Hmm I was thinking about trying a wet brine this year and roasting spatchcock. Usually I do no brine but baste (roasting normally - whole). Wet brine seems to be the winner here so maybe…
@Cerridwyn Most of the salt is rinsed off anyway. Most of the turkeys you buy in the store are injected with brine, so maybe don’t brine those turkeys.
@Cerridwyn If you’re not at risk for hypertension then there’s not much problem with consuming a lot of salt.
But, as others said, there’s not necessarily that much salt in the finished product anyway.
I’ve had good success with a dry brine overnight with salt and baking powder. I think I picked it up from Kenji at serious eats.
That’s mostly because I usually fail to plan ahead enough to wet brine.
This year it’s just a breast so I’m going with wet brine/marinade (extra stuff in it) before putting it on the smoker. I was all hyped to do my first spatchcocked turkey this year but then our dinner got downsized.
@djslack I’ve made several spatchcocked turkeys. They are awesome! Cook so dang fast! I would of kept doing them but I switched to a Big Easy Infrared Fryer. That just made it easier since I only have the one oven.
If you haven’t spatchcocked a chicken, that’s always fun for smaller meals.
@RiotDemon so i spatchcocked the breast just for fun. It smoked well, i did 225 for a couple of hours until it hit 150, then cranked it to 500 until the breast hit 160, which browned the skin, some of it just shy of too well. Tented and rested and it was nice and juicy. I dont think the marinade was any better than a regular brine, i didnt get anything out of it but it was a nice experiment.
I have one of those big easy infrared fryers. I like it and used it religiously for a few years but then i got the pellet grill and it has gone by the wayside in favor of smoke. I should probably consider rehoming it to someone who’ll use it.
@stolicat
How did yours turn out? We loved it, and the gravy was the best I’ve ever made. The only thing I missed from the traditional way was crispy skin. I wonder how to get around that. The kid who likes turkey must have eaten 1/3 of it.
@mtb002 It came out really well, even though we flubbed up a bit. Our breast was smallish, only 5+ lbs, so it cooked up faster than expected and was a touch overdone, but still really tasty and juicy. Lesson learned - start checking the temp after 1 hour. Also, we only have the smaller, oval shaped Le Creuset pot so it was a snug fit and we couldn’t roll it around as needed to brown up all the skin. But it was still good.
And the gravy is killer - glad there’s plenty leftover. We had a fairly simple meal - the turkey, pan stuffing, cranberries, and brussel sprout/potato/ grape melange, with gravy over everything.
And the ribs that were cut off and the backbone that will be left in a few days will make a nice soup.
@RiotDemon I found the neck inside and pulled it out but where are the giblets? I searched all inside his neck cavity.
I was just cutting off the leftovers. They stuck them in his butt. What the fuck is wrong with those people? I hope they didn’t screw anything up cooking in there.
@RiotDemon@sammydog01 lol. The neck and giblets are up it’s “butt” to be used to make gravy cause that’s where there is space to package them. Assuming you’ll take them out and use or discard… also should run into them when seasoning the cavity.
Always need to check there. Some companies do that with whole chickens too. Tyson doesn’t but another company here does and I toss them into stock usually. I highly doubt they hurt anything depending on what they were wrapped in. Just toss them.
I’ve found a plastic "gravy packet"once which would be bad to melt. Need to get up in there lol
@RiotDemon@unksol Wait, was his head on the end with the big hole? I may have my body parts backwards. I’m used to the giblets in the big empty part and they were hidden under a flap in the other end. Maybe I don’t really want to know.
Big hole/empty space=ass end… Where you are supposed to reach up in to rub your seasoning and toss in stuffing although not recommended to do in bird anymore. But you can get an apple up there. Or joey’s head.
neck end… I wouldn’t expect anything there either… If they did that somehow I really wouldn’t worry. Plenty cooked. Interesting packaging choice though. Brand? If they had one.
I guess if they were unwrapped maybe they could cram them in that way? Well you can if they did lol. Just wonder why.
I could see a small or “artisanal” producer shoving them in cause you won’t use them and we think flavor. Or something. Lol
@RiotDemon@sammydog01 I will confess I have never done a butterball and I would also find that extremely strange. I would expect everything in one spot and not have ever thought to check the neck cause just… Why???
They do famously run a “help line”… Maybe they do it just to fuck with people/this is how to do ours… Only other option is it’s somehow more effecient for the way their processing line was designed.
I guess I now know to check both holes too lol. Better safe than sorry
@RiotDemon@sammydog01 Now you know. So give yourself a dope slap, if you should ever forget that in that fowl industry, they do indeed shove the unmentionable bits up the ass.
Better than something you got from Meh, or even the Cracker Jack prize, some folks love to rummage in dank, dark cavities (no sunshine there!) like a homesick rectal surgeon looking for the giblets to float their (gravy) boat.
