year buying kosher turkeys for Thanksgiving. The best birds of any kind you can buy are kosher because "koshering" is the closest thing to brining. Kosher meats are usually plump and succelent.
They are also salty if you include salt in your season. Of course, I totally forgot that little detail this year.
Let's say, I will be retaining a lot of water for the next couple of weeks.
Oh well.
Yet, given the sage-thyme-rosemary-oregano-garlic butter I slathered therein said bird, may I say my salty bird totally kicked ass.
Oh. Yes. Indeed.
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Holidays | Kosher | Seasoning | Thanksgiving | Brining | Cooking | Food | Salt | Turkey
It worked!
Submitted by mole333 on 25 November 2006 - 8:56pm.
Okay, I can now report that the above procedure worked excellently. Very moist, very flavorful turkey. Could have been done a bit more and skin could have been a bit crispier, but otherwise one of my better efforts.
Ok, I have to ask
Submitted by liza on 27 November 2006 - 1:06am.
I totally get the basting with apple juice. What I am totally mystified about is the brining in TEA?!? Please, pray tell! I am totally into food chemistry (I DEVOURED Shirley Corriher's FOODWISE) so I need to know what's the logic behind that one.
Flavor
Submitted by mole333 on 27 November 2006 - 8:52am.
Simply adds a layer of flavor. I am not sure if that step helped keep it moist (as I understand it, salt is the key there), but this year's trukey was indeed the moistest I have made. I have "brothed," as I call it, in the past with good results, but this combination was better. You could also detect all of the flavors, mostly subtle, but all there.
And when cooking, I don't use much logic. My brain generates ideas that just sound good. 90% of the time they work. Watch out for that 10% that don't though!
Used to cook well all the time. Now, balancing nutrition, cost, several people's tastes and lack of time, it is hard to cook anything of any complexity these days.
Haven't tasted turkey yet
For various logistical reasons, we are having our Thanksgiving dinner today. My turkey is almost done. I bought an organic turkey mainly because I do my utmost to avoid contributing to the misuse of antibiotics done by most commercial poultry companies that will threaten our helath.
Can't tell you how it tastes yet, but this is my approach this year:
1. "brine" (not really brining, but...more like "teaing") in strong tea (black tea with cherry) for one day. First time I tried this
2. "brine" (more like "broth") in mushroom soup based broth for a day
3. stuff with my grandmother's famous stuffing recipe (the secret is using challah...the next secret is toasting the challah before using...the third secret is lots of butter...the rest is just walnuts (using pecans this year) poultry seasoning, salt and pepper)
4. roast on a bed of yams, potatoes and carrots, basting with the mushroom soup broth
5. last hour, baste with apple juice
6. last step (about to do now) is glaze with cranberry sauce/fig glaze for final bit of cooking.
I'll let you know how it comes out!