Thanksgiving Treats

[Gulf]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

I generally followed the guidelines described at the site below.

Barbecue Turkey And Turkey On The Grill: The Ultimate Smoked Turkey Recipe

I rubbed a herb and oil mix above and below the skin and rotated the pan every 15 minutes for the first hour. I removed turkey when the breast temp was 160f. Results were very moist and tasty.

Bec1208,
The bird looks great! That is a very interseting article. I wasn't sure by your post, and was was wondering if you followed the articles advice to dry brine?

[Bec1208]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

This was a 59 cent per pound turkey that was already injected with brine. I followed the advice to simply inject with melted butter.

[SableSprings]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Last time we did turkey in the oven we used a dry brine technique and I have to say it was far easier than the wet brine we'd done previously...and I couldn't tell the difference. Here's my notes from the bake: Dry brine on the 14.5# turkey (3-4 TBS kosher salt rubbed on turkey, refrigerate for 2 1/2 days in a large plastic bag turning the bird every 12 hours or so). Pushed butter & sage under the skin after the dry brine period. Dried turkey skin (initially with paper towels) and then air dry for several hours in fridge. Remove bird from refrigerator and let it warm up for an hour. Oven was at about 450? when we put the turkey in. Watched & rotated pan every half hour or so for the entire bake (flipped the turkey in the pan once - first 30 minutes turkey was breast side down then we flipped it over). Took about 2 hours and 45 minutes in roaster to get to 156F internal, added a foil cover the last 30 minutes to keep it from browning too much. (Removed foil to take picture then recovered.) Removed from oven to rest and it coasted to the 165 final temp in about 10 minutes. Total covered rest was about 45 minutes until rest of meal was ready. Carve & consume = excellent!

This year the plan is for both a dry brine turkey and a pork crown roast (I haven't seen the recipe my wife's planning to use for the roast but I know it will be delightful.)

[Bec1208]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Gulf, I came across a discussion of brining that strongly supports dry brining. Very interesting read with some empirical testing of the various methods.

The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey | Serious Eats

Bruce

[kbartman]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Glad to see all the responses to this thread, lots of good ideas and suggestions. After reading all the good article and ideas. I decided on the wet brine, although dry makes more since now. I'm not sure if wet will be worth it but I don't like change, so decided to continue with the original plan. I'll let you know how it turns out...... I got my turkey in the wet brine solution this morning. My brine solution is just a throw together of what sounded good at the time and what was on hand.... Sugar, spice and every thing nice salt but no snails or puppy dog tales.

The oven was hovering around 250F this morning after pizza party last Friday. Looks like I'll have to put a small fire in it tomorrow so I can hit the target starting temp of about 275F for the lighting of the charcoal snake and reaching cooking temp of about 300F+ .......Bird in at about 7:00am on turkey day dinner at 1:00pm.............wish my luck

I also will be warming the ham and any other dishes the wife throws at me. I'm sure my daughters awesome broccoli casserole will be one of them.
What else is everyone else planning? Lets keep posting I'm getting hungry.

[kkgator]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

I immersed my bird in the brine yesterday AM. Thankfully I work in a restaurant and have access to a large walk-in cooler as well as being able to reuse a plastic hard boiled egg container instead of buying a 5 gallon bucket from HD or using a cooler. I will be documenting my bake tomorrow and hope to have video & pics by Black Friday. Happy Thanksgiving to All and buona festa!

Bec, Love the Serious Eat website especially "slice" & "the food lab"

[cobblerdave]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Glad to see all the responses to this thread, lots of good ideas and suggestions. After reading all the good article and ideas. I decided on the wet brine, although dry makes more since now. I'm not sure if wet will be worth it but I don't like change, so decided to continue with the original plan. I'll let you know how it turns out...... I got my turkey in the wet brine solution this morning. My brine solution is just a throw together of what sounded good at the time and what was on hand.... Sugar, spice and every thing nice salt but no snails or puppy dog tales.

