Thanksgiving Yuminess

[Rightupinthere]

I've never carved a bigger freaking turkey! 25lb fresh turkey. Mom brined it in just the basic brine (sugar, salt, and water.) She then coated the skin with dried aromatics. Turned out very, very good.

All the sides were a hit including a new little ditty I got from the Fabulous Food Show. I saw Michael Symon.

In a hot sautee pan, warm olive oil and add pancetta. Cook until almost crisp. Add seeded dates. After a bit add garlic and slivered almonds. De-glaze pan with fresh lemon juice. Mount sauce with a couple tblsps of butter. Finally, add fresh chopped parsley.

The above was a fascinating dish. You have bright, sweet, earthy, fat, and a mixture of textures. Wonderful dish.

Now, I sleep.

[hammb]

So fat today...god dinner was good.

Started with dates stuffed with parmesan and wrapped in bacon, then roasted in the oven as an appetizer. Followed with standard white bread dressing. VERY rich mashed potatoes with heavy cream, truffle butter, and carmelized onions. 1 full bird injected with butter and roasted with aromatics. A separate breast only wrapped in bacon, stuffed with aromatics, and rotisseried over the grill with sage smoking on the fire. Freshly baked dinner rolls.

Topped it all off with a piece of coconut cream pie.

I'm absolutely stuffed, but it was freaking good!

[1987alum]

New brine worked out fantastically. Added a heap o' flavor to the Big Bird (24 lbs.) and it was unbelievably moist.

Mrs. 87's dressing was, as usual, outstanding.

I love T-Day!

[Jacobs4Heisman]

New brine worked out fantastically. Added a heap o' flavor to the Big Bird (24 lbs.) and it was unbelievably moist.

Mrs. 87's dressing was, as usual, outstanding.

I love T-Day!

What did you add to the brine, and what kind of stock did you use for the base?

[1987alum]

New brine worked out fantastically. Added a heap o' flavor to the Big Bird (24 lbs.) and it was unbelievably moist.

Mrs. 87's dressing was, as usual, outstanding.

I love T-Day!

What did you add to the brine, and what kind of stock did you use for the base?

It's a variation on an Alton Brown brine.

I used a basic chicken stock, to which I added pinot grigio, Vidalias, black peppercorns and all spice berries. I kinda "steeped" it for a bit, then strained.

To that, I added kosher salt, light brown sugar, black peppercorns, all spice berries, sages, rosemary and garlic.

I followed AB's lead on aromatics, steeping another onion and cinnamon for a bit. They went in the bird, along with a big ol' handful of rosemary, sage and thyme. I rubbed the bird down with a lot of canola oil.

[bgsufn]

I did my first brine ever - and loved it! It was a molasses brine. The brine was made up of water, dark (robust) molasses, Kosher salt, garlic powder, fresh sage, rosemary, parsley. I mixed up the brine and submersed the whole turkey in it for 48 hours.

Then I stuffed the cavity of the turkey with aromatic fruits and herbs: apples, oranges, lemons, onions, garlic cloves, sage, and rosemary. Finally, I used a herb butter, made up of softened butter, garlic salt, ground sage, ground rosemary, paprika and onion powder. I slathered the butter under the skin of the breast side of turkey, and buttered the outside of bird, too.

My mom (who cooks every year) was a little worried that brining the turkey wouldn't be good, but everyone liked it.

I got the recipe from a local access cooking show here. It was really, really good.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

New brine worked out fantastically. Added a heap o' flavor to the Big Bird (24 lbs.) and it was unbelievably moist.

Mrs. 87's dressing was, as usual, outstanding.

I love T-Day!

What did you add to the brine, and what kind of stock did you use for the base?

It's a variation on an Alton Brown brine.

I used a basic chicken stock, to which I added pinot grigio, Vidalias, black peppercorns and all spice berries. I kinda "steeped" it for a bit, then strained.

To that, I added kosher salt, light brown sugar, black peppercorns, all spice berries, sages, rosemary and garlic.

I followed AB's lead on aromatics, steeping another onion and cinnamon for a bit. They went in the bird, along with a big ol' handful of rosemary, sage and thyme. I rubbed the bird down with a lot of canola oil.

I went off of Alton's brine as well, only with vegetable stock. I like the Vidalia idea, and I might try that next year. This year, I used honey instead of sugar, and I really didn't notice much of a difference. Other than that, our brines and aromatics were pretty much the same. Awesome flavor and juiciness, especially for the leftovers.