Comments on: turkey tips

turkey tips

stbalbach — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:17:10 -0800

Melinda Lee's Turkey Basics includeing the Ultimate Brine and cooking the turkey upside down so the breast-meat stays juicy. If you are doing the Brine start now. What other last minute Turkey Cooking Tips?

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:25:33 -0800

Turducken!!

By: wendell

wendell — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:46:53 -0800

Obligatory links to the complete transcript of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" Thanksgiving Special and Tako the Octopus' adventure with deep-fired turkey. As Peter Fox would say: Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble...

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:55:32 -0800

my family switched to upside-down about 10 years ago, and it really made a noticeable difference (not that turkey is so wonderful anyway).

By: headspace

headspace — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:07:13 -0800

I'd suggest anyone using this site ignore the temperature notes, though. A turkey should be done to 180 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh, not 165.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:09:36 -0800

What other last minute Turkey Cooking Tips? #23: Be sure to cook it thoroughly enough to kill the salmonella, 'cause the FSIS ain't gonna help you there. Well, you asked.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:20:46 -0800

For something different, have fun with foil on this year's bird.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:24:32 -0800

4 Cloves of Garlic Large amount of butter 2 bottles Evan Williams Whiskey (anything will work), 1 for the turkey and one for you cinnamon Crush the garlic and butter together making garlic butter. Add some cinnamon to the mix. Take out the gizzards and cook them with water, then take the water and add it to the turkey as baste. Cover the turkey in butter garlic and pour the booze over the turkey. Use a ladle every 30 mins and repour the liquid over the turkey. Best turkey ive ever tasted. Even beat my moms (please dont tell her I said that)

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:38:45 -0800

Soyjoy I won't eat the turkey raw, thanks. Keyser Soze, Evans is one of the highest salt content whiskeys I've ever had. The higher the salt content, the lower grade whiskey to mask the taste, in this case it would be a good thing as the salt acts as a brine.

By: jpoulos

jpoulos — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:43:45 -0800

Back when I was a meat-eater, I'd cook the bird with the stuffing stuffed between the skin and the meat. It serves to keep the juices from escaping. And the stuffing tastes fantastic.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:44:21 -0800

Hmm.. good thing you told me. I was almost ready to finish off the bottle but I need to watch my salt intake. urp. Falling off chair. Grabbing computer case on the way dowZZZZAAAPP!0293-=120491432-0vc14]0rfqpoir-1cmj4

By: anapestic

anapestic — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 21:12:02 -0800

I'd suggest anyone using this site ignore the temperature notes, though. A turkey should be done to 180 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh, not 165. Egad, no. The turkey should be done to 180 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh and in the breast at the same time. This is achieved by using the techniques laid out in the thread from a day or two ago where we discussed much the same stuff. 180 degrees is way overcooked.

By: Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 22:10:33 -0800

If you are making a smallish turkey (12 pounds or less) you can probably brine it in a 2 gallon ziploc bag. Don't stuff the bird-- make stuffing separately. Instead, put an onion (or two, if your bird is big) and some fresh rosemary in the cavity. I put butter underneath the breast of the skin and rub it all over the skin. I had success with the Alton Brown method of cooking the brined Turkey breast up on a V-rack at 500 degrees until the breast is well browned (half an hour or so) and then applying a "breastplate" of doubled foil to protect the breast meat, then lowering the temp to 350 and cooking until the breast meat is 161 and the thigh meat is 181. Let it rest, covered in foil, for 30 minutes (the temperature will rise a bit while resting). Then eat! (Make the breastplate before you put the turkey in the oven, it's hard to mold foil to a hot turkey!)

By: rudyfink

rudyfink — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 23:01:51 -0800

Slow cook it. Google it and do that. It'll take several hours but you'll really be pleased with the results. Cooks Illustrated Also has some good advice.

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 23:10:56 -0800

Don't forget five fresh fish's pumpkin pie, a thread well worth revisiting for you brash Americans ;) speaking of fff: if you happen to read this, and feel so inclined, send me a quick e-mail one of these days, since you don't have one listed in your profile. I have something that may be of interest to you.

By: davebush

davebush — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 04:32:27 -0800

I've never understood why anyone would prefer the white meat over dark. I suppose the white is leaner (healthier) but for flavor, doesn't dark win by a landslide?

By: notsnot

notsnot — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 05:33:16 -0800

Hey, thanks for the reminder, The God Complex, on the pumpkin pie. Oh, and if anyone still wants that stollen recipe, (biffa?) email me. I found a paper copy.

By: TomSophieIvy

TomSophieIvy — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 05:55:12 -0800

I have to vouch for using a free range turkey instead of a buy $50 worth of groceries and get a turkey for free kind of turkey. My mom, Pope Dorothy of Rochester, makes a mean turkey but her gravy really makes the meal. (In my house, gravy is a beverage.) Her secrets, er, techniques - scrape that pan for all the goodness stuck to the bottom, use the water from your potatoes instead of tap water and then add some Wondra for splendid gravy. For mashed potatoes, please don't add all of your milk at once, get some delicious butter and maybe add some garlic and/or horseradish along the way. Some heretics even add cheese but that's just blasphemous. What about the leftovers?

By: JanetLand

JanetLand — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 05:58:36 -0800

For us vegetarians: Tofurkey!

By: tr33hggr

tr33hggr — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 06:34:40 -0800

Thanks JanetLand - I made one a few years ago. They really are quite good (though I've long forgotten what "meat" tastes like) as long as they're not overcooked.

