It's Turkey Day

[Steve Williams]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone

I am interested as to how everyone is doing their turkey this year.

I am a huge fan and proponent of brining the turkey for 16-24 hours (A la Alice Waters from Chez Panisse as well as the Food Network recommends) before cooking as IMO the taste is second to none. I have been brining since 1999 when the San Francisco Chronicle named this as the number one best method of doing your turkey. Also agree with the "no basting" and keep the oven door closed as well as the 500 degrees for half hour first before lowering to 350

I have never had the brass cajones to deep fry a turkey and just don't think it feels like Thanksgiving if you do


Here is probably my favorite

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/holidays_and_parties/channel/0,1000341,FOOD_32087_11828,00.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/thanksgiving-turkey-tips-and-how-tos/video/index.html?videoId=866

http://www.food.com/recipe/chez-panisse-brine-for-pork-chicken-and-turkey-131506

http://northfork.patch.com/articles/local-expert-brining-a-turkey-too-important-to-ignore

Enjoy

 

[ack]

Happy Thanksgiving... For the first time we are doing a simple turkey breast for those who care and lots of racks of lamb for the rest, despite the fact we've gotten really good at cooking turkey really well by brining and using the Alton Brown recipe. In the end, everyone likes turkey the least...

 

[treitz3]

Hello, Steve and Happy Thanksgiving to you. We are preparing the Turkey fresh, not frozen and we are doing it on the Rotisserie. We just put it on. For this year's turkey, we washed and pat dried it. Drizzled olive oil in the cavity and rubbed Kosher salt, pepper, crushed garlic throughout the cavities and other nooks and crannies. I then took the core out of two apples and cut them into 8 slices and loosely filled the cavity with the apple slices. Then I tied the bird up, lightly sprinkled poultry seasoning over it and then tied 5 pieces of bacon around the bird. Placed it in the rotisserie with two ramekins filled with 2 apple slices and water.

This is a new recipe for me. We usually marinade the Turkey for three days in nothing but Mojo and it turns out great every time with the meat still being juicy a week later....even the white meat. Figured I'd try something new this year.

Lookin' forward to another fabulous meal this year. I just hope I don't eat too much. Happy Thanksgiving WBF members!

Tom

 

[Steve Williams]

I also always buy a fresh free range turkey and like you I also use aromatics in the cavity such as apples, onions, cinnamon stick, sage and thyme

 

[RBFC]

Brass cajones this year. Deep fryer with peanut oil. We did it a few years ago & it was delicious. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Sent from phone from OR 16, doing emergency!

 

[Keith_W]

I have never cooked turkey the same way twice. Each year is different, depending on what new things I have learnt throughout the year, or what aspect of cooking I feel like experimenting with

Given that I always serve my turkey carved (and not carved at the table), I am planning to cook the pieces separately this year. The breast needs to be cooked to 65C, and the legs to 70C. As people might know, I am quite partial to cooking to temperature - because it gives precision and repeatability. The best discussion I have seen so far is the International Culinary Center's blog post on how to cook turkey (parts 1, 2, 3, 4). In it, the chefs go through the issues on cooking turkey before making a "bionic turkey". They deboned the turkey and re-fashioned a skeleton from pipes and aluminum foil. They were then able to cook the legs and the breast to different temperatures:

The bizarre looking turkey was apparently a hit, but I am not so extreme as to attempt anything like that

The steps in my turkey this year:

- brine at 4% salt, 2% sugar, bay leaf, lemon, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns
- debone the whole bird leaving drumsticks and wings intact
- cook drumsticks sous-vide at 70C for 24 hours
- cook breasts sous-vide at 65C for 3 hours
- make a gravy from the roasted bones
- finish drumsticks and breast in the deep fryer. Because they are in pieces, I can do this in the kitchen
- carve and serve

Wish me luck!

 

[MylesBAstor]

Some shots of our Thanksgiving!



Waiting to go into the oven (from left to right): Butternut Squash with crushed red chile peppers and Panko flakes (courtesy of Jean-Georges); Ye Olde Green Bean Casserole; Pureed sweet potatoes with ginger, Orange juice,pineapple, milk and slivered almonds.











Garlic shrimp tapas appetizer.






Dutch Amish free range turkey with stuffing from Citarellas plus apples and chestnuts. (too lazy to make my own stuffing from scratch this year!)

 

[amirm]

Happy thanksgiving you'all!

Last year I tried brining and then cooking in our Pizza oven. It was bust in that it cooked at too low of a temp and we had to eat the back up one that was done in the normal oven.

