Hello and welcome. I’m sorry this post is so late into the Thanksgiving Holiday and I’m hoping most of you have already started making your sides a few days ago. I heard from a couple chef friends of mine and each had different opinions on brining the turkey. There’s some controversy over to brine or not to brine. I was going to put my brined turkey in the smoker so that seems to be ok. The reason some chefs don’t brine is because they feel it can take away from the turkey tasting like turkey. There’s also the possibility of over doing it on the salt and not having a joyful experience for the holiday. The overdoing it is most likely to happen in wet brining because some people will brine for days and then casually rinse the bird. If wet brining you really need to rinse the bird for about five minutes inside and out under running cold water. So another alternative is to dry brine the turkey. Dry brining usually takes longer but overnight still works well. There’s less mess and need for extra space in the fridge. Here’s a simple dry brine recipe and you can feel free to tweak the herbs and spices. Be very careful when rubbing the brine under the skin so as not to tear it!
- Dry Brine For Turkey
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons of sugar brown or white
- 2 teaspoons sage
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Combine all the ingredients well and rub inside the cavity, under the skin and on top of the skin.
- Cover the turkey in plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or at least 3-4 hours
- Cook the turkey as usual 350 degrees for 20 minutes a pound, cook to165 degrees in the breast
This year I’ve been a little behind in my cooking but as of today I have made the pies, pumpkin cake and cranberry apple sauce. Tonight I’ll dry rub the turkey for smoking tomorrow and I hope it has enough time to smoke. Luckily the weather will be a little warmer than usual this time of year so that cuts down on the cooking time. Over the years I have made several blog post on holiday recipes and will now give you the links to these quick and easy recipes if you’re in a bind for time. Click on the highlighted words and you’ll be taken to the recipes.
- Quick pumpkin pie
- Cranberry apple sauce and sweet potatoes with whiskey
- Pumpkin cake with maple frosting
- Interesting pies
I hope you find these recipes helpful. I know many people focus on the main event ,the turkey, but I find cooking the turkey is the easy part. That’s why I like making different sides to mix things up a bit. I know that the turkey can be a little intimidating because a lot is riding on the main dish. I find that if you set the oven to 350 degrees and cook the turkey 20 minutes per pound basting every 30 minutes or so you should be fine. Just make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees using a food thermometer if your turkey doesn’t have a pop up timer. If the skin starts to brown place some foil over the bird. Roasting pans with lids also keep the moisture in. If it helps just think of it as a big chicken! If you have any last minute questions please send them to me asap so I can answer them before tomorrow. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to save room for dessert! Until next time Boone Appetit!