By: anapestic

anapestic — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 07:26:00 -0800

For mashed potatoes, please don't add all of your milk at once, get some delicious butter and maybe add some garlic and/or horseradish along the way. Some heretics even add cheese but that's just blasphemous. Milk? That's just wrong! You should be using heavy cream and butter for your mashed potatoes. Roasted garlic is a happy addition. Also, for the truly decadent (and those with a second oven), if you let the potatoes dry in the oven for a while after you've cooked them, they'll soak up greater quantities of cream and butter, which is a good thing on a day devoted to the celebration of excess.

By: CoolHandPuke

CoolHandPuke — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 08:09:47 -0800

Forget about the slow roasting, per Cooks Illustrated, I am cooking a butterflyed turkey for around 90 minutes in a 450 degree oven with cornbread stuffing below to catch the drippings. Getting the backbone out and breaking the breastbone was an ordeal though. Should be interesting to say the least.

By: luriete

luriete — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 11:06:47 -0800

My personal favorite - came up with this myself: 4-5 cups chicken broth, 2 sticks butter, 2 cups pure maple syrup, 2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes. reduce at low heat (keep stirring) for maybe 45 mins, or until it loses 25% of its volume, no more. Do this before & while the oven heats. Add 2-3 cups water or broth to the baking pan, and use a rack for the turkey so it doesn't hit the water. Add salt to water and rub into skin of bird; I assume you brined it overnight so it's already got a bit of seasoning though. Put cut up lemons, salt, and more chili flakes inside bird. Cook stuffing separately, not in bird. inject reduction into bird, maybe 20% of the liquid, using a meat injector. give it a good rub inside and out with a bit of salt and chili powder or the flakes. sour salt (citric acid) is also a great thing to add to the rub. Much of it will be washed off with the basting but will add to the baste liquid. use the rest of the reduction and the drippings to baste the bird every 20 minutes for however long you cook it (by weight). Keep checking it, using 2 people to pour off the lost liquid back into a (BIG) bowl, and re-basting every 20 minutes... 45 minutes before it's done take the foil off and baste again. let it stand out of the oven for 20 minutes after you finish the cooking.

By: ilsa

ilsa — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 11:52:01 -0800

I've never understood why anyone would prefer the white meat over dark. Well, davebush, the answer to this question happens to be in this thread. Those who are not using some kind of foil method to protect the breast meat (see any of the Alton Brown links in thread) are overcooking the white meat by making extra double special sure the whole bird's meat is 180-185 F before serving. mmmmmShoeLeather. I have a turkey to brine and some pies to make.

By: jengod

jengod — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 15:39:00 -0800

Those of you with strong feelings on turkey preparation should immediately get to work on the wikipedia Cooking a Turkey article.

By: Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:51:59 -0800

Last night I came up with a method of brining a larger turkey! I had a 20 pound turkey, which I quick-thawed with cold water in a 14 gallon cooler. This was fine, but when I went to brine it, I realized that not only did I not want to go throught the hassle of making 10 or more gallons of brine, I didn't have enough ice to keep it under 40 degrees for 8 hours. I took my largest stockpot, which was not large enough to completely submerge the turkey, but was large enough for me to get 90% of the turkey in if I stood it on end. I put a large oven bag in the pot, placed the turkey in the bag neck down, and poured in brine until the turkey was nearly covered and I still had enough bag left to close it securely. (It's best to have a helper hold the bag during the brine-pouring.)I got out as much air as possible and closed the bag with the included closer-thingie. With a little rearranging, I was able to fit the whole thing in the refrigerator. The tail and a small portion of the back peeked out of the brine after everything had settled, but who eats those parts anyway? The breast, wings, drumsticks and thighs were submerged, and those are the important parts. If you really wanted, you could jiggle the bag and splash some brine up over the tail every one in a while, but I don't think it's really necessary.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:20:08 -0800

Shoeburyness, that's genius! I was just sitting here thinking...how the heck could I brine a turkey as big as the one I've got...and there you were, with a solution. Thanks!

By: jadepearl

jadepearl — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:36:33 -0800

An easy container to use for brining is a 5 gallon general bucket with lid that you can buy at any hardware store. I have successfully brined a 25 pound turkey using only 12 quarts of brine. You don't even need to rotate the bird since it is completely submerged in the brine. If you live in cold regions the bucket can be kept in the garage or any cold location around the house. I find the bucket easier to manage than either a cooler or stockpot (which is usually too small.) If you are serious about your meat cookery then you should have a brining bucket for poultry and pork so a trip to the hardware store is well worth it.

By: ilsa

ilsa — Thu, 27 Nov 2003 08:24:49 -0800

A dedicated brining bucket is a Good Thing™. Furthermore, yesterday I discovered that a 5 gallon bucket will stand upright in a large cooler. Couldn't fit it sideways (then I could stand cooler on end, close it up) but I could fit a couple bags of ice around it. Old towels and a fleece blanket scavenged from the charity pile* provided more than adequate overnight insulation, as almost all the ice was still ice in the morning. Oh yeah, and having done Alton Brown's recipe last year, this year we are aiming for breast meat temperature of 165 F. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! *Yes, I'm going to wash it again before giving it away!

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:16:57 -0800

A 5-gallon crock is most traditional, looks cool and lasts forever (and no plastic residue).