A Gardeners Forum Forums Willy's Place Members Favorite Recipes Brined turkey

A friend of mine introduced me to Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey and I've been hooked on brined turkey ever since. I still make the Good Eats turkey, as it's one of the simpler recipes, but I have also tried Wolfgang Puck's recipe. It's the BEST turkey I have ever eaten!!!!

I use a 5 gallon bucket to brine my turkeys in, moving the middle shelf in my refrigerator to make room for the turkey on the bottom shelf.

I'm also posting links to a couple of brined turkey recipes that I haven't tried yet, but which sound interesting. Emeril has a recipe that uses a whole orange cut up in the brine, and there is a recipe at marthastewart.com that uses 2 cups of bourbon in the brine!

Nobody mentions this, but it's important when using brine recipes to have a turkey that hasn't previously been injected with brine. Water injected turkeys are fine, though.

This works by the process of osmosis (if you remember your high school biology). Osmosis is the process where a solution passes from an area of high concentration (the brine), through a membrane (the skin of the turkey), into an area of low concentration (the meat of the turkey).

If you have a turkey that is already injected with brine, you have the solution passing from an area of high concentration into an area of almost as high concentration, and the absorption of the flavors of your brine will be greatly reduced.

If you have trouble with dry turkey, brining is the way to go, as this results in an incredibly moist turkey.

Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html

Wolfgang Puck's Brined Roast Turkey With Pan Gravy:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25005,00.html

Emeril's Brined and Roasted Turkey:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17081,00.html

Brined and Roasted Turkey (with bourbon)

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=tvs6447&catid=cat20782&navLevel=

I love brined turkey-that is the only way to go. But boy do they look werid when they come out!

Terry...I keep the food channel on all day so I can listen while I work...Alton Brown is a hoot!
I cannot recall who it was yesterday that did a brine turkey and it had 4 lemons in the brine...that sounded interesting (although I don't think it would be something I would want for Thanksgiving)
Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) has a fennel turkey recipe that is WONDERFUL!!!! I'm thinkinf that it would be even better with the brined turkey...I think I am going to try that! The smell of the fennel as it roasts is absolutely the most wonderful smell ever! She also has a really great roasted butternut squash recipe that I HAVE to do often...it can actually replace the sweet potatoes because it tastes so much like them...

Alton is alot of fun and very informative and a little !!!

The only one I have ever tried before is Funky Turkey--another one of Emeril Lagasse's recipes. And it IS DELICIOUS!!! WOW!! But the size turkey my hubby gets from work every year I had to buy a LARGE stew pot to set it in!! hehehe Here is the link: Well--it was a couple yers ago. I can't find the link so will have to Type it in. Will do it later! hehehe (Talk about lazy, eh?!! hehehe)

Bonnie

Funky Bird (AKA Southwestern Turkey Breast)
by Emeril Lagasse 2001

Brine:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 c orange juice
1 c kosher salt
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 c chopped yellow onions
2 oranges, halved
2 jalepenos, minced (with the seeds)(this recipe is NOT spicy in spite of this!!!)
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBSP chopped garlic (considerably less than he normally uses!! hehehe)
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican (yes, there is a noticable difference in taste--believe it or not)

1 (6 1/2 lb) whole turkey breast (I used a whole turkey might have diluted the strength a little??)
1 TBSP vegetable Oil
1TBSP Essence, recipe follows
Poblano Chocolate Mole, recipe follows--I did not make thi.

IN a large non reactive container, combine all the brine ingredients (lemon juice - oregano) with 1 gallon water and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Put the turkey in a large colander and rinse under cold, running water, then add turkey to the brine. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the rutkey from the bringe and put it breast side up in a large, heavy roasting pan and pat dry with paper towels. Rub turkey with vegetable oil and sprinkle both sides with Essence. Roast until deep golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (about 1 hr and 45 minutes--could be a good bit longer for WHOLE turkey). Transfer to platter and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 TBSP salt
2 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP black pepper
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP cayenne pepper
1 TBSP dried leaf oregano
1 TBSP dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield : about 2/3 cup


Poblano Chocolate Mole:
1lb poblano chiles
1 lg yellow onion, peeled and halved (root end left on)
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 c shelled pistachio nuts
1/2 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 c pine nuts
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 c chicken stock or canned low sodium chicken broth
1/2 c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 c heavy cream

To roast the peppers, place them directly on the burners of a gas stove over medium heat and turn frequently with tongs until all sides are charred black (7-10 minutes). Alternatively, the peppers can be roasted under a broiler. Transfer the peppers to a paper bag, close and let cool for about 15 minutes. Peel the peppers, remove the seeds and stems and coarsely chop the flesh.

Roast the onion halves over medium heat (using same procedure as for the peppers) until the cut surfaces are lightly charred and the onion is slightly softened (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool. Remove and discard the root ends and coarsely chop the onions.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pistachios, pumpkin seeds and the pine nuts and cook, stirring occasionally until the nuts are browned. Add the peppers, onion, chili powder, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper and stir 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cilantro and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 45 minutes. Add the chocolate and stir til melted. Add the cream, stir well, and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender. Serve over the slice turkey.

Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook TimeL 2 hrs and 30 minutes

I bought all the ingredients then did not make this that year. Maybe I will try it this year--sounds good!!

Enjoy!! Bonnie

Episodes #: EM1E30

Bonnie, I have a turkey breast in my freezer that I bought specifically to make Funky Turkey with, I just haven't gotten around to rounding up the rest of the ingredients for it. I haven't seen any poblanos in the grocery store recently. Maybe they have them at the Latin grocery??

