Archive for December 6th, 2006

It’s no wonder Starbucks is in the business of selling bottled water.

Did you brine your turkey this Thanksgiving?

We did. I made a pathetic attempt to brine my mother’s turkey the year before, but I think this year we did a better job. Brining is the process by which you soak meat in a salty liquid. I have had such success when brining pork, that I thought turkey would be good, too. You can brine all poultry, if you like.

How does it work? The salty (and many times sweet, spicy water) slowly forces the liquid in cells out of the meat (in our case, a turkey). “Why?” you might ask. Because—then the cells fill with the tasty liquid you provided, and when the bird is cooked, the meat is juicy and flavorful.

So, if you are cooking a turkey over the December holiday, I recommend a brine. You should submerge a thawed turkey at least a day, if not two, in the brine, fully submerged. You can do this in a large stock pot or in a sealed bag.

You can find a lot of good recipes online for your brine. While I’m not sure of my proportions, I recommend:

• brown sugar
• kosher salt
• lemon rinds
• cracked pepper
• spices

For the spices, go wild… some brines go for the cinnamon flavors, others go for cloves. I think cayenne pepper is good, especially if you’re using a lot of brown sugar or honey.