Dry brined both last year’s and this year’s turkey, then deep fried both. My mom has a peanut allergy so we had to fry in soybean oil last year, but since it’s just us this year, we went all out and bought 4.5 gallons of peanut oil and it was goooooood
Almost off topic…to be different and difficult, this year I slow-cooked a ham with a mustard-Worcestershire glaze. It was pretty good! Ham is super easy, cleanup is a snap, and turkey is usually waaaay more work than it’s worth (to me, anyway!)
I also made these easy, insanely rich biscuits by the pretentious, smug, foul-mouthed (but talented) hipsters of ChefSteps:
@UncleVinny
The original plan was to just have a ham. I’m not in any shape to put in the effort it takes to cook a whole turkey this year, and I didn’t think anybody in the house liked it enough to bother. I get gifted at turkey from work every year, and I gave it to my sister for her to give to her boyfriends roommates to cook. One of my sons, a 15 year old “gamer” who fancies himself a cynic, happened to be at her house when I dropped off the turkey. He saw me carry it in and lit up like a Christmas tree, exclaiming, “Yay! The turkey is here!!!” Goddammit. I spent the next 2 days combing grocery stores trying to find a turkey breast to cook using the ATK recipe upthread. He loved it and ate 3 servings. Next year, he’s learning how to make it himself.
Hmm I was thinking about trying a wet brine this year and roasting spatchcock. Usually I do no brine but baste (roasting normally - whole). Wet brine seems to be the winner here so maybe…
@a5meiser two thumbs up
/image two thumbs up
/giphy tl;dr
/youtube i missed this post
no brine
way too much salt to be healthy
@Cerridwyn Most of the salt is rinsed off anyway. Most of the turkeys you buy in the store are injected with brine, so maybe don’t brine those turkeys.
@Cerridwyn @kevinrs yea, not much salt penetrates the bird. i’d guess weigh less than a guest using a salt shaker over their plate for 3 seconds.
@Cerridwyn If you’re not at risk for hypertension then there’s not much problem with consuming a lot of salt.
But, as others said, there’s not necessarily that much salt in the finished product anyway.
OMG, they killed Kenny! You basters!
wet brine and spatchcock
/image spatchcock
/giphy spatchcock
/youtube brine and spatchcock turkey
turns out SOOO good…
pro-tip: if roasting the bird in the oven in your kitchen, YOU MUST keep the drippings moist!
don’t let it dry/burn/smoke/ignite.
if you ignore, you’ll be setting off the smoke alarms, or starting a fire.
I’ve had good success with a dry brine overnight with salt and baking powder. I think I picked it up from Kenji at serious eats.
That’s mostly because I usually fail to plan ahead enough to wet brine.
This year it’s just a breast so I’m going with wet brine/marinade (extra stuff in it) before putting it on the smoker. I was all hyped to do my first spatchcocked turkey this year but then our dinner got downsized.
@djslack I’ve made several spatchcocked turkeys. They are awesome! Cook so dang fast! I would of kept doing them but I switched to a Big Easy Infrared Fryer. That just made it easier since I only have the one oven.
If you haven’t spatchcocked a chicken, that’s always fun for smaller meals.
DIPLOMAT! RAT-A-TAT! FAT CAT! AWESOME!
@RiotDemon so i spatchcocked the breast just for fun. It smoked well, i did 225 for a couple of hours until it hit 150, then cranked it to 500 until the breast hit 160, which browned the skin, some of it just shy of too well. Tented and rested and it was nice and juicy. I dont think the marinade was any better than a regular brine, i didnt get anything out of it but it was a nice experiment.
I have one of those big easy infrared fryers. I like it and used it religiously for a few years but then i got the pellet grill and it has gone by the wayside in favor of smoke. I should probably consider rehoming it to someone who’ll use it.
I was planning on just putting it in the oven but I guess I’ll just put it in the oven and baste it. If I remember.
@sammydog01 don’t forget your vat of butter!
@RiotDemon I missed the vat of butter part.
@sammydog01 yep. Was a giant tub of butter they pour into pan to mix with the droppings to use as basting liquid.
@RiotDemon The Butterball people said just put it in the oven. Is there butter in a Butterball? I went name brand this year.
Then again butter improves most everything.
@sammydog01 apparently butterballs are pre brined. Convenient!
@RiotDemon SCORE!
I’m trying en cocotte with the breast this year. No need to brine and the gravy looks pretty easy.
@mtb002 this looks great - we have just a breast so I think we’ll try this this year!
@stolicat
How did yours turn out? We loved it, and the gravy was the best I’ve ever made. The only thing I missed from the traditional way was crispy skin. I wonder how to get around that. The kid who likes turkey must have eaten 1/3 of it.
@mtb002 It came out really well, even though we flubbed up a bit. Our breast was smallish, only 5+ lbs, so it cooked up faster than expected and was a touch overdone, but still really tasty and juicy. Lesson learned - start checking the temp after 1 hour. Also, we only have the smaller, oval shaped Le Creuset pot so it was a snug fit and we couldn’t roll it around as needed to brown up all the skin. But it was still good.
And the gravy is killer - glad there’s plenty leftover. We had a fairly simple meal - the turkey, pan stuffing, cranberries, and brussel sprout/potato/ grape melange, with gravy over everything.
