Thanksgiving Turkey Tips

Turkey time! Of course, roasting a turkey, especially a fresh or heritage breed, is a wonderful thing any time of year. That being said, next week is definitely the big week!

A few tips, no rocket science here, just good cooking principles for a great bird.

Thaw properly. This is a safety as well as quality issue. Thaw in refrigerator whenever possible but plan ahead, this may take up to three days for a large bird. If you need to do it quicker, you can thaw under running cold water but the turkey needs to be covered with water. A sink or large bucket works.

Brine. Brining imparts flavor and results in a juicier finished product. Brining should happen overnight for a turkey, absolutely keep it cold. If you have a refrigerator large enough, perfect. Otherwise, a cooler will work if you can put in ice packs wrapped in plastic, or use ice as part of the brine. Add to the brine whatever flavors you want to impart to the bird. Herbs, citrus, fruit, chipotle peppers, garlic, etc. can be added to the brine and punch up that flavor. Here is a basic recipe

For the brine: 1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 gallon water1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries 1 gallon iced water

Bring 1 gallon water to a boil, add sugar, salt, and spices, stir to dissolve. Remove from heat and stir in ice water to cool down. Brine turkey overnight (8-12 hours). Rinse and pat dry before roasting.

Stuffing. I like to keep the dressing on the side. To flavor the turkey and keep moist, I stuff the body cavity with aromatics, usually fresh herbs from the garden, apples cut up, onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, black peppercorns all mixed together. This will not be eaten, so no peeling and it doesn’t have to be pretty. Big chunks are OK.

Cooking. You can cover the wing and leg tips if you like with foil, I usually don’t bother. I do baste, though. Every 20 minutes or so, use a spoon and spoon the pan drippings over the turkey. Sometimes early on there is not enough fat to do this, I throw in a chunk of butter to get it started.

Rest. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving, on the stovetop or counter is fine, just tent with foil to keep warm. This will allow the juices to equalize in the meat, so they don’t all flow out when you cut into it.

That’s the basics, I hope everyone has a great and safe Thanksgiving.

Ciao,
Kurt