Here is another of Emeril's brine recipes that I'm planning on making Monday night.

Beer-Brined Chicken with Giblet Gravy:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_19410,00.html

Definitely they should have them at Mexican store!! They tend to look kind of small and dark green. Ask employee for them--they will take you right to them. Even in regular grocery store--ask produce employee if they have them!! Bonnie

I can't get juniper berries! Is there somethingI could substitute?

I don't know that there is really a substitute for juniper berries. Have you asked at your grocery store? Ours has several different brands of spices and they don't all carry the same things. Also, I think I've seen juniper berries in the gourmet or international section, maybe near the pine nuts and capers.

Thanks Terry...I will have to go to Little Rock to try to hunt some down....trust me, they wouldn't even have a clue here!

Bonnie, do you think it would make much difference if I used Anchos instead of poblanos? I just remembered I have a half pound of anchos in my cupboard that I bought from a chile company online (enough to fill a half gallon jar). It's the same pepper as the poblano only in the dried form. Poblanos are the fresh green form of the pepper. I wouldn't be able to roast them, but I did just read that anchos are one of the main ingredients in a traditional mole.

Another question Bonnie. Do you have a rough idea of how many poblanos make 1 pound?

I also meant to ask you Terry, have you watched the battle of the Chefs on the food channel? I love it!!!

I've watched the original Iron Chef a time or two, (once for the main ingredient they had to use live eels--eeww) but haven't seen the American version yet. I only have 2 nights off a week so usually about all I get to watch are Emeril and sometimes Good Eats, although last week I saw a three shows of Restaurant Makeover.

But I understand if you make gravy from brined turkey juices it will be too salty. Anyone ever do this?

Emeril said..(which I guess is gospel ) that gravy made from the brine would be not only salty..but also sweet...don't think I could handle sweet gravy!!! but...you could cook the giblets and use that stock for the gravy...of course you would have to season it up.

~V~

I've never made gravy from Alton Brown's brined turkey, but the gravy from Wolfgang Puck's didn't seem too salty to me, in fact, I'm thinking about adding a bit more salt to it this year to counteract some of the sweetness. It definitely is a sweet gravy (not surprising as there is 24 ounces each of honey and maple syrup in the brine), but I liked it.

The gravy from Emeril's beer brined chicken was very salty, though I didn't strain it as he recommended. I just pureed everything. Next time I will strain it, maybe that will reduce some of the saltiness.

The aromas when cooking this dish were incredible. It's almost worth making it just for the smells, both when melting the butter with the essence and while baking the chicken. And the chicken tasted great!

Vanessa, the juniper berries would probably make only a subtle difference, it's probably worth trying even if you can't get them.

I'm doing Wolfgang Puck's turkey again for Thanksgiving and Alton's for Christmas, only I'm going to try for even more flavor by doubling his brine and eliminating the gallon of water. I tried that last year, but the turkey had already been injected with brine, so it didn't really absorb a lot of the flavor.

Next year I want to try either Emeril's or the bourbon brined turkey from marthastewart.com for one of the holidays (giving Alton a break) and I also want to do the Funky Turkey, but not for a holiday.

Terry, that is exactly how Ina Garten's fennel turkey was, I did it 3 yrs ago! The fennel in that baby gave the Thanksgiving aroma a KICK!!! Now...I HAVE to always add fennel in the bird. I loved it SO much...I added fennel to my herb garden last year...it's a fun herb to mess with!


~V~

I only saw her show one time, but I still use her gravy recipe with cognac from that show. I just tried my bookmark for it, but the recipe is expired. Luckily, I still have a copy I printed out. It's getting pretty faded though. I think this goes with this topic, as I only use this with a turkey dinner. This is the gravy I make when doing Alton Brown's brined turkey.


Homemade Gravy from the Barefoot Comtessa

1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Defatted turkey drippings plus chicken stock to make 2 cups--heated
1 tbsp. cognac or brandy
1 tbsp. white wine, optional
1 tbsp. heavy cream, optional

In a large (10 to 12 -inch) saute pan, cook the butter and onions over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes all the difference when the onions are well cooked.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisk in, then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock mixture and Cognac, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes until thickened. Add the wine and cream if desired. Season to taste and serve.

Vanessa, was this the brined turkey with lemons your were talking about?

Bay and lemon brined turkey:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32328,00.html

That's another one for me to bookmark.

Terry...there will definitely be a big difference if you use anchos, but it would be worth trying. I would think three anchos would be about a pound if fresh? maybe 4, but it would be hard to say how big those were before drying.

I've never put onions in my gravy. I've used an onion gravy mix with roast before though.

I started my Thanksgiving cooking today (Tuesday). My turkey stock for the gravy is done, and I also made the brine for soaking the turkey. I think I'll put the turkey in the brine around 10:30 tomorrow morning. That should give it about 24 hours before it needs to go in the oven.

Yep Terry, that was the recipe...doesn't it look GREAT? he also did a brine for a pork roast that really caught my eye....I like a good pork roast...and I think that would add a litte zip to it.
I am liking the brine recipes...but I just have to tell you...I will have a hard time not injecting the dawg outta that bird! I did a couple of injected chicken yesterday...made a garle, rosemary & butter marinade to inject them with...oh man...would be hard to beat!


~V~

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!


~V~

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!!!!


~V~

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!!!

~V~

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!!!


~V~

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