Turkey

What's the best way to cook it for Thanksgiving?

 

Fresh not frozen. Clean it well. Clean and keep the label telling you how long to cook it and how many pounds it is. Brine it for 24 hours. (You can get the Brine at any store) Take it out Thanksgiving morning really early and rinse the brine off. Rub butter on the outside of it and put it in a dark pan. Tent foil over it and cook by the directions. About 45 minutes before it's supposed to be done, take the foil off and let it brown if it hasn't. It most likely should have by then.

Actually, I think smoking a turkey is best, but it isn't as pretty for the table.

 

smoke that ************

 

Tofurkey, live without guilt.

 

It's best cooked, in the oven.

 

love the brine, plu. I make my own - two cups rock salt (I have not tried kosher salt, but may), dissolved in water,1/2 gal to gal of apple cider based on the size of turkey. I add honey and throw it all in a double plastic trash bag, fill the rest with water, throw it in the sink with ice around it all night.

next morning I clean it, prep it, I chop a pair of onions and apples, throw in chopped parsley, sage. I throw in full branches of fresh rosemary as well. I don't get fancy with the stuffing because I don't use it as a finished product for eating, and chances are the turkey ends up overflowing with juice anyway (had to draw off the pan before so we could pick it up), so the stuff generally ends up floating by hour 5 or so.

Sometimes I use the cooked apple and onion in the dressing, as a shortcut. Yeah, I throw apple in there. Try it. At any rate, even if you just use an expensive storebought brine (i.e., my way costs about $2.50) I'm sure you'll get great results, a more flavorful turkey than if you fry, and a lot juicier than if you just bake it without brine.

Never smoked one. I have a smoker now, and maybe that would be a good way of starting it off, but I'm also not sure I have the capacity for a turkey the size I traditionally cook (16-22 lb)

 

That sounds better than the one I used actually. And to be quite honest, it was a little too tastey for me. I know that sounds weird, but one of the herbs really stuck in there and it was like a little too much or something.
The apples would help level that out I think.
I've never really been crazy about turkey anyway, so that could be it. It's more just tasting it to see if it had good flavor. I have a hard time eating meat most of the time. It's about the cooking.

As for smoking, you could cook two smaller ones if you have the folks to eat that much. We did that a few times and put the smoked out on a platter beside the pretty one.

 

yeah, I don't like syrupy brine, and the one I saw at Sur la Table was very thick, like sauce. Don't know if it's a concentrate you blow up, but it seemed like something that could overpower. Turkey's kinda delicate for that stuff. The apple and onion flavors don't overpower and the herbs are a good compliment.

I'm sure I could smoke a turkey breast with my setup. I really like baking a full turkey.

 

I've tried several recipes that call for brining and sticking garlic cloves and herbs into little cuts you make in the turkey. They have all been way too strong and overpower the taste of turkey.

I prefer a mild brind and mild smoke or just roast.

 

yeah, inserting anything into the meat itself is retarded. One of the things I dislike about frying
if you have to "inject" anything into it you're already screwed