Let's talk turkey

[packinpatland]

I've got 18 coming for dinner. One of the out-of-towners has suggested we brine the turkey. I've never done this or even tasted a brined turkey.
Has anyone done this? And if so, is it worth the effort? And what is a recommended brine mix for a 20+ turkey?

[sheepshead]

thats a new one. We have deep fried it a few times. very good, just not worth the effort.

[hoosier]

I brined a 22 lb. turkey a couple of years ago, and it was certainly somewhat tastier than an unbrined turkey. The difference wasn't huge though, and I haven't felt the urge to repeat it. If you do brine, out of curiosity or to appease your demanding guests, the Washington Post has a number of recipes--search their homepage. Most are more or less equivalent, so it may not make much difference which one you pick. Just be sure you have a water-tight container that's large enough to hold the bird and all the brine juice. I didn't take that important step and wound up having to clean and sterilize a ten year old 30 gallon trash can on Tuesday night! Turkey brined in trash juice is a recipe I'll never share.

[packinpatland]

I brined a 22 lb. turkey a couple of years ago, and it was certainly somewhat tastier than an unbrined turkey. The difference wasn't huge though, and I haven't felt the urge to repeat it. If you do brine, out of curiosity or to appease your demanding guests, the Washington Post has a number of recipes--search their homepage. Most are more or less equivalent, so it may not make much difference which one you pick. Just be sure you have a water-tight container that's large enough to hold the bird and all the brine juice. I didn't take that important step and wound up having to clean and sterilize a ten year old 30 gallon trash can on Tuesday night! Turkey brined in trash juice is a recipe I'll never share.

:lol: Thanks!
I'll give it a look see. I certainly don't have room in the frig....will have to use a cooler........don't have trash cans anymore. I take it you didn't send your recipe into Martha to share........

[Freak Out]

You should always brine a turkey to keep it from drying out. There are as many brine recipes as there are ways to cook a turkey so you should have no problem finding one to suit your needs.

http://www.epicurious.com/

[packinpatland]

Thanks!

I found one that has a bottle of Riesling............do love that wine :wink:

[Freak Out]

BTW...I make the best stuffing ever. :)

[packinpatland]

BTW...I make the best stuffing ever. :)

So....let's have it.
I've got guests coming from Louisiana, Sonoma CA, Boston, Queens NY, a few Yoopers, and some local CT New England Yankees.

[HowardRoark]

I've got guests coming from Louisiana, Sonoma CA, Boston, Queens NY, a few Yoopers, and some local CT New England Yankees.

How in the hell did you end up at PackerRats?

[packinpatland]

I'm from WS.....married to a Yooper. (We've been 'out of the area', for 30+ years). Once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan. :wink:

[GrnBay007]

BTW...I make the best stuffing ever. :)


Anyone here make dressing with pork sausage in it? If so, mind sharing the recipe?

[Freak Out]

I'll post my recipe here a bit later when I have some time today.

[Patler]

BTW...I make the best stuffing ever. :)


Anyone here make dressing with pork sausage in it? If so, mind sharing the recipe?

I always stuffed the bird, until we discovered this recipe a few years ago. You can even make it a day ahead if you want to. This is really quite good.

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb pork sausage
1/2 lb bacon
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 apples cored & diced
1 (4 oz) can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10.75oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound dry bread crumbs

Place beef, sausage, bacon onion, celery, mushrooms, parsley, sage and thyme in skillet. Cook while stirring until meats are evenly browned. Mix in apples and water chestnuts, continue cooking 5 minutes. Drain grease.

Mix butter, broth, soup and applesauce into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in breadcrumbs until evenly moistened.

Transfer to greased baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake covered at 350 F. for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes until lightly browned.

[GrnBay007]

That sounds very good Patler!

[packinpatland]

No kidding......with stuffing like that, who needs turkey?!

[Freak Out]

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups chopped celery with leaves
2 cups chopped onions
1 pound bulk country pork sausage
2 tart apples, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and chopped
1 cup dried pitted cherries
6 cups stale bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup tawny port
1 cup chicken broth well seasoned with salt and pepper

1.Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the celery and onions over low heat until softened but not browned (10 Minutes), transfer to large mixing bowl
2.Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, breaking up the sausage with a spoon until it is cooked through and lightly browned. Add the sausage to the vegetables in the bowl.
3.Stir the apples, hazelnuts and cherries into the sausage mixture. Add the bread cubes and toss lightly. Sprinkle with the salt, thyme, sage and pepper. Toss lightly again. Add the port and stock and toss until well blended.

Stuff a bird or cook it on it's own. If you stuff a bird do not pack it tightly and remember to sew or skewer the ends closed. Take some pan drippings if you like and mix with the extra to cook in a casserole dish.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[packinpatland]

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups chopped celery with leaves
2 cups chopped onions
1 pound bulk country pork sausage
2 tart apples, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and chopped
1 cup dried pitted cherries
6 cups stale bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup tawny port
1 cup chicken broth well seasoned with salt and pepper

1.Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the celery and onions over low heat until softened but not browned (10 Minutes), transfer to large mixing bowl
2.Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, breaking up the sausage with a spoon until it is cooked through and lightly browned. Add the sausage to the vegetables in the bowl.
3.Stir the apples, hazelnuts and cherries into the sausage mixture. Add the bread cubes and toss lightly. Sprinkle with the salt, thyme, sage and pepper. Toss lightly again. Add the port and stock and toss until well blended.