The oven was hovering around 250F this morning after pizza party last Friday. Looks like I'll have to put a small fire in it tomorrow so I can hit the target starting temp of about 275F for the lighting of the charcoal snake and reaching cooking temp of about 300F+ .......Bird in at about 7:00am on turkey day dinner at 1:00pm.............wish my luck

I also will be warming the ham and any other dishes the wife throws at me. I'm sure my daughters awesome broccoli casserole will be one of them.
What else is everyone else planning? Lets keep posting I'm getting hungry.

Gudday
Good luck to all with the dreaded turkey, I hope they all come out well.
I think your right to stick to the tried and proven, Kbartman. Its a lesson Ive learnt [ and relearnt] is not to experiment on your guests......
Regards Dave

[kbartman]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Turkey was in at 7:00, charcoal snake lit, oven stabilized 300F. Pecan woodchips underneath charcoal for little more smoke. Got my finger crossed.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Gudday
Being closer to the date line nov 28 comes a little bit earlier in Aust
Thanksgiving Brisbane Australia

My wife and myself were invited to a thanksgiving at a friends place. They had originally had a thanksgiving for some American friends and kept the tradition up. A great speak by our host about the pilgrims and the meaning of thanksgiving to start the night. Turkey, ham, roast veg, corn , black eyed peas and cornbread. ( the cornbread from a visiting American) for sweets pumpkin pie.
We sat around and discussed our year and our good fortunes big and small. Hardly anyone knew each other but a great night was had by all. I really enjoyed myself and I have a little bit more of an understanding of why its such an important holiday for the American people.
Enjoy your day all
Regards dave

[kanoer54]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Great thread and some tasty ideas for today. I have been invited to other relatives for today's feast but am looking forward to Christmas dinner from my wfo. Have bookmarked this thread for easy reach.

Am looking forward to seeing everyone's pics later today!!

jon

[kbartman]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

The "Bird" has arrived and now resting. A little early, temperature 166F Placed in warm cooler till carving.

[Bec1208]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Kbartman, great looking bird. Thanks for sharing.

[Bec1208]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

I put together a sweet potato salad that everyone raved about. The recipe is from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." I used dried cherries and a green pepper and omitted the mint or parsley. I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes to the dressing.

Recipe:

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Red Pepper Vinaigrette
By Mark Bittman
From the How to Cook Everything Vegetarian? app

Introduction:

Here is another potato‐vinaigrette combo: The red pepper dressing is tart, sweet, and spicy, with a touch of cumin. This is best served warm or at room temperature, though of course you can refrigerate and serve it up to a day later, as long as you take it out of the refrigerator beforehand to take the chill off.

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes
? cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
? cup red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and quartered
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (optional)
? cup sliced scallion
? cup minced fresh mint or fresh parsley leaves
1 or 2 fresh minced chiles (jalape?o, Thai, serrano, or habanero), or to taste
? cup raisins (optional)
Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400?F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite‐sized pieces. Put them on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast, turning occasionally, until crisp and brown outside and just tender inside, about 30 minutes. Remove and keep on the pan until ready to dress.
Make the dressing while the potatoes cook. Put the remaining 6 tablespoons oil in a blender, along with the vinegar, bell pepper, cumin, and zest if you're using it. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Pur?e until smooth.
Toss the warm potatoes with the scallion, mint, chiles, and raisins if you're using them. Add ? cup of the dressing and toss to coat, adding more if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Gudday Bruce
That recipe sounds great . By the pic you also have the orange sweet potatoe. Thanks I certainly try this one
Regards dave

[Bec1208]

Re: Thanksgiving Treats

Thanks Dave,
By the way I enjoyed reading about your Australian Thankgiving. I ran across the recipe and realized I had the essential ingredients on hand. It was easy to put together. I think it would make a great non traditional side with a turkey dinner. Hope we'll see some other side dish recipes or ideas posted.