Brined Roast Turkey

A-la Alton Brown:

• 1 14-16lb frozen young turkey

For the Brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice berries
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the Aromatics:

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

I. 2-3 Days Before Roasting:

Begin thawing turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice & candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally, to dissolve solids & bring to a boil. Then remove from heat, cool to room temperature & refridgerate.

II. Early on the Day or the Night Before:

Combine the brine, water & ice in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure that it is fully immersed, cover & refrigerate or set in a cool area for 8-16 hours, turning the bird once halfway through the brining.

Preheat the oven to 500. Remove the bird from brine & rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan & pat dry with paper towels. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick & 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish & microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary & sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird & coat the skin liberally with canola oil. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast & reduce the oven temperature to 350.

Set the thermometer alarm to 151 degrees. A 14-16lb bird should require a total of 2-2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Homestyle Roast Turkey Breast

I'm really trying to upload all the pictures I took of the amazing dinner Gia-Ninh and I had at CityZen on Friday, but we're having issues with them so I will post some other favorite recipes with stolen photos instead. Hopefully the CityZen pics will be up by tomorrow. In the meantime - homestyle roasted turkey breast - it doesn't have to be just for holidays, you can do this anytime you'll be at home all day to keep an eye on it. And you'll find some built-in shortcuts in here.

• 1 whole turkey breast, bone-in (5-6 lbs)
• 1 lemon
• 1 can turkey gravy
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Rinse turkey with cold water, pat dry. Trim excess fat.

Place breast-side-up, in a roaster pan with rack.

Juice lemon, pour juice into small batter bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour gravy mixture over turkey, coating well.

Bake 30min, baste turkey with pan juices. Continue baking 2 hours 30min to 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes until meat registers 170 degrees in the thickest part of the turkey & juices run clear.

For gravy, strain pan juices, skim off fat, if necessary.

Carve turkey into slices only have it has rested for at least 15 minutes. Serve with gravy.

A 5-6 lb turkey should yield about 10 servings.

Potato Soup with Turkey Bacon

The original recipe I found for this called for real bacon. But we've tried it both ways, and honestly like it better with the turkey bacon. I don't usually like meat dressed up as other meat, but turkey bacon is total magic.

• 1/2 lb turkey bacon (or more, depending on preference)
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 4 cups chicken broth (you may need more)
• 3 tbsp margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup heavy cream (milk is fine too)
• pinch of tarragon
• pinch of marjoram
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• grated sharp cheddar cheese

Spread bacon out in a pan & bake at 350 until mostly cooked (about 10 minutes). They should be just starting to crisp.

Pour fat into a saucepan (or just use butter), turn up the heat, and saute the celery & onions until onions are translucent.

Add garlic, bay leaf, herbs. Then, add potatoes & toss to coat. Saute for 4-5 minutes.

Add bacon & cover with enough stock to just cover potatoes (turned out to be about 1 quart). Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

In a small separate pan, melt butter & cook with flour for 1-2 minutes. Add to soup with the cream (or milk).

Season with salt & pepper & top with a ton of grated cheese. Chives wouldn't hurt either.

Leftover Turkey Soup

Made this with the leftover turkey corpse (well what do you call it?) from Thanksgiving. You can modify it 100 different ways to include your favorite things. Here are mine. I was told it was a killer hangover cure, too!

• 1 turkey carcass (I don't like that word either), mine was 11 lbs
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onions
• big fistful (that's the technical term) of whole garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 medium parsnip, chopped
• 1 tsp rosemary (I used dried but fresh is always better)
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp lavender
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 cup rice
• fresh ground sea salt & pepper

First make your turkey stock by putting the turkey in a giant stockpot, filling it with water until the carcass is just barely covered, brining it to a boil & simmering for 2 hours or more. Depending on how you like your stock, you could also throw in peppercorns, herbs or other flavors.

Strain liquid and put it back in the pot. Save any meat to add back into the soup as well.

In a separate pot, sweat the aromatics: put carrots, onions, celery & garlic & parsnips on high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Once it begins to heat up, add in bay leaves & other herbs & seasonings.

Add strained stock back into the pot, bring to a boil, cover and simmer.

30 minutes later, add rice & simmer until all rice is cooked.

Add cut up turkey pieces to the soup. Salt & pepper to taste.

I'll add a picture next time I make it. What is it with you and pictures, anyway?