Monday, February 13, 2012

Holly Jacobs brines one Mean Romantic Turkey at the Yankee Belle Cafe!





A few weeks ago, I saw my friend Ruthy post on Facebook that she was making a turkey that day. Hey, so was I! I tend to buy a bunch when they’re on sale during the holidays and roast them periodically through the rest of the winter. When I saw Ruth’s Facebook message, I posted back something about mine was soaking in the brine at that moment and great minds thinking alike. Uh, I think having her mind compared to mine might have scared her a little, but she’s a true friend and didn’t mention that. But she did ask me about blogging about brine. Since I have a new release and a two older books being released as eBooks, we decided on this rather Valentine-ish date, and she said, “Great...romanticize the blog, okay?”

Now, I think brining is fantastic. I brined my first turkey a couple years ago after watching Alton do one on Good Eats.


 I love that show. And I’ll also confess that though I’m madly in love with my husband, I do have a bit of a crush on Alton. I mean, any man who can get so jazzed about brining a turkey and explaining the science of why it works deserves a bit of a crush. Right?

Is that romanticized enough, Ruthy?? LOL

Okay, so here’s the truth of the romance of brining a turkey. In my opinion, it’s not so much the turkey or the brining that’s romantic...it’s the act of cooking. And it’s not so much about romance, it’s about love. You see, that turkey I was roasting was for a Sunday dinner. Most, but not all, Sundays are family dinners here. My kids are older, some have moved out. But on most Sundays I put out the call that I’m cooking and they’re welcome to come. And most, but not all, of the kids show up. We eat together. Laugh together. We share stories about our week. We sometimes squabble. We frequently joke. We laugh some more. And we eat.

Some of my meals are a huge success...brined turkey tends to be one of them. I’ve never had a turkey dry out using this method. They’re moist and the leftovers make dinner for the next few days, as well as a great stock that I freeze for soup at a later date. However, some of my meals are flawed. Like the time I made a meatloaf and neglected to find the tiny piece of pink paper that declared it was meatloaf mix. That piece of papered meatloaf ended up on my son-in-law’s plate. He has a sense of humor, but since then has always checked the meatloaf for paper. LOL

But good meal or bad, those Sunday dinners are my way of saying, I love you all. And I’m also saying, even though you’re older, your dad and I still love to hang out with you because we genuinely like you all.

There. That’s not quite romanticized, but it is about love, so I’m going with it, Ruthy.



Okay, so how to brine a turkey. I posted Alton’s link earlier. After his show, before I made my brine, I read his recipe and then I went online and found a couple other brine recipes, like Martha Stewart’s. 

I decided that the important part of the brine was the salt and the water...and the turkey. 

I should note, I use a 12 or 13 lb bird. Smaller is more tender, and it means I can brine the turkey in my big stock pot in the refrigerator. Plus, I don’t have to mess with a cooler and ice. I’m not sure I feel that I can maintain the consistent temperature that way.

I make the brine two days before I want to roast the turkey.

I’ve settled on:

1 ½ C of Kosher salt
½ stockpot of water

to that I add:
A couple onions
A few cloves of garlic
A few bay leaves
About a TB of peppercorns
A few shakes of sage, thyme, rosemary....

I toss everything into the stockpot, bring the liquid to a boil, make sure the salt is dissolved. I take it from the heat, and once it’s cooled, I leave the brine in my stockpot, cover it and put it in the fridge. The morning before I roast the bird I add...something sweet. I’ve used Martha’s Riesling idea. I once had some very sweet apple wine that was too sweet to drink, so I used that. And I tried a few cups of apple cider once. (If I didn’t have any of the above, I’d probably add the ½ cup of brown sugar Alton talked about when I was making the brine.) 

After adding my ‘something sweet’ I submerge the bird in the brine (making sure it’s all covered with water...if it’s not, add a bit more cold water until it is) and let it sit in the brine in the fridge for about 24 hours.

The day of, I take the turkey out of the brine, then cook it using my regular directions. I’ve stuffed brined birds, but I’ve also roasted them unstuffed. (Note on stuffing...I do some in the bird, but then bake extra in a separate pan. When I’m done, I mix them together. It makes a great dressing that way.)

Yes, you can see this isn’t an exact recipe. If you’re someone more comfortable using an exact recipe, Alton and Martha’s are great ones....you won’t hurt my feelings, promise.
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I’m a seat-of-the-pants cook and writer. My first bunch of books were written with no synopsis, no idea where the story was going until it got there. I’ve since learned to write a synopsis and stick to it...well, sort of stick to it. I mean, it gives me a road map (kind of like Alton and Martha’s recipes) and then I let it go its own way (like adding wine, cider, sugar to the brine) and in the end, I have a story that I love...just as much as my family loves brined turkeys. They’ve requested that I never make any other type.

