Thanksgiving "Good Eats Roast Turkey" Recipe

This year my sister Krista suggested that I make the Thanksgiving Day turkey since I have the room in our basement fridge to brine the turkey. We used Alton Brown's, "Good Eats Roast Turkey" recipe. The outcome was a pretty good turkey! It seems like a lot to do, but it is really not hard and worth the work!

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons 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 rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Chicken (or Turkey) Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Holly brought this for our June 2010 meal exchange and I am so excited to try them. She was making them the other night when we stopped by to play and they smelled yummy!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 teaspoons chile powder
Salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts
4 round ciabatta rolls, split and toasted
Lettuce, for serving

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken with 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the garam masala. Using slightly moistened hands, form the ground-chicken mixture into four 4-inch patties.
In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of chile powder and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and hot water. Stir in the peanuts and season the sauce lightly with salt.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the chicken burgers with vegetable oil and grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until they are golden and crusty and just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Spread the peanut sauce on the rolls. Top with the burgers and lettuce, close and serve.

Recipe by Grace Parisi, Food & Wine Magazine

Tarragon Turkey Burgers

Can't wait to try these - Deb made them for the May meal exchange!

Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
8 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until thoroughly cooked. Serve on hamburger buns with desired toppings.

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Turkey Reuben Sandwiches

I made these for dinner tonight - very quick and very good! I made my own thousand island dressing to make it lower fat (scroll down for the dressing recipe).

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 slices rye bread
4 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese (such as Alpine Lace)
8 ounces smoked turkey, thinly sliced
2/3 cup sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fat-free Thousand Island dressing
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

Preparation

Spread about 3/4 teaspoon mustard over each bread slice. Place 1 cheese slice on each of 4 bread slices. Divide turkey evenly over cheese. Top each serving with 2 1/2 tablespoons sauerkraut and 1 tablespoon dressing. Top each serving with 1 bread slice, mustard sides down.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 sandwiches to pan; top with another heavy skillet. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden; remove sandwiches from pan, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and sandwiches.

Allison Fishman, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2006

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/3 cup dill pickle relish
pinch salt
pinch ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined, and serve.

Turkey Meat Loaf

This meal is from Ariel - she made it for the March meal exchange! Can't wait to try it!

FOUR SERVINGS, PLUS LEFTOVERS
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
8 strips of bacon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the red bell pepper, carrot, onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetables, turkey, pork, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and mix well. Place the meat mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and, using your hands, form it into a loaf. Cover the loaf with the bacon strips. Bake the meat loaf, uncovered, until cooked through, about 1 hour.
3. Pour off the melted fat, slice the meat loaf and serve.


From Every Day with Rachael Ray
February-March 2006
rachelraymag.com