Look how cute! From SeanGarrison.com
Look how cute! From SeanGarrison.com
More than any recipe, this is the one that terrifies novice and seasoned cooks alike. You can breathe easy. I’ve figured out the hard stuff so you can be the hero.
Thanksgiving Turkey
1 (18-20 lb.) turkey
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 lemons (quartered)
1 whole head of garlic (halved)
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry. Place breast side up in a recyclable foil roasting pan. No need for more dishes right?
Oh yes, and I should have said before You see that plastic pop up timer? Take it out! I’m yelling at you now, TAKE IT OUT!! That stupid little piece of plastic has been the ruination of countless roast turkeys! The reason being, it’s calibrated to go off at a much higher temperature to keep the FDA happy. If at all!
I’m begging you, use a probe or digital thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh meat; (which cooks slower than the breast meat) when your dark meat is done (165 degrees) your white meat is too.
Alright, rant over on with the bird…
Tuck the wingtips under the body of the turkey.
Fill the cavity with the lemon and garlic. Tie the legs together with kitchen string.
Let the turkey stand at room temperature for up to an hour.
Remember putting cold meat into the oven extends the cooking time and makes for a dry bird!
With your hands, smear the butter all over the skin and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the oven rack at the lowest position.
Insert your digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and set the timer function to go off at 165 degrees.
Roast the turkey, rotating the pan every hour until your timer goes off at about 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours.
Let the turkey rest for about 30 minutes before carving.
image courtesy of food.com
Brining your turkey is the best way to add flavor and ensure tender meat.
Turkey Brine
Dry ingredients:
2 cups kosher salt
2 cups brown sugar
10 whole cloves
10 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon sliced fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 whole nutmeg (slightly crushed)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cinnamon sticks (broken)
Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside or cover and store for up to 3 days.
Wet ingredients:
7 quarts cold water
1 bottle white wine like Riesling or Chardonnay
2 onions (quartered)
1 head garlic (halved)
1 large orange or 3 clementines
1 small bunch each: fresh parsley, rosemary and thyme
Place a clean never used tall kitchen garbage bag (do not use a scented or deodorant type bag) into a clean container (I use a rectangular 5 gallon bucket bought especially for this) and fold it over the sides so it can’t fall in while you are mixing your brine.
Next, pour the water and wine into the container/bag. Add the onion, garlic, and fresh herbs. Give the orange a squeeze and plop it in too. Add the dry mixture and stir until most of the salt and sugar is dissolved.
After removing the giblet bag for the cavity of the turkey, and giving it a good rinse inside and out. Slowly ease the turkey into the brine, submerging the whole bird breast side down. Tie the bag up and place the container in a cold place overnight.
I put mine on the shelf away from pets in the un-heated garage. You can also prepare your turkey brine in a cooler, resting the brining bag and turkey on a bed of ice.
If your turkey wants to float, weigh it down by placing an inverted plate onto the top of the turkey (but outside the bag) and use large soup cans stacked on the plate.
Edit (2019) You know what? I forgot to tell you how long you should leave the bird in the brine…. at least 24 hours! I stick mine in the brine around 5pm the night before. 🙂
It shouldn’t go unnoticed that this article isn’t about “stuffing” it’s about dressing. Which to be fair is stuffing that is un-stuffed and rather baked in a separate pan.
You with me so far?
I know I’m going to get pasted for this, but I don’t care for stuffing.
It comes out of the bird as a homogeneous brown mass, not to mention stuffing your turkey adds to the cooking time resulting in a dry bird.
Before you kick me out of the club for heresy, let me tell you there are two more reasons dressing is preferable over stuffing:
Because it’s not dependent on when the turkey is ready, you can make it in advance and reheat in the microwave.
You can make as much as you want! Much like Gravy, folks get grumpy if they feel cheated out of their fair share of stuffing.
The recipe below might make you see things my way.
Apple and Sausage Dressing
8 cups dried baguette or Italian ciabatta bread (cubed or torn into small chunks)
6 tablespoons butter
2 small onions
2 stalks celery
2 large apples (cored and cut into chunks)
2 cups turkey stock or chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
¼ cup fresh sage (chopped)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
3 large eggs (beaten)
2 cups Italian sausage (browned and crumbled)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Tear or cut the bread into chunks and place into a very large bowl; allow them to dry overnight.
