4 minute read
All Fired Up! Kickin' Recipes
by Chef Brian Henry Culinary Editor
www.thespiceco.ca www.chefbrianhenry.com
Owner of Angle Iron Kitchens & The Spice Co. 6
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME ... TO FIGHT FOR THE HOLIDAYS
I have prepared thousands of turkey dinners over my career. By the time my Thanksgiving dinner was served this year I was repulsed by turkey, by the time Christmas dinner arrives I’ll begin to develop a twitch in my left eye. The smell of turkey bones being simmered down into mud colored stock to create an entire week’s worth of turkey noodle-a la kinglasagna-soup is bordering on postal-worker retaliation a la chef.
Many of us look forward to getting together with family over the holidays. Once the elation has worn off and we settle into our surroundings the fights will begin. My family seems to do battle over the rules of board games with Monopoly being the most heated and contentious of all. I often wonder why Monopoly was never released in a contact sport edition.
Food is another hot topic which, if nothing more the question of white or dark meat, is an opener for at least one person to deliver a long-winded opinion on the topic. My favourite way to prepare turkey is to soak it in brine before cooking it no matter what final cooking process you choose; roasting, smoking, deep frying or barbecuing. The brining process forces water into the muscle tissues of the meat through diffusion and osmosis causing the muscle tissues to swell and hold more water. Any spices, herbs or other flavourings you add to the brine solution will get taken deep into the meat with the water.
How to Brine your Turkey
Thaw out your turkey in the fridge.To avoid cross contamination place turkey in a drip tray on the bottom shelf to thaw.
Turkey requires 4½ hrs/lb or (10 hours/kg) to thaw under refrigerated conditions. The average turkey weighs in at 15 pounds. Let me do the math for you, an average sized turkey will need 67 hours to thaw or 2.8 days.
Always wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling poultry, or any raw meat.
Thoroughly wash all utensils, cutting boards, counters and dish cloths that have been in direct contact with raw poultry and its juices.
MAKE THE BRINE SOLUTION
Mix together one gallon of water
3 /4 cup kosher salt, do not use iodized table salt
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 sliced cooking onions
6-8 cloves of crushed garlic
2-4 tbsp. of herbs and or spices like rosemary, thyme sage.
And any other flavours you might want. DO NOT use an acid like wine, apple juice, beer, orange juice as these will have an adverse effect on poultry.
Let the turkey soak, refrigerated, submerged in the brine, for 12-18 hours.
Remove turkey from the brine solution. Discard brine solution.
Rinse the turkey off under cold running water and pat dry.
Proceed to cook your turkey at 300°f for 3-4 hours or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 85°C/185°f or higher. If you can, remove the turkey when it has an internal temperature of 175°f. Take this temperature in the thigh. Let it rest loosely covered with foil or a clean kitchen towel so that the internal temperature will cause carry over cooking to raise the temp to the 185°f range.
Prepare your stuffing separately in its own container in the oven, as a stuffed bird takes longer to cook and can have uneven internal temperatures which can cause food poisoning.
