My first one is on brining your turkey, this is critical for me and will guarantee a moist delicious bird every time, here is the FAQ:
http://www.bbq-porch.org/brining00.asp Here is how I do it:
Since I cant fit a big bucket in my fridge overnight I take an ice chest and clean it really well, then a week or so before thanksgiving I fill 3 or 4 gallon sized ziploc bags with water 1/2 to 3/4 full and freeze them, they take around 24 hours to freeze solid, then I put the turkey in the cooler breast down and mix the brine (kosher salt and sugar according to recipe, I use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup sugar per gallon)in a gallon pitcher, mix it well and pour over the turkey and just keep repeating a gallon at a time until the turkey is covered then I add some aromatics to the cooler, celery, garlic etc, some people use fruit but I don't.
The FAQ is full of recipes and mixtures, then I drop in two of the gallon ice bags and close it up, you want to let him soak at least 12 hours depending on the size, I try to go 18 to 24 hours for big ones (I usually cook 23-25LB) and change the bags after 12 hours or so, keeps the water below 40 degrees so it is safe for the bird, after you are ready to take him out be sure to rinse him real well to get all the brine off of the outside, if you don't you risk it being salty, the salt and sugar change the texture of the meat and make it suck up moisture, it seems like it would taste salty but it doesn't unless you forget to rinse.
I recommend taking him out a few hours before cooking to let it get close to room temperature, if you cook straight out of the cold brine your time may be off. Also if deep frying make sure to get him dry.
You can test this out with a chicken to get some confidence, try your brine mixture from the recipe list on a whole chicken for 4-6 hours in the fridge, cut parts 1-2 hours, cook as you always do and you will see the difference, you can also do pork, only thing I know for sure you cant do is beef. I believe the famous places that serve rotisserie chickens like Boston market etc. brine them first.
Be sure to use kosher salt as the measurement is different for table salt and almost all brine recipes use kosher.
Check out the FAQ link and if you have any other questions feel free to freepmail me
EXCELLENT advice! I'm not cooking this year as we're traveling, but if I was, I'd be brining the bird again. SOO worth it! We lined our ice chest with 3 trash bags before filling it with the brine and bird to help prevent messy clean-ups.
We usually add lots of garlic cloves, and fresh rosemary sprigs. You can taste the rosemary better on chickens, but I like adding it all the same ;)
Maple Brine
Great brine for turkey or chicken.
1 gallon
55 minutes 30 mins prep
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup kosher salt
3 heads garlic, cloves separated,not peeled
6 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups fresh ginger, unpeeled,chopped
2 teaspoons dried chili flakes
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 quarts water
Combine all ingredients in large stainless steel pot.
Bring to simmer, remove from heat and cool completely Remove turkey neck and giblets.
Rinse turkey well.
Put turkey in cold brine.
Use a stainless, plastic or other non-reactive container.
Add water if brine doesn't cover bird.
Refrigerate 2- 4 days, turning bird twice a day.
To cook: remove turkey from brine, pat dry, brush with olive oil.
Either grill or cook in oven.
It is also advantageous to leave the dry turkey in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour or overnight, uncovered.
This completely dries out the skin to insure a crisp finish.
DO NOT stuff turkey.
An important note if you are going to brine a turkey is that you should buy a fresh or 'minimally processed' frozen bird. Many turkeys have been injected with a basting solution which contains salt. That salt, when combined with the salt from the brine, will make the whole thing too salty.
Other than that, brining is a great way to get a very flavorful and moist bird. I also use a cooler. Into the brine I add chinks of onion, cloves of garlic, stalks of celery and fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme.