Turkey Day

With Thanksgiving coming up and the holidays steamrolling themselves into retail stores everywhere, I feel this is a good time to talk turkey. For years we were all exposed to the same thing, dried out turkey with a lot of stuffing and not a lot of flavor. I admit it, my family admits it, and my friends admit it. We tried all sorts of things. Big needles, lots of butter, and aluminum foil could not help us. But I have learned a few things since then, and I hope that sharing them will result in better turkeys on dinner tables around the globe.

First off, go get a thermometer. I wrote an early post about them, and this is one of their prime applications. Ovens vary, birds vary, and people vary. Thermometers do not lie. It will single handily improve your bird two fold.


Third, all must rest. All meats, when cook, continue to cook after being removed from the heat. This is called carry over, and a turkey can go from5-10 degrees further once removed from the oven.

Third, stop stuffing it. My mother disagrees with me, but fact is, stuffing ruins turkeys. It causes the turkey to take a lot longer to cook (this is because the stuffing needs to reach the same temperature as the turkey to make it safe) and the turkey is usually 15-20 degrees over what it needs to be when you pull it out. So skip the stuffing and make something on the side. Im sorry, I know stuffing is awesome, but there are plenty of good alternatives out there that will let you keep the turkey moist. But since my mom does not listen to me, I have learned to work around this. Stuffing a turkey will lead to great stuffing and can lead to a good bird if you follow the other steps (especially the next one).

Lastly, and maybe the most revolutionary, is the brine. By brining the turkey overnight you can keep it moist, add flavor, and bullet proof it from your oven. Just like with pork, a turkey can take on a whole new life if brined.

I have included the Good Eats turkey below (my favorite), but a simple brine of sugar, salt, and water will also do in a pinch. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

The Good Eats Turkey

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
• 1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Let me be upfront about this recipe. I did not create it. It's Alton Brown's, and he (and his team of crack researchers) get all the credit. I changed a few words and ingredients of the recipe to make it easier to relate, but all in all its his.

So why post someone's recipe on a blog where I share my own cooking experiences with people? Well, have you ever had one of these cinnamon rolls? They are fantastic, and are horded among those in my family and household. Yes, they take a little bit of work, but so do most breads. And it beats Pillsbury to the ground. I will not waste space by adding extra words here, I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
1 1/2 T ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:
2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
3 T milk
5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours (place in a warm area to help this along).

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30-35 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

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Feasting on Waves

As a cook and a scientist, I am a pretty big Alton Brown fan. I watch "Good Eats" as often as possible, as well as cook his food a lot. So it should be no surprise that I am about to plug his new show. He started a show titled "Feasting on Asphalt", which was a cross country journey to find local and traditional roadside food. This year Brown returns with "Feasting on Waves" where he sails throughout the Caribbean islands in search of native food and local history. There are three reasons why you have to watch this show.

1) The food. By finding what the locals like, this show exposes food that has been lost amongst our chain-oriented minds. Most of the food he tries makes me want to be standing next to him shoveling it down while he explains what it is.

2) The history lesson. Alton Brown is a huge nerd. Science, history, and pop culture constantly are brought up when he is on screen, and a good portion of this show is about all of that. If you ever wanted to learn interesting things about the Caribbean islands (like why essence is so huge), this is one of your best chances.

3) The amazing photography. Seriously, why has this show not been given some kind of award for cinematography or the like? The photos are amazing, the way they show is shot makes you feel like you are there, and they focus so much on the people it never fails to astound me.

So there is my best pitch for why you should watch this show. It's on Food Network Sunday nights at 10, and they show replays about 100 times per week, so make sure and check it out.

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