And the ribs that were cut off and the backbone that will be left in a few days will make a nice soup.
I bought a 20 pound turkey for the leftovers. I have a double oven and the top oven is the big one. I needed help lifting the bird in there.
Looks like I’ll also be basting only one side of the turkey.
@sammydog01 turn the pan around!
@RiotDemon I found the neck inside and pulled it out but where are the giblets? I searched all inside his neck cavity.
I was just cutting off the leftovers. They stuck them in his butt. What the fuck is wrong with those people? I hope they didn’t screw anything up cooking in there.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 lol. The neck and giblets are up it’s “butt” to be used to make gravy cause that’s where there is space to package them. Assuming you’ll take them out and use or discard… also should run into them when seasoning the cavity.
Always need to check there. Some companies do that with whole chickens too. Tyson doesn’t but another company here does and I toss them into stock usually. I highly doubt they hurt anything depending on what they were wrapped in. Just toss them.
I’ve found a plastic "gravy packet"once which would be bad to melt. Need to get up in there lol
@RiotDemon @unksol I’ve always found the neck and giblets together from the neck end before, not shoved under where his tail used to be attached.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 interesting. Probably best to go at both ends lol. Most recent was a Chicken and would not have fit in the front door
@RiotDemon @unksol I just hope I remember a year from now. Probably not.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 sure fire way to check with a volunteer…
/youtube joey friends turkey head
@sammydog01 @unksol I’ve NEVER found the giblets in the neck end, lol.
@RiotDemon @unksol Wait, was his head on the end with the big hole? I may have my body parts backwards. I’m used to the giblets in the big empty part and they were hidden under a flap in the other end. Maybe I don’t really want to know.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01
Big hole/empty space=ass end… Where you are supposed to reach up in to rub your seasoning and toss in stuffing although not recommended to do in bird anymore. But you can get an apple up there. Or joey’s head.
neck end… I wouldn’t expect anything there either… If they did that somehow I really wouldn’t worry. Plenty cooked. Interesting packaging choice though. Brand? If they had one.
I guess if they were unwrapped maybe they could cram them in that way? Well you can if they did lol. Just wonder why.
I could see a small or “artisanal” producer shoving them in cause you won’t use them and we think flavor. Or something. Lol
@sammydog01 @unksol the wings are towards the neck end and the legs are at the butt end if that helps.
@RiotDemon @unksol I was backwards. The neck was in the butt hole and the insides were in the neck hole. And now I never want to cook another turkey.
It was a Butterball. They were in a little plastic bag but it was heat resistant apparently. That’s probably a good thing.
Should have watched this first.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 I will confess I have never done a butterball and I would also find that extremely strange. I would expect everything in one spot and not have ever thought to check the neck cause just… Why???
They do famously run a “help line”… Maybe they do it just to fuck with people/this is how to do ours… Only other option is it’s somehow more effecient for the way their processing line was designed.
I guess I now know to check both holes too lol. Better safe than sorry
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 long story short you didn’t fuck up. Butterball is weird. I think. Feel it up real good next time.
Leg end vs wing end… If you had family over and were cooking… Eh… Temporary stress disorder. Lol. At least I hope temporary.
@RiotDemon @sammydog01 Now you know. So give yourself a dope slap, if you should ever forget that in that fowl industry, they do indeed shove the unmentionable bits up the ass.
Better than something you got from Meh, or even the Cracker Jack prize, some folks love to rummage in dank, dark cavities (no sunshine there!) like a homesick rectal surgeon looking for the giblets to float their (gravy) boat.
@Jackinga @RiotDemon @sammydog01 the reason we got all up in this hole was entirely because the fowl industry is not consistent.
I really wish I had seen this video this morning!
Dry brined both last year’s and this year’s turkey, then deep fried both. My mom has a peanut allergy so we had to fry in soybean oil last year, but since it’s just us this year, we went all out and bought 4.5 gallons of peanut oil and it was goooooood
Almost off topic…to be different and difficult, this year I slow-cooked a ham with a mustard-Worcestershire glaze. It was pretty good! Ham is super easy, cleanup is a snap, and turkey is usually waaaay more work than it’s worth (to me, anyway!)
I also made these easy, insanely rich biscuits by the pretentious, smug, foul-mouthed (but talented) hipsters of ChefSteps:
@UncleVinny
The original plan was to just have a ham. I’m not in any shape to put in the effort it takes to cook a whole turkey this year, and I didn’t think anybody in the house liked it enough to bother. I get gifted at turkey from work every year, and I gave it to my sister for her to give to her boyfriends roommates to cook. One of my sons, a 15 year old “gamer” who fancies himself a cynic, happened to be at her house when I dropped off the turkey. He saw me carry it in and lit up like a Christmas tree, exclaiming, “Yay! The turkey is here!!!” Goddammit. I spent the next 2 days combing grocery stores trying to find a turkey breast to cook using the ATK recipe upthread. He loved it and ate 3 servings. Next year, he’s learning how to make it himself.
@mtb002 What a good mom!!
@UncleVinny That ham/glaze sounds delisous!!