Thread: Thanksgiving Recipes

Sounds like we got some chefs in here. Throw out some recipes for Thanksgiving side dishes. I know I'll be using the corn bread one I found.

You looking for traditional, non-traditional, or completely off the wall?

traditional

In the process of brining a 20b fresh, all natural turkey.


For the brine (x recipe by 1.5):

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
• 1 gallon iced water.

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions:

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.


*I had a circular cooler (apx. 5 gal). The bird fit perfectly in it, vertically. I then poured the brine and water to submerge the turkey and sealed the cooler and placed in the fridge to sit overnight.

See attached pics. (More to follow tomorrow after it's cooked).....

20 pounds?

Dang, that's impressive!

Honestly, when it comes to traditional...I've often enjoyed an ethnic side dish with holiday meals. My family is rather diverse so we've seen everything from a thin layered lasagne, to pierogi, to tamales all part of the thanksgiving feast!

If your stuck, go through the family lore and make it YOUR traditional....

Seriously, there are recipes for sweet potatoes all over the web...if you want my advice, nothing is more tradionaly than what is part of the family...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Originally Posted by SabresRule

20 pounds?

Dang, that's impressive!

We'll also be having a honey baked ham too. No one will be leaving the house hungry.

Here's a helpful demo that shows the proper way to carve up your bird. Good luck all...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjm_qxlp81s"]Turkey Carving Demo[/ame]

Originally Posted by HD MM

In the process of brining a 20b fresh, all natural turkey.


For the brine (x recipe by 1.5):

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
• 1 gallon iced water.

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions:

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.


*I had a circular cooler (apx. 5 gal). The bird fit perfectly in it, vertically. I then poured the brine and water to submerge the turkey and sealed the cooler and placed in the fridge to sit overnight.

See attached pics. (More to follow tomorrow after it's cooked).....

Now for more pictures.

The precooked turkey shows the aromatics I used to stuff the bird. (Apples, Onions, fresh rosemary, fresh sage and a cinnamon stick). Microwaved the aromatics with a bit of water before I stuffed it.

Coated the Turkey with olive oil and cooked at 500ºF for an hour to crisp the skin and hold in the juices.

Reduced the heat to 350ºF and cooked for another 3 hours until the digital probe read 161ºF.

When you take the bird out, be sure to let sit for at least another 30 minutes before slicing.

The results were simply amazing! The brine and aromatics were tasted well throughout the turkey. The brine kept the meat moist and very flavorful. After tasting this, I can't imagine doing another turkey without brining. This is definitely a must for years to come....