Brown the sausage and place into the bowl to cool. Chop the herbs and toss them in with the meat and bread.
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Chop the onions, celery and apples, add them to the melted butter and cook until softened; about 3 minutes. Remove the vegetable mixture and place it in with the bread mixture to cool.
Mix the chicken stock, heavy cream and the eggs together. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper.
Combine the egg mixture with the bread/meat mixture and toss well, making sure the bread gets moistened well.
Scoop the dressing into a buttered baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Uncover the dressing and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden on top.
This recipe has also been featured in “The Family Table” by Kathleen Rear
image courtesy of Pottery Barn
Gravy. It’s definition both culinary and colloquially means all things lovely, and is the perfect place to start my Thanksgiving recipes.
I’ve always been disappointed by the amount of juice rendered off a turkey after it cooks. It’s never enough to make very much gravy. In this house not enough gravy is a punishable offense.
Turkey Gravy
3 turkey wings
2 small yellow onions
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup fresh parsley
6-8 cups water (amount will vary)
Place the turkey wings in a large stew pot or dutch oven.
Roughly chop the onion, carrot, celery and parsley and add to the pot.
Add the peppercorns salt and bay leaf.
Add water until the veggies and turkey are just covered.
Bring the water to a boil, cover and turn the heat to low.
Simmer for 3 hours.
When finished, allow to cool and then remove the big pieces of veggie and turkey. Strain out all the smaller pieces.
Look at all that great turkey stock you made!
You can refrigerate your stock for up to a week in a tightly sealed container.
Sieve the roast turkey drippings and separate out the fat…What, you didn’t think we’d waste all that lovely stuff?
Mix the drippings with the turkey stock.
It’s gravy time!
You’ll need:
4-6 cups turkey stock plus turkey drippings
1 stick or 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon ground pepper
salt to taste.
If your stock has been refrigerated, heat in a microwave for about 4 minutes.
In a large saute pot melt the better over medium high heat.
Add the flour and whisk until the butter and flour form a paste.
Turn the heat to medium low and continue to whisk for 3 minutes. Add the sage and pepper.
Add half the warm turkey stock and briskly whisk. Add the rest of the stock and whisk until there are no lumps. Heat on low until thickened.
Give the gravy a taste and salt accordingly.
What if ((GASP)) your gravy is…Lumpy!
No sweat deary! Blend in your blender or with a hand blender with a about a 1/4 cup of hot water.
Also, if you’d like to make it ahead of time; let it cool with a piece of cling film pressed against the top of the gravy so it won’t get that rubbery skin. Later, take off the cling and microwave until hot, about 4 minutes.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my Halloween count down. I had a lot of fun too!
I’m letting my horns down (out?) today. What are you dressing up as?
If you need a last minute costume idea go here.
As is fitting, I’m making a very special dinner tonight:
Meat hand with mashed potatoes and pureed parmesan peas.
You’ll find the recipe plus the how to over at Megan’s site.
I hope everyone has an awesome time tonight!
Happy Halloween!
XOXO
Kath-
It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was the first animated prime time special. It’s 44 years old this year.
Gavin and I watch it together, repeating all our favorite lines, as is the only way to watch a cult favorite!
My favorite lines are when Sally gives Linus what for when she realizes she’s wasted her whole evening in the pumpkin patch:
In related news it’s National Candy Corn Day!!!
Have you ever seen these cryptic symbols scrawled onto the driveways in your neighborhood during Halloween night?
It’s the Halloween Candy Code go check out what the symbols mean!
4 more days till Halloween!
I have a confession. I haven’t carved pumpkins yet this year! We usually wait until the last minute and then carve like crazy. Mostly because we hate to see our poor Jack’s mushy and droopy due to unseasonably warm weather in Oregon in October.
I really love these patterns form Janice Nadeau and Design Sponge! I’m going to have to try it out!
Kathleen Rear 