Stuff a bird or cook it on it's own. If you stuff a bird do not pack it tightly and remember to sew or skewer the ends closed. Take some pan drippings if you like and mix with the extra to cook in a casserole dish.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! This one sounds really good. The cherries, hazelnuts, and apples......
Thanks!

[Little Whiskey]

No kidding......with stuffing like that, who needs turkey?!

actually, turkey is my least favorite of the thanksgiving dinner items. I love stuffing and all those pies. its nice to have an occasion where pie is the preferred dessert.

[Iron Mike]

I distinctly remember getting up early one Thanksgiving and walking into the kitchen, where my Mom was emptying the contents of the giblet bag into a saucepan.

Me: What are you cooking THAT for??

Mom: It goes into the dressing.

Me: http://www.clipartof.com/images/thumbnail/2191.gifNo dressing for me today, thanks.

[Badgerinmaine]

I'm from WS.....married to a Yooper. (We've been 'out of the area', for 30+ years). Once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan. :wink:

We are all part of a plot to infiltrate New England with Packers fans. I am doing my part up north :-)

There have long been connections between New England and Wisconsin, by the way. Lots of settlers went the other way during the 1800s--just look at all the Maine place names alone on the Wis. map--Augusta, Portland, Bangor, Casco, Lewiston, Ellsworth, the town of Maine near Wausau--not to mention the rest of New England (New London, Norwalk, Hartford, Danbury, Burlington, Fitchburg, Stoughton) and New York (Albany, Brooklyn, Cazenovia, Utica).

[Freak Out]

I'm from WS.....married to a Yooper. (We've been 'out of the area', for 30+ years). Once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan. :wink:

We are all part of a plot to infiltrate New England with Packers fans. I am doing my part up north :-)

There have long been connections between New England and Wisconsin, by the way. Lots of settlers went the other way during the 1800s--just look at all the Maine place names alone on the Wis. map--Augusta, Portland, Bangor, Casco, Lewiston, Ellsworth, the town of Maine near Wausau--not to mention the rest of New England (New London, Norwalk, Hartford, Danbury, Burlington, Fitchburg, Stoughton) and New York (Albany, Brooklyn, Cazenovia, Utica).

Lobster is more of a thanksgiving tradition then turkey is. Is that what you cook?

[MadtownPacker]

I've got 18 coming for dinner. One of the out-of-towners has suggested we brine the turkey. I've never done this or even tasted a brined turkey.
Has anyone done this? And if so, is it worth the effort? And what is a recommended brine mix for a 20+ turkey?Tell the snobby bastard he will be lucky to get a cold turkey sandwich. :lol:

OK, so none of you palenecks ever eat tamales on T-Day? Mama always hooks em up by the dozen this week and through December. You Whiteys would love them.

[Partial]

Stuffing on thanksgving is my favorite food of the year. Those recipes sound delicious!

[Zool]

I've got 18 coming for dinner. One of the out-of-towners has suggested we brine the turkey. I've never done this or even tasted a brined turkey.
Has anyone done this? And if so, is it worth the effort? And what is a recommended brine mix for a 20+ turkey?Tell the snobby bastard he will be lucky to get a cold turkey sandwich. :lol:

OK, so none of you palenecks ever eat tamales on T-Day? Mama always hooks em up by the dozen this week and through December. You Whiteys would love them.

I miss them so much. You cant get good tamales up here. My buddy in LA used to hook me up the day after thanksgiving. A dozen of each.

[MadtownPacker]

I miss them so much. You cant get good tamales up here. My buddy in LA used to hook me up the day after thanksgiving. A dozen of each.Yeah tamales dont grow in the cold. Gotta be closer to Mexico.

What kind did your buddy give you? pork? chicken? jalapeno and cheese? Did his Mom say "here mijo, give em to tu amigo gabacho that dont got no mujer"? :lol: :lol:

[Freak Out]

I miss them so much. You cant get good tamales up here. My buddy in LA used to hook me up the day after thanksgiving. A dozen of each.Yeah tamales dont grow in the cold. Gotta be closer to Mexico.

What kind did your buddy give you? pork? chicken? jalapeno and cheese? Did his Mom say "here mijo, give em to tu amigo gabacho that dont got no mujer"? :lol: :lol:

There is nothing like a good tamale.....I've made many after thanksgiving with leftover turkey. Enchiladas as well........nowhere near as good as MTPs mother can though I'm sure. I'm coming down bro.

Have the green sauce and the green leaf ready.

[Zool]

I miss them so much. You cant get good tamales up here. My buddy in LA used to hook me up the day after thanksgiving. A dozen of each.Yeah tamales dont grow in the cold. Gotta be closer to Mexico.

