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How did your Turkey's turn out??????
Inquiring minds would like to know!!!!!!!!!

The turkey was great!! It was a bit more done than it has been the past few years, though. I think my meat thermometer/alarm is about shot. It's been dropped one to many times. The last 3 times I've used it, it seemed like it was reading a bit low and the alarm is totally messed up.

The meat was still more moist than any of the turkeys in my "pre-brining" days. Not dry, just drier. And it was SOOO tasty. Yum.

I did a search yesterday looking for new brined turkey recipes, and I now have 23 recipes bookmarked. That should keep me busy for a few years.

WooHoo! I just finished putting up my turkey stock in the freezer. I just covered all the bones and pieces of skin with water and brought to a boil, then simmered for 3 hours. I got 9 1/2 cups of broth. I already had 10 cups of broth in the freezer from the turkey I made back in January, so I have more than enough for AB's brined turkey for Christmas. (it takes 1 gallon of broth).

Well, I didn't get to do the brined turkey (didn't have my BIG pots here) So i did an injected one...infused a BUNCH of butter with garlic & Rosemary...and injected the dawg outta that bad boy! Stuffed the cavity with celery, more garlic & fennel........

Best turkey I have done in years.........and was very pretty!!!
I think the fennel makes all the difference in the world!


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Oh...ad Obywan...I was gonna tell you what I did to the gravy this year. I put the turkey liver & neck meat in the food processor with a little stock and pureed it...added it to the stock for the gravy and it was RICH!!! I will be doing that agin for sure! Added a little boiled egg as a garnish...I guess that is what it is for..my grandmother always did it so...

Everybody went on & on about the gravy...they probably would have died if I would have told them how I did it!!!!


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I do this as well except I puree it, then sautee it and add it to my stuffing. The reason I puree it is so no one will see it in there. Oh..the flavour...so worth it! Looks real yummy coming out of the food processor doesn't it? :p

Christina...I use to always add the giblets to my dressing...but just tried them in the gravy this year playing around...OMG...I loved it! And that is exactly why I puree them as well...the kids would bark if they could "see" them in there... . I LOVE it when I get to tell them they REALLY like stuff they think they don't!!!
Darin use to swear he didn't like deer meat....until he found out that all those "roasts" he had been sucking down were DEER roasts! It is so hard to get some people to try stuff they have in their heads they don't like...that is why I like to use the sneak attact!!!

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I did Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey for Christmas and it turned out PERFECT. I used a fresh natural turkey instead of frozen and I think I'll do that from now on. Even with thawing a frozen turkey an extra day, it seems the meat is still not done where the thigh attaches, but with the fresh turkey, the dark meat was done and the breast was still nice and moist.

We had an organic turkey this year...the health food store where my nephew does his shopping orders them ...and he had forgotten to put his name on the list, but when he went in they just happened to have one extra.....he snatched it right up!!!


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FYI, my brined turkey was good and I hear it was the best some guests had ever eaten. I don't think it was worth it though. The gravy was sickening sweet. I think my regular turkey, just done but not overcooked, is fine. I never bother basting either.

Hold on! That's not like Ludivisk, is it?

I had a dinner party last week, and did a brined turkey I hadn't tried before. It was from marthastewart.com and had 2 cups of bourbon in the brine. It was very good. I could even taste the bourbon in a couple of bites, but if I do it again, I think I'll increase the amount of bourbon.

The stuffing recipe was the best ever. I didn't think it was going to be enough, so I doubled the recipe. WO, did I overestimate! I stuffed the turkey and still had 3 casseroles to bake separately in the oven!

I'd have to say, though, that the baked dressing was much, much tastier than the stuffing in the turkey.

I didn't think that highly of using the towel to cover the turkey, though. It did keep the turkey from drying out, but I ruined a good towel, and the turkey didn't really brown like I like it to. I think I'll try it again with more bourbon and no towel. Maybe even without stuffing it as the dressing baked separately was SOO good! What with the Italian sausage and the fruits in it.

Here's the link to the turkey and dressing recipes (and the cornbread for the dressing)

Perfect Roast Turkey