Okay. You convinced me. Will cook the stuffing separate. Now about about the brining? I thought the turkeys already come brined. Also what about recipes for gravy?
You can brine the turkey if you like, but I only brine chicken and other small birds. A turkey brined is difficult to deal with unless one has a really big refriderator. Turkeys don’t come brined that I know of.
Giblet gravy recipe is at bottom of last post.
Most turkeys sold in the grocery stores have been injected with a solution of ..... ye ole "water added" trick. Doesn't do a thing for taste, just makes it look better.
To brine a turkey, dissolve about 2 cups of kosher or sea salt in 2 gallons of boiling water. Add any "flavors" that you might want to impart, like honey, pepper, etc. Cover the turkey with the solution, adding more water to completely cover the turkey. Put in your fridge for about 12hrs.
On top of the brine, look into injecting. I love the Cajun Butter flavor, if you can get it.
Gravy is simple.
I always sacrifice the wings for the gravy. Cut them off the turkey and Roast them at 400 for about 60 minutes the night before. (note, nobody eats them on Thanksgiving day, and I always carve the turkey in the kitchen anyway... no room on the table).
Put the roasted wings, any juices, about 4 stalks of celery (diced), 2 onions (diced), and the necks and giblets in about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and simmer overnight. In the morning, remove the wings and giblets, remove meat from bones, chop fine, and return to the stock (reduced by about half). Use about 4 cups of this for your stuffing liquid.
Before serving, add 1 cup of cream of mushroom soup, bring up to a bubble, and then stir in some wondra flour, or cornstarch in water to thicken.
For gravy, I boil the giblets in a saucepan with some onion and celery thrown in. Then I strain the broth and let it cool. Later, I mix some broth with flour to make a paste and thin it out with more broth. It prevents the flour from clumping up by adding IT to the liquid, especially hot liquid.
Then I add to taste, salt, pepper, and Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet (just a little for color) I add some of the broth from the roasting pan if it needs to be thinner.
I don’t use the drippings or fat to make my gravy and it always comes out smooth and easy for people with gall bladder problems to digest because it has no fat.