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| To Brine or not to brine, that is the question Whether tis worth the trouble |
Directions for cooking Turkey in a steam oven:
1. set the mode for steam convection
2. set the temperature for 325
3. plug the probe into the turkey thigh
4. set probe temperature to 164
The best way to get flavorful turkey is to start with a brine. Brining adds moisture and flavor to poultry and helps to keep it from drying out. Whether grilled, smoked, fried, or roasted, every turkey will taste better if it is brined first.
Supplies: To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. (This is assuming the turkey is fresh or already thawed, a frozen turkey will need to be thawed for approx. 3 days in the refrigerator) You will need at least 10 to 12 hours and can go up to 18 hours (plan on 1 hour per pound), a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need kosher salt, water, sugar, seasonings, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose, the turkey must have enough room to be turned, so it should be big. Both Reynolds (Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys) and Ziploc (XL Storage Bag) make very large food safe resealable bags that are great for brining.
Turkey: The turkey should be cleaned out, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. Make sure to check the ingredients on the turkey before you decide to brine. A fresh, "natural" turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work too.
Brine Ingredients: To make the brine, mix a ratio of 1 cup of kosher salt per 1 gallon of water or other liquid. You will need to make enough brine to completely immerse the turkey. Make sure that the salt is completely dissolved before adding the seasonings. Be sure not to add any spice mixtures that contain salt. Brines can be spicy hot with peppers and cayenne, savory with herbs and garlic, and/or sweet with molasses, honey and brown sugar. There are a lot of recipes on the internet, all of them will work. I have used apple juice for the liquid but water works fine.
Roasting a brined turkey is quite different from roasting an unbrined turkey. The salt works to retain liquid in the turkey so that when the turkey is roasted, it holds moisture in. This means you will need to watch carefully and add water to the roasting pan or the turkey drippings you need for gravy will burn. There are a lot more drippings for gravy from an un-brined turkey. To have enough gravy, start the day ahead with the recipe below:
If you cannot conveniently brine a turkey, or you have a saline injected turkey like butterball, follow the directions below for roast turkey or chicken:
Ingredients
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 fresh turkey (10 to 12 pounds recipe and roasting time should be adjusted for larger birds)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
Supplies: To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. (This is assuming the turkey is fresh or already thawed, a frozen turkey will need to be thawed for approx. 3 days in the refrigerator) You will need at least 10 to 12 hours and can go up to 18 hours (plan on 1 hour per pound), a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need kosher salt, water, sugar, seasonings, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose, the turkey must have enough room to be turned, so it should be big. Both Reynolds (Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys) and Ziploc (XL Storage Bag) make very large food safe resealable bags that are great for brining.
Turkey: The turkey should be cleaned out, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. Make sure to check the ingredients on the turkey before you decide to brine. A fresh, "natural" turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work too.
Brine Ingredients: To make the brine, mix a ratio of 1 cup of kosher salt per 1 gallon of water or other liquid. You will need to make enough brine to completely immerse the turkey. Make sure that the salt is completely dissolved before adding the seasonings. Be sure not to add any spice mixtures that contain salt. Brines can be spicy hot with peppers and cayenne, savory with herbs and garlic, and/or sweet with molasses, honey and brown sugar. There are a lot of recipes on the internet, all of them will work. I have used apple juice for the liquid but water works fine.
Roasting a brined turkey is quite different from roasting an unbrined turkey. The salt works to retain liquid in the turkey so that when the turkey is roasted, it holds moisture in. This means you will need to watch carefully and add water to the roasting pan or the turkey drippings you need for gravy will burn. There are a lot more drippings for gravy from an un-brined turkey. To have enough gravy, start the day ahead with the recipe below:
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| Turkey Gravy |
Turkey Gravy
Remove neck and giblets from turkey. Rinse, salt and brown in a saucepan on the stove top. When giblets and neck are browned, add water or broth to the pan and simmer with a bay leaf. In another saucepan, saute carrots, onion and celery til browned. (everything is browned, meat and veggies, to add flavor) When veggies are starting to brown, add 1-2 T. of flour and cook til butter is absorbed and flour is starting to brown. After Turkey has finished roasting, pour pan juices into a gravy separator to separate juices from fat. At this point, Add all the ingredients together, the broth from the giblets, (giblets can be cut up and added or discarded), the veggie-flour mixture, and the pan juices. Use a hand blender to puree all veggies Add fresh thyme, pepper, and salt to taste. Additional broth, or cornstarch slurry for thickening may be desired. To add body and depth of flavor to any gravy, add a little tomato, like tomato paste or even ketchup. A LITTLE. You will not taste or see the tomato, but the gravy will taste better.If you cannot conveniently brine a turkey, or you have a saline injected turkey like butterball, follow the directions below for roast turkey or chicken:
Ingredients
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 fresh turkey (10 to 12 pounds recipe and roasting time should be adjusted for larger birds)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 large bunch fresh rosemary
1 whole lemon, halved
1 onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunches of thyme and rosemary, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. alternatively, mix the herbs into soft butter to make a flavored butter and place between skin and breast meat. cover wing tips with foil to prevent over browning. Roasting the bird breast side down will make the breast meat moister but will not be as pretty. I bought two silicone oven mitts so I could roast the bird breast down and then use the mitts to turn it breast side up for browning. Brushing honey on the skin will help brown the chicken or turkey. Use a pastry brush and warmed honey
Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
1 whole lemon, halved
1 onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunches of thyme and rosemary, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. alternatively, mix the herbs into soft butter to make a flavored butter and place between skin and breast meat. cover wing tips with foil to prevent over browning. Roasting the bird breast side down will make the breast meat moister but will not be as pretty. I bought two silicone oven mitts so I could roast the bird breast down and then use the mitts to turn it breast side up for browning. Brushing honey on the skin will help brown the chicken or turkey. Use a pastry brush and warmed honey
Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
These instructions are for a 10-12 pound turkey. Every turkey usually comes with instructions for roasting time based on weight.
Slice the turkey and serve.
Slice the turkey and serve.
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