oh my..my BIL is cooking this year's turkey.

[vash]

this is going to be GOOD!

he called to give my wife his strategy. he wants to brine his turkey in chicken broth!! it told him that was like cannibalism, and he is wasting his money. salt, some sugar, garlic, and peppercorns is all i use.

my MIL is hedging her bets, because she just called me earlier to ask me to cook a side-dish and some braised lambshank..huh? i guess my dish is "plan B". i ordered a probe thermometer for my BIL, and will deliver it today. he was going to buy the turkey next week..but i reminded him the bird is frozen solid..
maybe i should introduce him to Alton Brown.

i am going to cook my food the night before..remove the excess fat..and relax with a martini the next day..

i think i just heard my wife wrestle mash potatoes from BIL because he said, small red potatoes make the best mash, because they are so creamy..oh o!

[jyl]

If you wanted to be nice, make a bunch of gravy. If his turkey is throat choking dry, and his gravy lumpy and greasy, your gravy can at least help the turkey slide down. You can pretend you made it for the shank and had extra. This assumes you are a nice guy. Your BIL appears to know nothing about cooking, so it's up to you to save the day.

[vash]

i'll help him make his gravy..gravy poured over white rice..is a personal tradition. started when i was about 5 and didnt eat anything. now i eat everything

[dtw]

Wow, sounds like conflict. Work it out...you are going to have a great day. After last year's heavenly slow-cooked bird, I have been put in charge of Thanksgiving. I think I am going to brine Tom in something simple like what you posted, Cliffy. Then rub it with a good ancho chile puree, lotsa butter, kosher salt, fresh black pepper. Smoke it over pecan wood about seven hours till the breast is up to 165. Then I will come up with some kind of nice tasty mushroom ragout under mashed yukon gold spuds with a dash of truffle oil. Some green beans, macerate some fresh cranberries in some booze...should be a tasty day.

[MysticLlama]

If you suggested just dropping the frozen turkey in the deep fryer you could at least guarantee a good reception of the backup plan.

Dry turkey is no fun, I think I was in my late teens at a friend's house before I found out that wasn't how it always turned out, I had always just spooned some water on it at home.

[id10t]

Having a baby Monday at 5pmish, so I'm not real sure of what turkey day will be this year.

[TechnoViking]

I think McDonalds is open all day if things don't work out.

[nostatic]

Norms is having a t-day meal special. That's my target. That and a nice long ride...

[azasadny]

My beloved wife is making me Pad Thai for Thanksgiving!

[EarlyPorsche]

Is it better to bag the turkey and also put it above its juices or let it sit in its juices? I'm thinking brining it is a good idea actually.

[javadog]

Brining can help, just don't brine it too long. You don't want it too salty. When I roast a bird, it usually sits on some halved onions. Baste it, don't bag it. Feel free to loosen the skin on the breast and insert butter (or a compound butter) between the skin and the meat.

JR

[vash]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Is it better to bag the turkey and also put it above its juices or let it sit in its juices? I'm thinking brining it is a good idea actually.

bagging a bird really works. tender and juicy. the only downside it the bird doesnt get that norman rockwell, golden color. it doesnt brown, it tans.

i dont baste. i have a crappy oven. i keep opening the door of the oven and temps drop. low temp = longer cooking time for the bird = dry bird.

once the bird goes in, oven goes on lockdown. probe thermometer gives me data on the bird..

[jyl]

My sister is doing the turkey again this year. She starts it at her house, then brings it here, pours off the drippings and starts the gravy, while the bird finishes in my roaster. Works well. I don't know if she brines, bags or bastes - I'm not that into turkey. She's also bringing a couple of pies. I'm doing the other main - not sure what, thinking about osso buco? I want to play with my new pressure cooker. Also on the list to make: creamed corn, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and I'm looking for something interesting to do with sweet potato. We are staying real traditional this year.

[dtw]

Just got in from shopping - going to do some experimenting this year. Got a nice 12.25 lb fresh Butterball - that's probably going to need seven or eight hours on the smoker. Trying a spin on Alton Brown's basic brine. Whipped up some yummy veggie stock, then threw in some allspice, cinnamon, cider vinegar, brown sugar, tons of kosher salt. Simmered it, now bringing it down. I'll throw the bird in there tomorrow (too long?)

Mom asked for green bean casserole again. The usual Campbell's cream of mushroom along with fried onion straws. Enough already! I am reinterpreting the classic recipe. Going to do a mushroom puree with porcini, portabella, buttons, etc. Serve some fresh steamed green beans over that, and drizzle some onion cream over the top of that.

Spuds...hunted around the produce section today, there's lots of fall veggies. I am going to end up with a nice veggie ragout, including some leeks, eggplant, shallots, stewed tomatoes, finished with some ground lamb and super-thick bacon. Will serve the spuds over that. On the side goes the macerated cranberries. If there's room left over on the plate, there may even be some sliced smoked turkey.

[javadog]

I've used Alton's brining recipe before and 36 hours was too long. I can't imagine twice that... I suppose it depends on how salty the brine is...

JR

[dtw]

Super salty. Good call...I'll wait.

I've used Alton's brining recipe before and 36 hours was too long. I can't imagine twice that... I suppose it depends on how salty the brine is...



JR