fat free opinions on a food centric life
Here I am on a Saturday morning, writing the post for the Daring Bakers’ November challenge. It’s due today, but with all the chaos of construction in our house, and cooking for Thanksgiving, somehow there wasn’t time to write. Let me rethink that: I didn’t …
Does anyone remember eating warm spinach and bacon salad? I think the first time I tried it was at my aunt's house when I was in junior high. There was something fascinating about the sweet and tangy taste of it…and the bacon? Right. I'd love …
Over the years, I’ve made and eaten turkey prepared in a variety of ways: butter and herbs rubbed on the skin or under the skin, roasted in a bag, and yes, even roasted with a brown paper bag that was buttered and pressed against the skin. Luckily with all the experimentation, I haven’t had any disasters — and that has paid off, because although we still haven’t deep fried a turkey, we have found that brining is what we now prefer. We may alter the ingredients of the brine, but the basic idea is that our turkey sits in a bath of very salty liquid for at least 24 hours before it’s roasted.
As Thanksgiving nears, many stores carry pre-made brining mixes, and we’ve tried those too. Whether you choose to purchase or make your own mix, I know you’ll find that when you brine a turkey, it will be the most moist you’ve ever had.
Basically, the steps for brining are similar regardless of the recipe you choose:
1) Mix herbs and spices and other ingredients
2) Measure a large quantity of salt
3) Add to water and heat to dissolve the salt
4) Pour over turkey and keep cold for at least overnight