And that, my friends, is my official Romanticized Brined Turkey Blog!

Holly

My February release, EVERYTHING BUT A MOTHER, is part of an ongoing series about one tiny Hungarian grandmother who cursed her family to bad weddings (Everything But a Groom, EBA Bride, EBA Wedding). After she broke the curse, she got bored and tried her hand at matchmaking (Everything But a Christmas Eve, EBA Mother, EBA Dog out this fall). Nana Vancy is quite the Hungarian cook, and does cook a bit in this new release, though she doesn’t brine a turkey!

Harlequin is also rereleasing two older books as eBooks in February...The 100-Year Itch & Confessions of a Party Crasher. I’m thrilled that both books are going to be readily available to readers again!

You can find more info about all these books at www.HollyJacobs.com




29 comments:

  1. Ruthy, Thanks so much for asking me to guestblog over here! I love cooking. Sometimes I do it with more success than others, but I do love experimenting as well! But I'll tell you, turning the topic of brining into a Valentine's worthy post...well, that was one of the most interesting cooking experiments I've done in a while! LOL

    Holly

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    1. I never for one minute feared YOU COULD NOT DO IT, LOL!!!!

      :)

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  2. Welcome, Holly! Love the romantic turkey brining! Sounds like lots of love to go around. :)

    I do have a question, though. I use a roasting bag for turkeys. Do you use one? Or does this turn out moist without one?

    Thanks!

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  3. Hi, Missy! I'm glad you saw the romance of brining. Frankly, I might have missed it if Ruthy hadn't asked! LOL

    No, I don't use a turkey roasting bag. But, I do let the turkey sit for at least fifteen minutes, longer normally...closer to half an hour. That time to just sit really helps any turkey get moist. Rather than cutting into the bird and watching all the juice run out, you give the moisture time to...well, settle in. So, bag or no bag, let the turkey rest. And if you've never done so, watch your turkey thermometer...it will continue to climb as the bird rests. So you're not in danger of food poisoning.

    Another plus to letting the turkey rest, you have time to get the rest of the dinner ready to go. You can leave the turkey on the rack and make your gravy, or mash the potatoes...

    So, even if you put it in the bag, let it rest when you take it out of the bag!

    Holly

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    1. This is where it pays to PUSH THE MAN out of the kitchen. The knife-carrying, sword-wielding hero Alpha type that MUST CARVE THE BIRD... And of course, Holl's right, the juices drain out, the meat gets cold and the potatoes end up lumpy.

      Always blame the man.

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    2. Ruth, Now there's a title for a book! LOL

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  4. Thanks! I've always wanted to try brining. It's not as hard as I thought it would be!

    You know, I, too, think Alton's cute. :) I watched an episode on chocolate last night. Very interesting!

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  5. Missy, You know what I find most attractive about Alton? His enthusiasm! He just shines with it!

    And really, brining isn't hard at all. It adds another day into the prep, but hey, any prep I can do in a fridge is pretty much okay with me! LOL

    What did Alton do with chocolate? (Oh, and he has another show on brining that's a dry brine technique...and you cut the turkey's backbone out so it cooks flat and takes less time. I've thought about trying that!)

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  6. The show was actually on dark chocolate. He showed how it's grown, harvested and roasted. Very interesting stuff! then he made some amazing cookies. And showed how to temper chocolate.

    Yes, his enthusiasm is great. Plus, he doesn't mind being all out goofy. :) I love a beta hero!

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  7. Hi Holly! I'm glad Ruthy invited you over. We were at a family Thanksgiving gathering a few years ago, and the turkey had been brined. The kids and I loved it, and they've been begging me to try it ever since.

    The biggest obstacle? My dear husband, faultless in many ways, LIKES DRY TURKEY!

    I blame my dear father-in-law, another man who was faultless in many ways...except how he liked his meat cooked.

    So, as a Valentine gesture, I guess I'll have to get one of those turkey breasts and roast it to death, while the boys and I enjoy delectable brined turkey.

    Yes, I'd do even that for my dear husband.

    I'm going to have to look for your EBA series! The premise sounds fun :)

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  8. LOL, Jan!! That's so funny. And you know, you'll never have a complaint from him if you overcook something. :)

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  9. Jan, Oh, my gosh!! You are an excellent wife! I figure if you can find a guy who's a keeper, you can overlook a couple foibles!

