Some of my favorites...

Baked Sweet Potatoe/Banana Puree with pecans & whipped cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Graham cracker crust and sour cream icing.

Green Bean Caserole is a old favorite.

Honey Ham with Crushed Ginger Snap's & Brown Sugar<----

Pumpkin Bread w/Pecans and Walnuts.

Let's see what else we can think of...I'm sure there are some not-so-usual dishes out there that are awesome.

 

A FUCKING TURKEY!!!!!

 

Thanks for the insight nokio...

Anyone else?

 

peanut oil + big ass turkey = bliss

 

 

I have wanted to try this for some time now...always heard it was delicious. Only takes about 45 minutes from what I hear too.

 

i was highly skeptical at first.I couldn't get past the notion of always having a traditional turkey. But once I sunk my teeth into a slice, my taste buds jumped for joy.

 

Along with the Alton Brown brined turkey recipe, I'll be doing a white wine gravy and roasted garlic and goat cheese mashed potatoes. Salad with baby greens and a balsamic vinaigrette with crumbled Stilton and brown sugar crusted pecans.

 

is it Turkey day yet?

this thread is making me salivate.

 

Sounds good...I make cinnamon/sugar pecans for the wifey. And any kind of balsamic vinegrette has my vote.

 

A FUCKING BEER TURKEY!

 

Everyone prepares a turkey in a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket, right?

 

How long are you bringing for? And what is your preferred sugar/salt ratio for the brine?

 

I generally do 24 hours, then 12 hours rinsed in fridge to dry the skin.

1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar per qt water, plus spices/seasonings (no extra salt)

 

brining*

Cool. Yea I usually do 24 hours as well.

FYI IMO creole/cajun seasoning goes amazing with turkey. I get to sample 4 different birds every year and the cajun one is always the best.

 

What ingredients in the brine? I have some pre-mixed creole seasoning but it is pretty salt heavy.

 

I'll have to answer that after I ask him tomorrow. Lol

 

 

You guys brine your birds? that a merican thing? never heard of people doing it up here.

 

After trying it several years ago, now I brine all my meat. Steaks, chicken... well ok that's really it.

 

I'd brine poultry but not beef. Steaks should be left alone imo. Unless it's a skirt or flank which can/should be marinated.

Well, I was kinda drunk by the time we got to our third dinner Thanksgiving day. So this is what I can remember him telling me. Lol

• Brine for a day in a simple salt and sugar bath. No spice.
• Quarter lemons, oranges, and apples and stuff inside the cavity while cooking.
• He makes a rub that gets stuffed underneath the skin of the bird. This consists of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, a little cayenne, yellow curry, and what I thought was cajun spice is actually a generic "Greek" spice. As far as proportions, I don't know. Lol.
• He also makes a butter/greek spice mix that gets slathered on the outside of the bird.

I believe he cooks breast side up (he can since he brines). And from the crunchy skin he gets (could be the butter) it appears he cooks uncovered for at least half the cooking time.

That's all I got. Cumin + greek spice is what makes his bird. And once again it was without a doubt the best turkey I had this year.

 

Brining is a culinary thing. Best done to any lean meat (little to no marbled fat) like pork and poultry.

Basics are salt, sugar and water. Any spices or flavorants will be "absorbed" into the meat with the liquid as the solution tries to equalize.

I use honey or brown sugar vs white sugar and add herbs from the garden with black peppercorn as a standard.

This promotes more even cooking and a more moist flavorful end product.

 

^Well said.

It also often gives the ability to cook said meats in ways which may not normally be optimal.

 

Never cooked a turkey before and decided to go the traditional route this year. Turned out really good making gravy with the drippings from the turkey sealed the deal.

A while ago had a turkey that was cooked on grill with hickory smoked chips, also had one deep fried also very good.

I will try the brine method next time. Somebody mentioned it to me one day before t-giving but wasn`t willing to try it. The brine method he said "was delish"

Brine recipe:
Salt
Sugar
Your favorite seasonings (greek, rosemary, chopped onions and celery)
Marinate 24 hours before cooking for 325 degrees until bird is at 165-175 degrees.
About half way through put a piece of aluminum foil over the turkey to keep from over crisping and to keep moisture on the turkey.

 

I highly recommend deep frying turkeys. The only problem with that method is adding flavor. It all has to be done via the brine as you can't, well don't want to, deep fry anything but bird. But even without all the spices the flavors the turkey picks up just from the oil, especially peanut, are outstanding.

Smoking is also very good. I believe the HoneyBaked ham company sells smoked turkeys. If you are ever in a pinch and need a solution fast, give them a call. They are very good.

I can't wait to open my new smoker Christmas day. ^_^

 

smoked turkey > all

 

Well, the brine turned out awesome, the bird was amazingly moist and flavorful.

Also, I tried a new cooking method this time that blew me away...

No longer will I wake at the crack of dawn to get the bird in so it has hours and hours to slow roast at 325...

Preheat oven to 500. Yep, 500.

Make sure skin is really dry. I rinsed the brine off, patted the entire turkey dry with paper towels, and then let it sit in the fridge UNcovered for 12 hours. Fridge is very low humidity.

Rub exterior with a small amount of peanut/canola/vegetable oil.

Place in roasting rack and pop in 500 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 and cover the breast with foil. Roast until WHITE meat is 163 degrees. I use a temp probe alarm/timer combo from BBB.

MY 15LB TURKEY WAS DONE IN LESS THAN 3 HOURS!!!!!!

Seriously, I had to figure out what to do to keep it warm since I put it in WAY too early not really thinking it would get to temp so fast.

It is Alton Brown's method and it is awesome.

Easiest cooking, tastiest bird yet.

Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

 

Hah, I was going to mention that's Alton Browns method. And then you said so. Lol

Brining certainly helps with that initial high temp. And then the quickly cooked exterior helps keep the moisture in.

 

 

 

Was posting that in response to the 500 deg post

 

Honestly, I had to take the bird out, then put it back in to warm back up about an hour before serving.

I was completely surprised at how fast it got to "done" temp. It was several hours early and I was looking around like "WTF?"

 

While you are cooking your casserole or baking your biscuits you can put the turkey in the oven at 350 degrees for about a half an hour. And when your side dishes get done your turkey will be warm also.

Rarely will you see a kitchen with two stoves but if you have a convection oven you can cook the sides in there and your turkey in your main oven, if you have enough room.

I wish I could bring my stove home from my restaurant that would be awesome perfect temp easier to cook with. But the home stove just poses a challenge because of it`s size.

Note: Beware of turkey marinated in brine and using the deep fryer method. I see oil boiling over pot from the liquids.

 

Nicks, that's pretty much what we did. Just rotated things through the oven to warm them up as other things were cooking...

 

the BBQ place I go to smoked a bird rubbed in his seasoning, it was damn good!

I went in the day after thanksgiving and he was doing thanksgiving sandwiches....best sandwich Ive ever dad

 

If you deep fry a turkey while using the brine method here is what you should do.

Brine it way ahead T-Giving I would almost say a week before. Still soak it for only 24 hours. Put it in the fridge with a serrated or stainless steel grate that holds the Turkey off the pan. And let all moisture drip off the turkey (very important). By the time you stick it in that scrumptious peanut oil it should be completely without excessive moisture.

 

Nothing wrong with deep frying brined poultry. Just make sure it's dry before you throw it in...

I mean...southern style fried chicken anyone?! That buttermilk soaks to the bone! Lol

 

c00l st0ry dad...