Thanksgiving: The Turkey and The Brine

From the Blue Plate Kitchen, tips and tricks for making your Thanksgiving dinner a little less intimidating!

Brine, brine, brine! Preparing your turkey ahead of time will help elevate the flavor. Brining is a great way to add moisture, aromatics, and flavor to your turkey. This process helps to retain moisture while roasting, which is especially beneficial with turkey, as the cooking time is lengthy. Plus, this process allows for the turkey to roast faster!

Basics Before you Brine

Make sure your turkey is not pre-brined. It is not uncommon for stores to pre-brine the turkey, so be sure to check the label on your birds! If there are more ingredients listed on the label than just turkey, the bird was pre-brined. Remember, if you brine a pre-brined turkey, you will have a very salty dinner.

Timing

Brining a turkey takes time, so you want to make sure you are planning accordingly. We recommend doing this the night before which allows the turkey to absorb the most moisture and flavor.

Flavor

While the salt in the brine will add a lot of flavor, aromatics will make your flavor more complex. I enjoy adding herbs and citrus, but you can add different flavors like brown sugar, honey, or apple cider.

Size

You will brine your turkey raw and whole. So considering the vessel in which you will brine your turkey is important, especially when it comes to your refrigerator.

Ingredients

1 Gallon Distilled Water *

1 Cup Kosher Salt *

½ Cup Honey

3 Fresh Bay Leaves

1 Lemon, Quartered

1 Orange, Quartered

1 Bulb Fennel, Quartered

1 TBSP Peppercorn

5 Sprigs Thyme

5 Sprigs Marjoram

*Brine recipe is for a 12lb turkey. You will not need to adjust your brine recipe so long as the turkey is fully submerged in water. For every pint of water added to your brine, add one tablespoon of salt. Adjust as necessary.

Directions

Combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Let cool and add turkey. Let the turkey sit in the brine overnight.

When roasting the bird, be sure to wash it and roast/cook it right away. Any leftover meat should be carved from the bone and placed in the fridge for up to three days or can be frozen for up to two months.

Enhancing your Thanksgiving Dinner

Looking to boost your bird a little more? Adding an herb rub will add deep flavor to your turkey. Not only does it add flavor, but it also adds great color to the skin when roasting. While the rub can be either wet or dry, my favorite rub is a dry blend of herbs and spices. I use a mortar and pestle to grind the herbs, which helps release aromatics of the herbs which deepens the natural flavor of the herb, in turn, the flavor of the turkey. When applying the rub, you will want to generously rub this blend on and under the skin.

Another enhancement to your turkey is a butter injection. This injection is made from butter and garlic and is very simple to create. Using 1lb of butter and a bulb of garlic, infuse the garlic in the melted butter for about 30 minutes. Take a poultry syringe and inject 45 points into the turkey, the more the better. This is about 1tsp per injection into the bird. Make sure you focus on the white meat, as dark meat is naturally juicy. This is a great way to add additional flavor to the turkey, as well as moisture.

Herb Rub

1c kosher salt

¼ cup black peppercorn

¼ cup chopped sage

¼ c chopped rosemary

¼ c picked thyme

~ Combine all ingredients using mortar and pestle, or pulse in a food processor. Generously rub into the turkey skin.

Butter injection

1# unsalted butter

1 bulb garlic

~ Combine peeled garlic and butter and slowly melt. Let the garlic infuse for about 30 min. Strain and pour into the poultry syringe. Inject 45 points of the turkey( the more injections the better) 1 tsp per injection, focus on the white meat, the dark meat is already naturally juicy.

Thanksgiving: The Sides

Need help deciding on sides? While the classics are a must-have, every family likes to put their own twist on them. Here’s an idea to get your mouth watering: Sage Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes! Take your favorite mashed potato recipe, add brown butter and about four fresh sage sprigs, and your family will be sure to devour these!

If you are looking to go outside the box from the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, there are plenty of options! Using seasonal vegetables and herbs can bring that fall flavor to your table in no time. Some nontraditional favorites include fried Brussels sprouts, mushroom & leek bread pudding, and hatch chile cornbread with honey butter.

Time to Eat

While the prep time and cooking time for Thanksgiving can be tiring, sitting down and eating a meal with the family makes all that time worth it. Open a delicious bottle of pinot noir and enjoy one another’s company.

Now that the turkey has been roasting for about three hours, the sides have all been prepared and are ready to eat, it’s time to carve. This may be intimidating but we’re going to share with you a few tips and tricks that will help make this process less stressful. The first thing you need to do is find a steady surface, such as a counter, to be able to place your cutting board on. The second thing you need is a sharp knife. The most important step is to let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. This allows the turkey to reabsorb the juices.

Start with the turkey on a cutting board, the cavity facing you. We suggest carving one side of the bird at a time to eliminate constant movement. Using your knife, separate the leg and thigh from one side. Then, separate the drumstick from the thigh. Once you have this complete, remove the breast and the wing, again just from one side. Repeat the same steps on the other side of the turkey. You will then slice the breast and thigh pieces. Serve and enjoy!!!