Cider Brined Turkey!

With Thanksgiving upon us, I have received many emails about the best practices for turkey. Turkey is a very lean meat. And while that is great for your waistline, it can mean trouble for the taste and texture of your holiday bird.

Here are some tips for keeping your turkey juicy and flavorful. I've also provided my favorite brining recipe!

* Do it breast down. Yeah, that's what I said. Let your bird roast breast side down for the first two hours. This will allow some of the fat and brine in the bird to pool in the white meat, which is the dryest part of the bird.

* Baste! The skin of the turkey can dry out and become bitter. Basting will cool the surface of the skin and provide moisture.

* Tie it up. Tying the legs of your turkey together may seem like an insignificant detail, but this step is really important. The thigh meat is the most tender area of the bird and it will start to pull away from the bird if left hanging. Not only will this make your bird less pretty to look at, but it will allow precious moisture to cook away.

* Rub it down. Seasoning your turkey is a fruitless effort if you are just going to wash it all away when you baste. Rub your turkey with seasonings under the skin instead. You'll be amazed at the difference in flavor.

* Brine, Brine, Brine! Brining your turkey will allow the bird to become engorged with flavorful liquid. So even after you've been cooking that turkey for hours, there will still be enough liquid in there for a tender, juicy texture.

Cider Brined Turkey

Ingredients

½ gallon apple cider

1 quart hard cider

1 quart chicken broth

1 gallon ice water

2 cups sea salt

½ cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 tablespoons oregano

2 tablespoons rosemary

2 tablespoons thyme

1 tablespoon ground cloves

In a large pot, heat broth, apple cider, hard cider, sugar and salt until sugar and salt dissolve. Do not boil it!

Remove from heat and add remaining seasonings. Let steep for 5 minutes. Add ice water and allow brine to reach room temperature.

Soak 10-12 pound turkey in brine for at least 8 hours.



Turkey Breasts with Mushroom Gravy

When is a not-so-great bottle of wine a great thing? When you need to make some gravy! (Don't let this stop you from having a glass of this not-so-great wine while you cook.)

I'm not even going to wax poetic about this recipe. It is just good. Plus, it is super quick and easy.

Turkey Breasts with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

2 turkey breasts
2 cups mushrooms, sliced thick
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp red wine
salt & pepper to taste

Brine:
4 cups water
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp thyme
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

In a large container, combine all brine ingredients. Add turkey breasts to brine and let sit in the fridge, covered, for 2 to 6 hours.

Remove turkey breasts from brine and rinse in cool water. Cut into 1/4" slices. Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium high heat. Do not grease the skillet. Brown turkey slices in both sides, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove turkey from skillet. Add 2 tbsp butter to the skillet. Saute garlic and mushrooms until browned lightly browned. Remove from pan and add 2 more tbsp butter. Lower heat to medium. When butter starts to bubble a little, add flour and whisk until creamy and bubbly at edges.

While whisking constantly; slowly add wine and chicken stock a little bit at a time, allowing it to thicken slightly bfore adding more each time. Salt and pepper to taste and add mushrooms and garlic to gravy. Cook for another 2 - 4 minutes on low heat.

Pour gravy over turkey (and mashed potatoes; you DID make mashed potatoes right?!) Enjoy!