Ive literally gotten 4 servings out of it AFTER the initial breakfast. And the price wasnt even wildly out of the normal. 21 dollars for the chicken fried steak monstrosity and cornbread. Why do i go grocery shopping again?
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I’m going to make a Turkey for Thanksgiving (a colonialist holiday that remembers a genocide- but it’s fun to get together with family) which my family is doing on Sunday with my brother’s family. I haven’t made Turkey in eight years. I used to do Alton Brown’s Turkey recipe with a brine recipe I no longer remember. I will probably just default to the Alton Brown recipe and do my best with a brine, but does anyone have a Turkey recipe (with or without brine) they like?
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I haven’t done one for a couple of years, but I spatchcocked our turkey for a few years in a row, and I really liked it. The turkey cooked very evenly, and came out much less dry. I would also dry brine the turkey, although I can’t swear that actually did anything. I never didn’t brine it (how’s that for a sentence?), so I don’t have a comparison. The spatchcocking process feels a little brutal, but it really did come out well. Now I just make a brisket or a beef tenderloin.
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Never didnt brine it? Sounds like im back home in missouri 
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I’ll never understand you Americans and brining a turkey.
Two key tips to roasting a turkey:
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Choose a wild turkey over the traditional industry farmed turkey. The have more dark meat and dark meat means a roast that isn’t dry.
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Separate the turkey into two halves, thighs and drumsticks on one, breasts on the other. Roast them for different lengths of time until the desired internal temperature so that you don’t overcook the breasts or undercook the thighs/drumsticks. This will allow for a more evenly cooked roast that isn’t dry.
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BMO, I remember that you have a fine dining background. I work at a fine dining place now and was surprised to see them brining turkeys as I had heard it was superfluous.
That being said, I’ve made one kind of turkey in my past, I brined it, and it turned out great! I definitely maxed out my turkey in previous years doing a butter rub and aromatics on top of the brine.
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I always roast a turkey for Christmas (well, a crown, it’s 2 of us after all) and while it is always praised, I’ve never been completely satisfied with the results. Also, I have always brined it so can’t say if that makes it better, worse, or has no effect. And also also, it’s always the cheapest, most frozen one so can’t say how better it would be if it were a better quality one.
The largest effect I’ve noticed in dry vs juicy is in the resting time after roasting. Haven’t found the ideal waiting time yet though.
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A crucial step because the fluids in meat just removed from the oven have contracted and concentrated toward the centre of the cut. A minimum of 15 minutes is needed to allow those juices to relax leading to juicer cuts.
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I wasn’t being critical. Just remarking how Americans seem to only do one of two things, brine turkeys or drop them in a giant metal barrel fryer right before burning their houses down 
Joking aside, brining is just a cooking method. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any cooking method, if executed well. Brining just happens to be one that has been very popular, particularly in the US, for the last two decades so it has dominated the turkey cooking scene. When I say I’ll never understand it, it’s simply that I’m somewhat surprised that this one method seems to dominate the turkey cooking discourse in the US specifically. It’s also interesting that you say the only type of turkey you’ve made is a brined turkey, because that just reminds me how old I am 
It’s not surprising that you work for a place that brine their turkeys, because 1) you are in the US, 2) it’s popular with diners, and 3) brining helps simplify the cooking process by which the turkey does not need to be as closely monitored. Brine it, stick it in a kombi for a set length of time and you should have a moist product at the end. However, I am going to suggest that if your establishment is at the forefront of, or is at least chasing, recent trends that they may stop brining within the next few years. I expect a shift away from it within the industry given some of its waning popularity.
My take on turkey brining is personal, I think the product it produces is too salty, and often also too sweet. It also lacks a range of textures that I think are appealing in a roast. But predominantly it’s the excess saltiness that I dislike. For my money two of the best ways to enjoy turkey are actually either via braising or smoking, and both those methods produce exquisite results. Arguably smoked turkey can be salty as well but I try to pick products from smokers that produce something less salty.
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I made the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Turkey was a combination of Alton Brown’s brine and Natasha’s Kitchen’s Butter Rub. The stuffing was a Trader Joe’s mix I churched up. The mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce were J. Kenji Lopez Alt recipes.
I’m thankful for y’all!
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My wife made a seitan “turkey.” Pretty dang good unless you have a gluten allergy because seitan is 100% gluten protein.
We also had stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, brussel sprouts, French stuffing, regular stuffing etc.
And pie. There was a pie miscommunication so we ended up with 6 pies and 1 cake!
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French stuffing? What would that be?
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Traditionally its pork, bread, spices (not excluding an abundance of clove).
My wife made it with beyond meat instead of pork. It was fantastic!
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My traditional French stuffing is French Canadian, and it’s bread, herbs and spices and offal. No one will let me make it though 
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Oh ok we’re probably talking about the same thing! My father in law is part French Canadian.
I mixed up pork for offal
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I can’t get enough of French stuffing! I love that stuff
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I made Eric Kim’s matcha latte cookie. They’re good!
I think you can cheat his method a little by using a stand mixer. I was exhausted from work and then started whisking this and felt so beat up. Worth it though!
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Gonna make philly cheese steaks tonight… pictures to follow
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