What kind did your buddy give you? pork? chicken? jalapeno and cheese? Did his Mom say "here mijo, give em to tu amigo gabacho that dont got no mujer"? :lol: :lol:

12 cheese, 12 beef, 12 chicken. You would think that would last me a while, but maybe a week.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I'm having country-style ribs for Thanksgiving this year. Courtesy of my mother-in-law who loves not having traditional foods for holidays.

[packinpatland]

I'm from WS.....married to a Yooper. (We've been 'out of the area', for 30+ years). Once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan. :wink:

We are all part of a plot to infiltrate New England with Packers fans. I am doing my part up north :-)

There have long been connections between New England and Wisconsin, by the way. Lots of settlers went the other way during the 1800s--just look at all the Maine place names alone on the Wis. map--Augusta, Portland, Bangor, Casco, Lewiston, Ellsworth, the town of Maine near Wausau--not to mention the rest of New England (New London, Norwalk, Hartford, Danbury, Burlington, Fitchburg, Stoughton) and New York (Albany, Brooklyn, Cazenovia, Utica).

Lobster is more of a thanksgiving tradition then turkey is. Is that what you cook?


I was just reading Philbrick's book, Mayflower, the pilgrims reached a point where they had little to eat but lobsters.....got sick of them.......can you imagine that? :shock:

And about those tamales, Mad........when I used to live in AZ, we always had them Christmas Eve. Lady across the street would make them for the whole neighborhood........I don't think I've had better ones since.....and that was 1960!

[Badgerinmaine]

Lobster is more of a thanksgiving tradition then turkey is. Is that what you cook?

I am always at one of my in-laws in Connecticut for Thanksgiving these days, so I don't cook anything :P

Seriously, lobster has plunged in price so much lately that people are trying to talk up the idea of having lobster for Thanksgiving here in the papers. I've never heard of anyone ever doing it, but this would be the year to try!

[Badgerinmaine]

I was just reading Philbrick's book, Mayflower, the pilgrims reached a point where they had little to eat but lobsters.....got sick of them.......can you imagine that? :shock:



Hard to imagine...but yes, from having lived in Maine for nine years, I can. Lobster as a delicacy is a pretty recent phenomenon, dating from the late 1800s. It was so little regarded that it was common to use as compost for fertilizing plants, and was frequently fed to prisoners in Maine in the 1800s. As I understand it, it became a delicacy and fashionable when the rich people from NY, Philly, etc. who would summer in Maine came to like it, and others copied them.

By the way, for Maine natives, it is a lot more common (and a lot cheaper) to eat lobster not as a whole animal, but rather as lobster rolls--kind of like having chicken salad in a hot dog bun except with lobster. You can do a lot with lobster, and I encourage you to do so :-)

[Freak Out]

I'm from WS.....married to a Yooper. (We've been 'out of the area', for 30+ years). Once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan. :wink:

We are all part of a plot to infiltrate New England with Packers fans. I am doing my part up north :-)

There have long been connections between New England and Wisconsin, by the way. Lots of settlers went the other way during the 1800s--just look at all the Maine place names alone on the Wis. map--Augusta, Portland, Bangor, Casco, Lewiston, Ellsworth, the town of Maine near Wausau--not to mention the rest of New England (New London, Norwalk, Hartford, Danbury, Burlington, Fitchburg, Stoughton) and New York (Albany, Brooklyn, Cazenovia, Utica).

Lobster is more of a thanksgiving tradition then turkey is. Is that what you cook?


I was just reading Philbrick's book, Mayflower, the pilgrims reached a point where they had little to eat but lobsters.....got sick of them.......can you imagine that? :shock:

And about those tamales, Mad........when I used to live in AZ, we always had them Christmas Eve. Lady across the street would make them for the whole neighborhood........I don't think I've had better ones since.....and that was 1960!

I used to shrimp with a friend of mine many years ago in Prince William Sound for a couple weeks in April....we would hardly bring any food with us to save money and would "live off the sea"...needless to say after a week of hot dog sized jumbo prawns and pretty much nothing else I was sick of them as well.

[MadtownPacker]

There is nothing like a good tamale.....I've made many after thanksgiving with leftover turkey. Enchiladas as well........nowhere near as good as MTPs mother can though I'm sure. I'm coming down bro.

Have the green sauce and the green leaf ready.Cmon on through man, I get you a dozen for the road.

Just got the holiday leaf this morning, sorry it's purple not green. :D

[MadtownPacker]

And about those tamales, Mad........when I used to live in AZ, we always had them Christmas Eve. Lady across the street would make them for the whole neighborhood........I don't think I've had better ones since.....and that was 1960!Damn, you guys moved from the oven to the freezer!

Traditionally tamales are a Xmas special but Mexico doesnt celebrate it. I guess illegals do since most made a water crossing journey just like the original pilgrims. :lol:

[Freak Out]

There is nothing like a good tamale.....I've made many after thanksgiving with leftover turkey. Enchiladas as well........nowhere near as good as MTPs mother can though I'm sure. I'm coming down bro.

Have the green sauce and the green leaf ready.Cmon on through man, I get you a dozen for the road.

Just got the holiday leaf this morning, sorry it's purple not green. :D

Mo betta.