    My husband took me out Friday for an early Valentine's date (he has to work tomorrow) and his aunt walked into the restaurant alone. We invited her to our Valentine's celebration and he picked up the check. She protested, but he ignored her and told her that we were thrilled to date her for Valentine's. That is one of the many reasons I adore my husband...and I willingly share our dates. But alas, he has a flaw, too...canned vegetables and overcooked noodles. I made him canned green beans last night...the rest of us has steamed veggies. LOL

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    1. So, I've got to do this soon. I just need to brine a turkey, but my turkeys are not smallish. There's no one under 22 lbs.

      So I need my BIG KETTLE to do this. And to remove a shelf or two from the refrigerator.

      Tell me it's worth it, Holly!!!!!

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    2. Ruth, Alton used a big drink cooler. You know, the yellow ones that are huge? He brined his in that with a lot of ice to keep the bird cold.

      Personally, I'd get a small one, try that, and if you like it enough, then it might be worth coming up with an option for soaking the bigger birds.

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  10. Missy, That's a very good point! LOL

    And PS Jan, Thanks for checking out the Everything But... series!!

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  11. What a sweet guy, Holly! My son is the one who prefers canned beans. :)

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  12. Missy,

    He is sweet...but hey, let's send him and your son out to eat, along with Jan's husband. The three of them sound like the might get along! LOL

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  13. Hi, Holly. I am so glad you shared this recipe. I have wanted to brine a turkey for years. Just worried about treading that unfamiliar territory, I guess. But now you've given me the courage to try. Whoo-hoo! Now I just have to wait for turkeys to go on sale.

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  14. Mindy, Well do check out Alton and Martha's directions. They're much more meticulous about ingredients. But my more casual version has worked great. And after you've roasted the turkey, make sure you let it rest at least fifteen minutes before carving it! Really, it's not any harder to brine and it's oh, so good! I have a couple more turkeys in the freezer and we'll be eating one in March!

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  15. Holly and Missy - yes my dear husband likes his meat overcooked, tough and dry, but he hates canned veggies. Go figure :)

    And Holly, what a sweet guy you have, sharing your Valentine date. Sigh.

    BTW, what's a Valentine date? The only other fault - because we've lived on a shoestring for so long, he actually still thinks I don't need to be pampered. Someday, when the cash is available, I'll tell him how I've always wanted the diamond ring I never got when we became engaged thirty years ago... BUT, I'd much rather have HIM than any diamond :)

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  16. Jan,

    We've got four kids, so shoestring is our norm! Hope you both do something special tomorrow, if only it's some overcooked meat, but no canned veggies for him! LOL

    You're right...I'd rather have my guy, too, than any jewelry out there!

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  17. I could send Mindy a turkey. Or two. Do turkeys go on sale any other time? Obviously my freezer holds a few big birds, LOL!

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  18. Ruth, I only seem to find them on sale in November and December. Hams go on sale around Easter here.

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    1. Mmm... ham. ;)

      You know what? I think what you and I mean is that they go on sale for ridiculous prices. I can see my husband shaking his head, saying they're in the ad like once a month....

      But not for .49 cents a pound, right???? ;)

      That's the kind of sale me and my friend Holly are talkin' 'bout!

      When boneless hams go on sale at Easter, we buy a bunch, slice them (or have them sliced 3/4 inch or 1 inch thick) for grilling over the summer. Then I package them in meal-sized packs. Perfect on the grill with grilled pineapple slices alongside. And quick. I have no cooking time in the summer. Something always needs to be fixed, washed, kissed or written.

      And pizza just doesn't cut it in July and August, right?

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    2. Ruth, As much as I like to cook, nope, no pizza in July or August, unless it's in a take-out box! LOL I spend most of my summer eating salads, or stir fry. Each day I look at the garden and try to decide what I can do with that day's produce.

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  19. I just wanted to thank you all for letting me visit! Hope you all have success with brine. But even more than that, hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's!!

    Holly

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    1. Thank you Holly! And I saw you were over at Tote Bags and Blogs today!

      http://t.co/MmnybSTG

      SWEET!!!!

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  20. Ruth, I am! I'm talking about how Valentine's isn't just for sweethearts...about how romances deal with other relationships, too!

    Oh, and on a cool news front...Amazon listed Erie, PA as one of the top Twenty romantic cities in North America. Hmmmm...it's where I set most of my books. Coincidence?? LOL

    Happy Valentine's!

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  21. Ruth, I am! I'm talking about how Valentine's isn't just for sweethearts...about how romances deal with other relationships, too!

    Oh, and on a cool news front...Amazon listed Erie, PA as one of the top Twenty romantic cities in North America. Hmmmm...it's where I set most of my books. Coincidence?? LOL

    Happy Valentine's!

    ReplyDelete