This year I was going to let my wife cook it as usual using her old family recipe, roasting it in the oven. Then at 10:00pm I remembered two years back we did it in the ceramic smoker and it came out excellent other than the gravey (the pan of drippings nearly dried out and it was very smokey). So at that late hour made a change in plan to do that again. Did not feel motivated with brining. So it has gone straight into the smoker. To solve the gravy, I am following the scheme overall from this excellent site on how to smoke the turkey: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/ultimate_smoked_turkey.html. The guy does an amazing job of explaining everything from chemistry to spices! I put a pan under the turkey with aromatics (onion, carrots and celery) plus apple juice and spices. Not sure how it will go but crossing finger .

Anyway, we are one hour into it. Here is the current status:

The "Long Probe" is hooked up to the deep part of the thigh and the "short probe" is the breast. The predicted time for readiness is too aggressive. I expect it be done by 4:00 to 5:00pm, and then foiling it while my wife gets the rest of the sides finished.

 

[Keith_W]

Oh yes, that reminds me! How are you going with the Android version of Stokerlog, Amir?

 

[amirm]

Oh yes, that reminds me! How are you going with the Android version of Stokerlog, Amir?

Have not even started on it! Instead, I added more features to stokerlog, fixing long standing bugs and such. It is now up to version 7. http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?21889-Stokerlog-7-0-Release

 

[amirm]

Myles, that is one picture perfect turkey!!! Is that your doing or some other family member?

 

[MylesBAstor]

Myles, that is one picture perfect turkey!!! Is that your doing or some other family member?

I'm the cook in the family

Always taking as many cooking classes as my schedule allows

 

[Mosin]

RBFC nailed it.


Turkey tastes great deep fat fried in peanut oil with a bag of crab boil added to the oil. Mine took around forty-five minutes in 350 degree oil. It was a twelve pound turkey. If you have never tried it, it is worth the effort because the meat is so moist and tender. It is best eaten immediately.

The only downside is the expense of the oil, but that can be filtered and reused. And, you need a gas-fired fish cooker with an adequately sized pot. There are special purpose kits for sale that are just for turkeys, too. I'm lucky enough to have a built-in natural gas grill on my back porch that has a 60,000 btu burner.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Happy Thanksgiving Day guys! Although I was born and raised in The Netherlands, where Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday, it has become my Holiday of choice. We had ours last month in Canada, but seeing all of the pictures I am reminded that I am still very much thankful for the happenings and the people in my life.

To kind of celebrate with you I brought home a Costco Rotisserie Chicken for my dinner and I shall enjoy it with a glass of wine, and make a toast to all of the wonderful friends I have made here at WBF!

I wish you all the very best life has to offer and I hope that your meals turn out as good as the efforts you've put into them!

Gobble, Gobble!

 

[mep]

I just came back from my brother's house where we had 3 turkeys cooked three different ways. One was the tradional roasted turkey, one was cooked on the smoker grill, and the last one was deep-fried. This was the first time I ever had the deep-fried turkey and I must say it is moist, tender, and delicious as has always been described.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Must-read instruction on how to cook a turkey!

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Myles, wow, what a great looking, and I'm sure tasting, Thanksgiving dinner, happy T day!

 

[WLVCA]

Cooked dinner for 500 today - actually we volunteered to help serve the needy in Los Angeles. Always helps to appreciate the real meaning of the holiday and our own good fortune.

We take the early shift, mostly prep and setup so we finish by noon.

We brine our turkey as well, then roast in the oven. Makes for a moist and flavorful bird.

My wife said the brine is an old Martha Stewart recipe with brown sugar, sea salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, couple of onions and there are more ingredients I don't recall.

Best news this year was that I didn't eat too much - relatively speaking.

 

[WLVCA]

Happy Thanksgiving Day guys! Although I was born and raised in The Netherlands, where Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday, it has become my Holiday of choice. We had ours last month in Canada, but seeing all of the pictures I am reminded that I am still very much thankful for the happenings and the people in my life.

To kind of celebrate with you I brought home a Costco Rotisserie Chicken for my dinner and I shall enjoy it with a glass of wine, and make a toast to all of the wonderful friends I have made here at WBF!

I wish you all the very best life has to offer and I hope that your meals turn out as good as the efforts you've put into them!

Gobble, Gobble!

I like those Costco roasted chickens, too.

Price is right and its beat cleaning the oven after roasting you own.

 

[RBFC]

Well, the turkey frying was uneventful, and I didn't blow up the neighborhood....

The turkey was delicious and very moist!

I'm truly grateful for the many good friends (most of whom I haven't met in person) that I've made through WBF. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Lee